We propose and demonstrate a simple polarization-independent construction of a local node for optical WDM ring networks using a centralized multiwavelength light source (MWLS). The node is simply composed of a 4-port optical circulator, an add/drop multiplexing (ADM) filter, a reflective modulator, and a drop fiber Bragg grating (FBG). A Faraday rotator mirror (FRM) is used to enable an LiNbO3 intensity modulator to operate in the polarization-independent mode. We examine three ADM filters, an interference filter, a fiber Fabry-Perot (FP) filter, and a set of FBG's. An optical WDM system experiment is performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed node construction.