Like many other towns, Hooper, Nebraska (pop. 827) started to die when a bypass was built around it. To bring folks back to the town's core, residents and business people of Hooper came together to remind the world of Hooper's existence.
The age of the bypass persists in places like Nebraska. When the bypass of U.S. 275 around Hooper was completed, the town's small businesses heard crickets even more loudly than before.
From the New York Times: "We kind of lost our identity now that the highway didn't go through town," said David Hingst, 58, the general manager of Hoegemeyer Hybrids, a local seed company. "We needed our identity brought back."
The nascent Hooper Area Community Foundation mobilized to remind the world that Hooper exists by raising funds to erect a very conspicuous Hooper sign out on the highway.
Thanks to Evan Lowenstein
FULL STORY: With a Sign, a Small Town Reclaims its Identity
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