So many towns, big and small, become whatever they become as a result of circumstance. They may start out as one thing, years or centuries ago, and then through the many thousands of decisions piled up over time, the people in the community wake up one day to discover the town is something totally different than its initial intentions. Sometimes these changes make towns better; sometimes they turn them into ghost towns. And often, to take control of a town’s destiny, the community has to get together and make some tough decisions.
The town of Hoquiam, Washington, to take one entirely random example, is in the midst of making some definitive decisions about its future. Originally a logging and lumber town, the people of Hoquiam display their pride at their town’s history with logging competitions and fall parades, and with an event that gets international attention, Loggers’ Playday. So but the town isn’t all lumber and sawmills; so how to make the most of the city’s other attributes, particularly its natural ones?
Hoquiam’s waterfront is at the center of its ongoing discussion of how Hoquiam will grow in the coming years. The Hoquiam River flows through the city’s downtown, emptying into Grays Harbor, all in all a lovely natural feature and abundant with potential. A well-used waterway did good things for Baltimore, and practically put San Antonio on the tourist map. Is Hoquiam ready for waterfront dining and entertainment?
The waterfront has been mostly out of use since its big days in the 1980s, but now the new interest in developing the area means Hoquiam has some decisions to make about what kind of Hoquiam it wants to become. Questions not easily answered, especially when tax money is involved.
An interesting catalyst might be in Hoquiam’s proximity to its neighboring city to the east, Aberdeen. Aberdeen is slightly larger, and in the way of many neighboring towns, there is a bit of a rivalry. These kinds of relationships often encourage clever innovation and development as the towns struggle to distinguish themselves, and so maybe Hoquiam will define itself in some marked contrast to its nearby sister.
Hoquiam’s real interest will be in negotiating its links to its history with the potential for future development. It’s delicate, this relationship — too much loyalty to the past can pre-empt a future, and too much enthusiasm about heading into the future can change a town into somewhere else entirely. For Hoquiam, the choices are many, important, and ultimately definitive.
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