Elanne Palcich of Chisholm has offered me this guest post and I’m passing it along for discussion.
LANDMARKS
I can remember trips to Duluth when I was young, before the Miller Hill Mall days, when you actually went shopping downtown. It was always an awesome journey to Duluth, waiting for that view of Lake Superior. But the young people today, immersed in traffic and stop lights, would rather spend their time shopping the bargain stores that spread along the highway.
I can also remember Grand Rapids and the great pines along Pokegama Avenue. They were the highlight of the destination. But the young people growing up today don’t know about the pines, because they were cut down to make room for Walmart.
The next of the landmarks to go will be the pines along Highway 169 before Tower, to put in new and bigger power lines. Highway 169 to Tower and Ely was always meandering, winding between hills and trees. It slowed a person down, giving you time to unwind before entering a wilderness experience. While the rest of the world sped up and stressed out, the road north was a gateway to inner peace.
I believe that somewhere along the way we have confused progress with materialism. When we destroy our unique landmarks, we become Any City, USA. We get lost in the super Walmarts and highway sprawl. We surround our children with plastic and gadgetry that we ourselves can’t keep up with. We value our purchasing power more than our personal power.
I am not against change. It just seems to me that we need some kind of broader vision. I am for defining our values and our goals. I am for examining what is comfort and what is excess. I am for considering what kind of legacy we want to leave for our children. The crossroad to the future is now. What landmarks will be left for the children—pine trees or power lines?
~Elanne Palcich
The answer, it would seem today, is power lines. What confounds me is why small towns are sprawling just like suburbs even as they lose population. Discuss.
This really resonates with me. It’s a sick feeling.
My husband keeps saying that Hwy 53 between Cook and Virginia didn’t really need an upgrade. All that would have to happen is for the people to drive at the speed limit for it to be safe. Which is does. Always.
We need to remember that these so called improvements or enhancements come with aesthetic costs, as well as long term costs, not just immediate pocket book costs and immediate benefits. I’m sure it would never fly, but we could have cost/benefit analysis just like there are reports about environmental effects of changes.
Yes, it’s happening people. Local, independent businesses and the natural beauty of our environment is being replaced by big box stores and the idea that faster is better. The closing of Schneiderman’s Furniture in Meadowlands signals the end of an era. For those of us who drive from Hibbing to Grand Rapids, the standard, scenic route through Bovey with a view of the iconic town name spelled in rocks on the hillside is a thing of the past. Sure, I could make a trip down to the Twin Cities and buy some furniture at IKEA and I like getting where I’m going faster as much as the next guy, but I think what we’re losing is much more important and harder to replace.
Sadly “landmark loss” like this is going to continue to happen (and at an increasingly frequent rate) until enough people organize to do something about it. I was particularly inspired the other day to read about a project that addresses a part of this problem: the survival of local, independent brick and mortar businesses. It’s called The 3/50 Project and challenges people to choose three independent businesses at which to spend $50 every month. For more information see the website: http://www.the350project.net. I think it’s an intriguing idea and if enough of us get on board, it just might work.
In the Brainerd lakes area there’s a word for it: Baxterization. (You could even look it up!) And there’s plenty of blame to go around for the resultant eye pollution. Granted,the newer stretch of Highway 371 is much improved, but the town of Baxter features all manner of big box blight — exactly the sort of thing one tries to escape by going into the woods. A friend of mine is so heartbroken by the mutilated landscape that she and her husband take a detour through Pillager almost every time.