“It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over mutual concern for the future.” – Unknown
It was not a quiet week at my house. Mr. Clark and I finally saved enough money to have our badly broken down and rotting side porch roof, soffit, columns and fascia board replaced. What a mess.
I don’t care how good of a contractor you hire (and we hired a good one), or how much money you save up (and we saved up a good bit), there is no way around the fact that repairs to an old house are an expensive, surprise-filled (never in a good way) ordeal.
Our house was built in 1903, and with the exception of the first owners, the people who have lived here have never had quite enough money to keep up with the repairs. So over the years, parts of her have started falling apart; that side porch was a prime example.
It’s easy to ignore home repairs when there is no money. For years, I went in and out of the house, even sat on that porch and never saw the rot that was steadily worsening. Then when we got a little bit of money, all of the sudden that porch started screaming at me – “Hey! Over here! Are you ever gonna’ fix me? Can’t you see? I’m falling apart!”
Lately, that porch had gotten really loud – yelling at me angrily, bitterly and relentlessly, every time I walked by. And every time it rained, I swear, I could see visible water damage and wood rot happening.
So it was a relief when the crew showed up and made short work of fixing that porch back up. And while we are still waiting for the finishing touches, that porch looks a lot better now and it’s finally stopped yelling at me.
Whew! All better, right?
Nope. When my kids were little, they loved a book called, “If you give a mouse a cookie…” then on the next page, “he’s gonna’ want some milk.” The story is about how one thing leads to another.
Old houses are that way; don’t show up with that cookie unless you’ve already started saving money for some milk. Fixing the porch has highlighted the next serious of projects, all involving water damage and rotten wood.
Why do we do it? (Other than that the housing market is tanked right now.) We do it because a house like this one isn’t just a structure. It is a piece of a whole town’s memory; its walls are alive with the people who have lived here and with all that has gone on inside. Over the years, an old house takes on a personality and like any elderly being, deserves respect.
We could no more sell this house, (then watch it sit empty, falling into a state of further decay, like so many others of her vintage are doing in our town) than we could put Granny in a nursing home and move to California to pursue our retirement dreams. You just can’t treat old things you love that way.
There has been a lot of talk about revitalizing downtown Winder. Several groups are working on it, but nobody’s come up with much that is tangible yet. Of course, money is an issue – a huge issue – but then so is ownership. By that I mean the kind of ownership one takes in a project, the interest that keeps one involved.
One of the hue and cries that sounds every time these discussions come up is, “Why doesn’t anybody care?” or “Why don’t more people get involved?”
Spending all that money and listening to all that noise on my side porch last week gave me my answer. It’s because I don’t care. There has never been anything in downtown Winder that has meant something to me emotionally. Even though I’ve lived here for 23 years, I have no fond memories of downtown Winder. It’s been struggling as long as I’ve been here.
In order to get involved, people need a reason to care. In this case, that would be something for those of us with no memories of downtown Winder to bond with and want to share. I don’t know what that would be — maybe something as simple as a park? Who knows? Creating something of general appeal would be a good place for the dialogue to begin.
Some of the folks who drive down my street have noticed the work going on; a few have stopped to ask questions or thank us for (finally) getting it done. No one’s offered to help caulk, paint or pay, though. It’s not their house; it’s not their problem; these ain’t their memories being preserved.
I don’t know what the key to revitalizing downtown Winder is, but I do know guilt tripping those of us who don’t care, because we should care, because of all the great memories we don’t share, isn’t working; it never has. Part of building a bridge to the future is stepping out of the past long enough to talk about what’s going on in the present, without judgment or disdain.
Lorin Sinn-Clark is features editor of the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com
First, fat, stupid people in Winder have no bizness eatin' free biscuits.
Now, she's not fixin' downtown Winder because she hates it (and always has).
Last I heard, Colorado is still there (and desperately wants you back.) Well, half of that is true.
It isn't enough to rehab buildings for rent or sale. We have to look at all three parts of sustainability to make the revitalization of anything worthwhile.
For the foreseeable future, the questions become: How does the project contribute to the local economy? How does it contribute to the local environment? How does it contribute to the local society?
In other words: Does it create jobs through employment or purchase of goods and services? Is the building environmentally sound? Do people in the community use the building and the business housed inside?
The challenge for downtown Winder is to turn the weaknesses and threats into opportunities. Build on the businesses we have there now to create a community of businesses rather than one here and one there. Then turn the opportunities into strengths.
It's going to take more than a couple of folks. It takes everybody working together. Whether you've been in a community for generations or only a short time, the investment of time, energy and skills will result in those with $$ recognizing the community support needed for a successful revitalization.
Guilt won't get the job done. There may be a lot who don't remember Winder's more glorious past, but they can see the possibilities for a better future.