My Favorite Owensboro Aromas [PHOTOS]

I don't like the word "odors" if I'm referring to something I like. I prefer to focus on the AROMAS of Owensboro that we all know and love...and, yeah, I'll hit on a couple that are distinctive BECAUSE we don't love them, even if we know them all too well.

And why not start at the top with BREAD!

I'm talking, of course, about Bimbo/Colonial Bakeries at 300 E. 24th Street.

We used to know that one square city block as JUST the Colonial Bakery.

I suppose a lot of people still refer to it as Colonial.

I grew up about five blocks from the bakery and my grandmother lived right next to it.

And there was nothing better than when it was full baking mode and you could smell that bread for at least a half a mile, maybe more.

When I was in kindergarten, we got to tour the place on Halloween and we were each given a fresh hamburger bun right out of the oven. Amazing.

Yeah, I was only five or six years old, but that's how strong that memory is. And scents are among the strongest memory triggers, anyway.

But when I drive by Mizkan on Ragu Drive, memory has NOTHING to do with my turning the car around and getting to where I can eat some Italian food.

And, honestly, I've driven to the store and just bought some Ragu or Bertoli sauce and dipped pretzel rods in them as a snack.

That's how powerful THAT aroma is.

Of course, this town being the Barbecue Capitol of the World, there's nothing like driving close to Moonlite or Old Hickory when they've got it fired up.

Now we have some BAD smells, too, like when the southern part of town really stinks for some reason from time to time. You know, like manure.

And a long time ago, when I was a kid and lived on the east side of town, the odor from the paper mill in Hancock County made it all the way to our doorstep.

But, again, I want to focus on the good.

What about you? What are YOUR favorite Owensboro aromas?