(KCEN) -- It's a sight you see very often in Central Texas.
Once-vibrant towns reduced to ghost towns.
But some aren't giving up that easily.
Nestled in the heart of Texas lies Pendleton.
With only a few hundred people and a handful of employees.
A large part of the town has fallen in to shambles.
A complete 180 from when Alvie Weddle first laid eyes on it.
Weddle who's been a Pendleton resident for 64 years says, "When I was here before it was a booming like little town. When we first moved here and it was a lot of fun."
Locals tell us a lot of people came here to Pendleton for rail road work, but whenever the work dried out here, so did the town.
Some have found jobs in neighboring towns, but many have no way to get groceries and other necessities. One of the reasons behind the Pendleton store.
Jessica Ferrell wants to build up Pendleton to what it once was.
And to her its not really about the money.
"We try to go cheaper because not a lot of people have a lot of money for it. And yeah, we might not make a lot of profit from it but at least we're helping the community," says Ferrel.
Aside from keeping the store running.
Her son Keifer is battling leukemia.
The business is a much needed distraction.
"He's starting to understand what going to the hospital means. So its keeping him busy as well as me and so it keeps our mind off the bad things and more on the positive side."
Alvie appreciates the new addition and the sacrifices they made to make it happen.
"I hate seeing anyone spend all they got to start a store but sometimes you gotta start down here to get up."
All in hopes of reviving a sleeping town.
