For 10 years Issy Powell has posted messages outside her house to bring joy to passing drivers.
Driving through the heart of Aledo on Farm-to-Market Road 1187, you can't miss them.
Posted outside the cozy white house with the white picket fence is Powell’s gift to the city.
She’s known as the "Aledo Message Board Lady."
Every day for 10 years she’s crafted messages on chalkboards to greet people as they pass.
“It’s in my heart,” Powell said. “I just feel like words uplift people. Words are powerful.”
Some of her messages are inspirational, others express gratitude and some are just silly.
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“If it gets them to smile, that’s all people want and they’re hungry for that,” Powell said.
So when a driver accidentally crashed into one of her boards last week, Powell said everybody in town wanted to help.
Firefighters with the Aledo Fire Department spent their own money to buy her a new chalkboard.
“She’s a good friend of ours,” Lt. Reign Vandertuin said. “She comes up to the fire station and brings us treats. She gives us shoutouts, so Issy's just been a part of the fire department for several years."
A notebook Powell keeps contains a growing pile of letters and notes from people who’ve been touched by her signs over the years.
For Powell, it’s proof the messages are being heard and, for her, that's the best gift of all.
“Life’s simple,” Powell said. “We complicate it sometimes, but life’s very simple. Let’s be kind and giving to others.”
