Towns sometimes seem to grow all on their own, to become their own people, so to speak, practically independent of the people living in them. This is of course only an illusion, but the way time and culture shape a town, especially a small one, says a lot about the culture at large, and about the people who are shaping it, day by day, through thousands and thousands of decisions large and small. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to make a decision on some big changes.
Up in the Pacific Northwest is a town called Hoquiam, Washington. It was born and raised a logging and exporting town. It has maintained this identity through annual events like parades and logging competitions and an internationally popular event called Loggers' Playday. All of which has served it well enough, but what will it do when faced with the possibility for growth?
Those changes would happen on the waterfront, a stretch of downtown running alongside the Hoquiam River. These kind of cultural centerpieces have done amazing things for cities such as San Antonio and Baltimore. Where once there was a bunch of running water, now there is shopping and dining and hotels and bars and a whole stretch of real estate just made for entertainment.
The waterfront hasn't seen much action since its heyday in the 1980s, but now there is development interest, and so the community has to think seriously about what kind of town it may want to become. Development is obviously no guarantee of success, nor will it necessarily turn it into a metropolis, but decisions need to be made collectively, because of course growth isn't free -- tax money is the ruche fertilizer for civic growth.
As a small town, it has to decide whether it wants to stay small or make some growth decisions. It's already got a rivalry with its larger neighboring city Aberdeen, and friendly competition often spurs some of the best kinds of growth, personal and otherwise. Sometimes the bigger towns get all the tax money, all the tourism, so if the town decides its identity is as a larger town, it may suddenly make the rivalry that much more interesting.
But it's all a balancing act. The city can't change too much or it risks losing its heritage. On the other hand, if it gets stuck in the past, it risks fading away, like so many other small towns do. Whatever changes get made will be made as a community, so the people of Hoquiam need to make sure they surround themselves with the right people.
Up in the Pacific Northwest is a town called Hoquiam, Washington. It was born and raised a logging and exporting town. It has maintained this identity through annual events like parades and logging competitions and an internationally popular event called Loggers' Playday. All of which has served it well enough, but what will it do when faced with the possibility for growth?
Those changes would happen on the waterfront, a stretch of downtown running alongside the Hoquiam River. These kind of cultural centerpieces have done amazing things for cities such as San Antonio and Baltimore. Where once there was a bunch of running water, now there is shopping and dining and hotels and bars and a whole stretch of real estate just made for entertainment.
The waterfront hasn't seen much action since its heyday in the 1980s, but now there is development interest, and so the community has to think seriously about what kind of town it may want to become. Development is obviously no guarantee of success, nor will it necessarily turn it into a metropolis, but decisions need to be made collectively, because of course growth isn't free -- tax money is the ruche fertilizer for civic growth.
As a small town, it has to decide whether it wants to stay small or make some growth decisions. It's already got a rivalry with its larger neighboring city Aberdeen, and friendly competition often spurs some of the best kinds of growth, personal and otherwise. Sometimes the bigger towns get all the tax money, all the tourism, so if the town decides its identity is as a larger town, it may suddenly make the rivalry that much more interesting.
But it's all a balancing act. The city can't change too much or it risks losing its heritage. On the other hand, if it gets stuck in the past, it risks fading away, like so many other small towns do. Whatever changes get made will be made as a community, so the people of Hoquiam need to make sure they surround themselves with the right people.
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