Looking Back to Move Forward

One of the little discussed but much agreed upon issues put forth at the neighborhood forum last week was the idea that we need to identify where we’re going in order to get there.

My father was a carpenter by trade with little more than an eighth grade education. Yet he possessed an uncanny ability to look out over a vacant lot and see the finished home sitting there, complete with paint and landscaping, before driving the first nail. He had the vision in his head and then set forth to make it a reality.

Conversely we in New Albany do not have such a vision, at least not in any broad sense, to work toward. There are multitudes of individual concepts both public and private that float to the top on occasion but rarely do they get much farther than the door jamb of the room in which they are voiced.

So even though I realize that from many fronts I’m going to get the same old tired retorts of, “The city is broke!”, “We’re in a recession!”, “We can’t!” or “The sky is falling!”, I’m going to throw the question out once again in hopes of beginning an expansive, broad based, and far reaching conversation.

One that will hopefully look far beyond two-way streets, potholes, signage, and low manpower issues.

One that will explore such questions as what assets or attributes do we have (or need to develop) to entice individuals & businesses to call New Albany home?

What role do we play or want to play in the Metro area?

What’s missing from our downtown and core neighborhoods that would make living here more attractive and enjoyable?

I, for one, choose to look backwards in a sense to find those solutions. I, like many of you, grew up with the “Ward & Beaver ©” syndrome deeply embedded into my psyche. Likewise I, like most of you, arrived at the horrific conclusion that for the most part, it was bunk!

However, it was not all bad as I remember. In Scottsburg where I grew up the local 5¢ and 10¢ was also the fabric shop and the bookstore where we got our textbooks & supplies for the new school year. Oh! And it had the best 1¢ candy selection in two counties!

There was the grocery store complete with a fresh meat butcher shop, the drug store with a soda fountain, the hardware store so well stocked that if they didn’t have it you couldn’t possibly ever need it, and all this rounded out by the bank that not only knew your name when you walked in but was willing to talk to you!

All of this was in the downtown core by the way.

During that same time prior to Interstate highways coming thru, we used to come to and thru New Albany to shop and get to Louisville and points south. (See, the more some things change, the more they remain the same!)

Doing so for me was a treat because Woolworth’s had a bigger soda fountain than did Hancock's and Jerry’s had shrimp & oysters which were unheard of in Scottsburg. The store fronts had more elaborate signage and bigger plate glass windows as well!

Nostalgia? Of course, but the point being there was an atmosphere that embodied both small town comfort and safety, combined somewhat with big city bustle and availability. Those memories in large part are why I chose to live here for many years and to ultimately buy a home here.

Can we go back to that point in time? Of course not but I believe we can look at what worked about that era and rework some it to fit into the 21st century.

I think a soda fountain for the younger set could exist alongside a WIFI ready coffee shop for their elders. I can see a seamstress shop next to an art gallery. I have no problem envisioning apartment and lofts over ground floor retail establishments that cater to young single adults in conjunction with core neighborhood single family housing for all ages and income levels.

And speaking of neighborhoods, what’s to stop a small corner grocery stocked with staples along with community gardens for fresh veggies and small parks where neighbors can gather to visit while they watch their kids play?

The above may sound way too hokey for many but I’m convinced that for just as many it may be just what the doctor ordered. Yet another primary reason for me choosing the core of New Albany was that every need (read need as opposed to want) could be met within walking distance if all else went to hell in a hand basket. In our current economic environment that is a biggy.

So now that I’ve bared my soul along these lines, it’s your turn. What kind of atmosphere do you ultimately want you and your children to live in?

What kinds of retail, service business, and entertainment would entice you to invest in a community?

What do we have or can create that the rest of the Metro Louisville area doesn’t have, or wants and needs more of? How do we fit in that big picture?

In my view these are the questions that must be answered in order to form a vision. Once we can see the end result in our collective minds eye, then we can begin the process of getting there. Back to my Dad again!

And in the end, the results will not be exactly what we envisioned but it doesn’t really matter. The three things that matter are that we ask the questions,
form the vision, and AGREE COLLECTIVELY to work towards those goals.

So have at it! Let your imaginations run! Let’s begin this conversation in earnest!