THEY sit prominently on opposite corners of the main street.
A Spanish Mission-style white building that became synonymous as the headquarters of the Pyramid Hill Co-op now the town supermarket.
Constructed within months of a fire that destroyed the previous building in December 1932, the imposing edifice and clocktower has become home to Mandeep Singh.
Across the road, Miller’s Ag trades from another of Pyramid Hill’s historic buildings and has not long ago had an external makeover.
It’s where Alec Miller has returned home to help the business with parents Neville and Michelle.
Mandeep and Alec are being lauded by progress association president Drew Chislett as being among the new faces in town building a positive vibe.
For Alec, an environmental engineer, there was a decade enjoying Melbourne life knowing, one day, the yearning would be there to come home.
“I wanted to gain a lot of knowledge in the city and bring back that knowledge to the local area,” he said.
“Then late last year, my parents said they would like me to help run the business. I thought, that would be a good opportunity to come home, enjoy the lifestyle and be part of the family business.
“There was the attraction of having some flexibility that you don’t have in Melbourne, being part of the country vibe.”
The former Pyramid Hill College student who completed schooling at Cohuna before heading to Melbourne, has started to reconnect with the home community. 
He is even taking to the netball court in the new night competition organised in town. And there’s no spending 90 minutes in Melbourne traffic each day, just to travel one way.
Coming to Pyramid Hill around the same time as Alec’s homecoming was Mandeep.
He had been in partnership as owner of a supermarket in the Wimmera town of Warracknabeal.
The quest to own his own business - and in a country town where he could enjoy the simple life - brought Mandeep to Pyramid Hill.
He had grown up in the northern Indian state of Punjab. His town, Bassi Pathani, is in an area once traversed by Mongol warriors.
A small town, the climate is similar to Pyramid Hill “just with a month of fogs when you can have a refreshing walk”.
Agriculture, too, is at the heartbeat of Mandeep’s place of birth. “I was born in a small town, I love country communities where everyone knows each other,” he said
“In Pyramid Hill, there is that same feeling. You walk out into the store, or the street, and people say hello.
“Friendships have been made quickly here. A town would be nothing without people.”
The history of his supermarket building has daily reminders for Mandeep. From the elevated office that once acted as headquarters for the co-op to customers and visitors. “So many people who come in have a connection with the building and I enjoy hearing their stories.”
Mandeep says the move to Pyramid Hill has been part of an exciting journey and one that has given local people confidence in their supermarket.
“You feel the vibe when people come in from the street. I am just starting to get things organised but it’s a big building and more can be done. It’s all about ideas.”
Alec has ideas as well for the future. Since returning to Pyramid Hill almost a year ago, one of the big differences in a decade away has been the growing consciousness of farmers for water conservation.
“People are now smarter and looking longer-term at farming to see benefits in six or seven years, not just for this year,” he said.
He had spent six years working for a consultancy firm in Melbourne assisting approvals for contaminated land remediation and showing companies how to meet their obligations in cleaning sites before redevelopment.
Alec says he misses networking events in Melbourne. “But it’s only three hours away by car and I’m thinking of making the trip by train in the future,” he said.
Alec is also keeping the professional hand in by mentoring final year students in environmental engineering at Monash University.
“I want to strengthen that link between agriculture, the environment and universities.”
When Mandeep and Alec spoke at a Loddon Shire networking event on the experiences living in the country town, their message was evident. There is life in rural communities, still.
Perhaps it is Mandeep’s reflection of people making a town that resonated with the audience.
Or is it Alec who reckons the best thing is the lifestyle and “waking up in the morning, seeing the sun rise and thinking how good it this!”
Drew Chislett has been something or a one-man talking billboard for his “little town”. He’s just found a few more disciples.