Are Plano's water towers a must-see tourist stop? For this Michigan 6-year-old, absolutely!
PLANO (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Six-year-old Colton Gale loves water towers.
He's visited the ones near his home in Galesburg, Michigan. But, in his opinion, the best ones take some travel.
It all started in 2015, when a video of a water tower in Plano being demolished went viral.
"It popped up somehow in his YouTube videos," said his mother, Dayna Gale. "And he has been obsessed with any water tower—anywhere—ever since."
Gale says that every day, multiple times a day, her son tells her about the city's water towers. So, just before Christmas last year, she wrote the City of Plano.
"I know this may be a long shot but I live in Michigan and have a 6-year-old autistic son who is obsessed with the Plano, Texas water tower," she wrote.
The city responded with gifts; a miniature water tower and a "Future Water Tower Worker" shirt. But the correspondence didn't end there.
With Colton's birthday approaching, his parents flew him to Texas this month to see the water towers of Plano up close.
"This is the first time he's been in one," said his father, Ron Gale.
Plano pumping facilities supervisor Stephen Lane was there to give Colton a tour. "This is the most enjoyable part of my job," he said.
Lane remembers seeing the old water tower come down eight years ago, shortly after he started working for the city.
"I just thought it was cool myself. I never thought it would be what it is today," he said.
The demolition video was viewed nearly eight-and-a-half million times on YouTube and sparked a fandom of people.
"They're obsessed with Plano water towers," Lane said.
But, it's hard to imagine these towers have any bigger fan than Colton.
"He's sharing his love with the world of water towers," his mother said. "I live for that. I love to see him happy."
