Owensboro resident Imma Hurmette has lived in The Downs subdivision off Highway 54 since the late 90s and is very happy there. Hurmette said, “It’s just lovely [living on 54], everything I need is nicely packed into a 1-mile radius, like sardines.”
Earlier today, Hurmette ventured downtown for a walk through the international-award-winning Smother’s park. Afterwards, she walked the seven city blocks back to her car, drove around those same city blocks for 20 minutes trying to figure out the one-way traffic, and then encountered a detour that forced her further down 2nd Street.
“54 is so great now, I haven’t needed to go that far west in over 16 years. Driving down 2nd Street was like the opposite of when Dorothy stepped out of her house and into Oz…all the color faded and everything became drab,” Hurmette recalled. “Just past that motel, The Mercedes…or whatever its called, I noticed my car started driving rough.”
A few blocks later, Hurmette realized she had a flat tire. “I was kind of afraid to stop, so I just kept going despite the awful noise of my rim grinding into the pothole-laced asphalt.” said Hurmette, “…so I decided to drive to Kuester’s to get a can of Fix-Ya-Flat.”
Delighted to see the bright red, white, and yellow sign, Hurmette pulled into the Kuester’s parking lot and walked up to the door only to find it locked and the windows covered.
Hurmette went back to her car and messaged Enduring Owensboro with the subject line “Breaking News – Kuester’s” and told us what she had “discovered.”
We immediately sent a reporter over to her and revealed that Kuester’s has been closed for well over a decade.
Hurmette was very upset to hear the news and said, “Wow, I always loved this store…I’ve been meaning to get back over here…I’ve just been busy and didn’t get around to it. I guess I’ll just walk over to K-Mart and buy some Fix-Ya-Flat there.”
Editor’s Note: Our reporter didn’t have the heart to tell Hurmette that Kmart had closed as well. Instead, Enduring Owensboro paid to tow her car to a shop on 54.
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