As we celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation, those of us who were born and bred in Butler County have seen many changes, and depending on your perspective, some good, some bad.

The City of Butler was once a center for large-scale manufacturing, entrepreneurship and farming. The lifestyle of yesterday’s Butler County residents could be fodder for Norman Rockwell’s paintings. That was the past, and today that past is a distant memory.

Main Street, once a beehive of thriving department stores, restaurants and shops, is now peppered with empty buildings and struggling specialty shops. Gone are the smiles of police officers who once walked the beat. Gone are crowds of shoppers who filled the sidewalks of Main Street.

Butler County was once known for its large farming community, but many farms have been transformed into residential areas and shopping malls. Our largest employer is no longer a factory; it’s the federal government in an underground mine. The roars from parents watching their kids play organized sports replaced the laughter of children playing at yesterday’s city playgrounds.

The City of Butler is no longer the hub of the county; Cranberry Township is the new boss of commerce and residential development. Is Butler County a better place? The sky is still blue, the winters are still tough, and the air is still fresh, but all in all, the same ingredients to happiness and peace are still here in good old Butler County.

George Pikoulas,

Butler