2001-06-26 - 20:32 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

The Crown Of The State

Around us we have suburbs composed mostly of places to sleep, in fact they are called Bedroom Communities. Most of them have little or no amenities or facilities. Just scores and scores of streets, houses and yards.

As the years go by, a Supermarket grocery chain will put a store in, a small City Hall Building will appear, a Fire House tucked somewhere too and maybe a little open space cleared and called a park which is not quite adequate for the population in that suburb, nor does it have the playground needed in such a place.

But here in Oldtown are the ancient trees, the spaced out wide boulevards. Parks, both large and small, well planted and lovingly taken care of.

In our business district are edifices whose tops are in the clouds -- all huddled together like a frightened herd of cattle but rooted deep in the ground apparently to prevent a stampede. But, here and there amid the giants are yet some of the grand old buildings, wreathed in their memories of times past amid the towers.

Throughout town are are churches built in pioneer days. Things that will stand long past the thrown together skypokers.

In Old Town are some well built buildings made of strong materials, erected way back with lines once thought classical that they have been declared Historical Sites. Many buildings from the pioneer era have remained, to my wonder. Well built old ladies in their ancient finery whose owners seemingly have resisted the lure of developers money.

Some of our buildings are beautiful school buildings even yet. Some of our old school buildings have disappeared due to consolidation of personnel and pupils into another place.

There are areas of homes, elbow to elbow, modest domiciles built to the pocketbook of a blue collar man, that are neatly kept up. And. . . . there are some areas where the old houses are dilapidating like an aging drunk.

In recent times some of the old houses near downtown have been purchased by private individuals, restored to their original condition and made into offices for professional people. Going into one of them on business is taking care of what needs to be done in a genteel manner accompanied with a ghostly whiff of whispering skirts and activity in the kitchen of time gone by. In many of them the woodwork is so beautiful, once hidden by slopped on layers of paint. Stripped and properly lacquered or plastic finish they reveal the fine wood of their construction and the intricate patterns deeply carved or with raised designs I have heard that some of them still have the beautiful parquet floors with the great designs made with the different kinds of hardwood.

Back in the old days, old days at least to me, buildings were made to stand forever, and some of them are trying for the record.

We once had a Mayor who caused great improvements in our city, one of which is a boulevard on both sides of the creek coming into town, beautifully planted and kept up. Its path is a curving one beside the business district and when it nears the river the trees and plantings are gone and the busy boulevard is hemmed in by the city.

Oldtown is where the museums are, where the zoo is, the Cathedral. There the Capitol is with the City and County Building facing it across several blocks of lawn with the Greek Theater on one side. Our Art Museum built in recent years and our Library also enlarged very recently are near neighbors which pretty well flank the Greek Theater.

There is so much here, so many places, so many things to satisfy different interests and tastes that the Bedroom Communities seem to be just extended portions of our residential area.

I guess that many of the great facets of Old Town have not been spoken of by me, but should be included in the list of jewels in the Crown Of The State . . . . .

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