Listen, the old buildings have something to say

April 8, 2005

Frontiersman editorial board

Historians have long known that physical landscape - civic buildings, parks and artistic creations - reflects and informs a society's sense of identity. The shape and contours of a church, museum or courthouse all reveal a society's values, or lack thereof.

Sadly, as historical eras recede into the past, the great buildings crack and crumble, and memories fade. The result is that many stories are often lost, and future generations grow up with less sense of where they came from or why their communities hold certain ideas in high esteem.

These developments are not inevitable, but they are also not uncommon. The voice of the past is often drowned out by talk of future developments, progress and new frontiers, all of which have their place in the larger context of a society's continually changing life.

But progress and development are, by nature, incremental. Footpaths lead to freeways, farm fields develop into parks or neighborhoods, and one-horse towns grow into bustling urban centers.

When a town knows the course of its own evolution, a better assessment can be made of the relative value of present planning.

Members of the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society recently spoke out against a proposal, presented to them by Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller, that would move the Dorothy Page Museum and many of the Old Wasilla Town Site buildings away from their original vicinity near Main Street, out to some other location, in order to make room for a new cultural center.

The irony is hard to ignore.

To her credit, the mayor said she is open to hearing the historical society's concerns. She wants input from its members and the community at large. Her vision to create a cultural center is commendable, and more leaders in this rapidly changing Valley would do well to follow her lead.

Moving the physical reminders of the past away from the heart of Old Wasilla is no way to preserve a sense of community history. To walk by a building that sits at or near the same location it sat when your grandparents were kids has a profound way of putting life back into a historical perspective.

Through this perspective, the past becomes a vital part of the living history of Wasilla. And in confronting the dynamism of present-day changes with a more careful and respectful approach to development, we enrich the history that we make for ourselves and those who will follow us.