The Merc: Kenton, OK

This is the Merc, located in Kenton, OK. For those not familiar with Kenton, it is the westernmost community in Oklahoma, and is the only community in the state in the Mountain Time Zone. I took this picture in late July, 2015. When I first visited Kenton, around 2001, the Merc was a thriving business. You could fill up your car, get a burger and a soda, and perhaps even pick up a few grocery items. The Merc ran into hard times and closed around the start of the Great Recession. An effort to revive the business would fail. Kenton itself is increasingly resembling a ghost town. Its population at the 2010 census was barely over 20 people. I am guessing that we're not too many years away from its population dwindling to the single digits. I have fond memories of the trips I and my kids took to Kenton and the Black Mesa region of the Oklahoma panhandle. The Merc was one of the places that made the community special.