Crawford, TX resident re: Bush living there: "The only thing we got out of it was that bank"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/us/21crawford.html

Crawford Journal
Texas Town Adjusts to Life Without Bush



The Red Bull gift shop is the last remaining store of five that sold George W. Bush memorabilia in Crawford, Tex., the site of Mr. Bush’s Western White House.


Bush memorabilia at the Yellow Rose gift shop, now closed, in Crawford, Tex. The town used to have five shops that sold gifts when George W. Bush was president, but only one remains open now that he is no longer in office.


Mr. Bush used to stop by the Coffee Station for a cheeseburger with jalapeño fries. "Ever since he got that new place in Dallas, he hasn't been around much," a resident said. Mr. Bush last visited the restaurant last summer.

Photo: Matt Nager for The New York Times

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And as Mr. Bush has settled into a quiet retirement in Dallas, appearing rarely and seldom speaking about politics, so too has this town near which he spent his vacations in office.

He still comes to his 1,400-acre ranch on holidays and on some weekends, but he does not arrive with the thwap-thwap-thwap of helicopters anymore. He slips quietly through town in a black sport utility vehicle and leaves just as quietly, townspeople say.

“Ever since he got that new place in Dallas, he hasn’t been around much,” said Carter Blenden, the waiter at the Coffee Station who served Mr. Bush a cheeseburger with jalapeño fries on July 28 last year, his last trip to the local restaurant. (The ticket is preserved on the wall of the kitchen.)

...

Most people in Crawford figure that having Mr. Bush as a neighbor has improved property values. Plus, a bank built a branch in town during his time in office.

But few people miss the peace activists who camped out and marched here when he was in office. And there are few permanent marks of his decision to buy a home here.

“Crawford has never really gained anything from him being president,” said Bill Bregan, 69, a retired woodworker. “The only thing we got out of it was that bank.”