There's something to the belief that we are what we remember. We are the sum total of our memories.

 

I think that is as true for communities as it is for individuals.

 

And so, if there is a Hillsdale culture, it exists in our remembered experience.

 

I've had nearly 25 years of experience in Hillsdale. I am a product of this community's culture during that time. Of course our experiences (including their duration) all differ. To understand our community and its culture we should share those experiences and recollections.

To some extent, that's what this little on-line publication tries to do. That's why I maintain an archive as a vault of a few shared memories. Likewise, in our Hillsdale library are bound volumes of the Southwest Community Connection from the five years 1994-1999 I edited it.

Recently, as I've seen a new generation of leaders emerge in Hillsdale, I've noticed that they are often ignorant of many events of the past two or three decades. That's to be expected and is why those of us who have been around awhile should pass on what we feel is important in defining Hillsdale.

If Hillsdale stands for anything, its the tenacity of those who get involved. We haven't always won our struggles, but it hasn't been for a lack of trying.

For the record, and for memory's sake, a partial list of hard-fought "wins and losses" seems in order. It should be noted that we didn't always agree on whether a particular event was a "win" or a "loss," so this list is decidedly biased. Bear with me and feel free to write to object or agree or simply comment. The e-mail link is HERE.

The effort to preserve the old "modern" '50s era library building and to build a needed new library in the Sunset Triangle.

The effort to bring higher housing density to the parts of Hillsdale close to transit lines.

Undergrounding utilities in the Town Center (narrowly approved in a community-wide vote, but scrubbed by the City Council).

Creating an amphitheater behind Rieke School.

Opening a mid-block connection in the Hillsdale Shopping Center that would connect the commercial district with the playing fields behind Rieke.

The Hillsdale Farmers Market,

Saving Rieke Elementery School from closure and then increasing its enrollment.

Hillsdale Main Street with its improvements.

Street trees and sidewalk repaving along Capitol Highway.

The recent Sunset sidewalk construction.

The establishment of Hillsdale as a Metro-designated Town Center.

Southwest Trails.

The formation of the Hillsdale Neighborhood by literally moving boundaries (again, through a community vote).

The redrawing of boundaries to eliminate overlaps with the Southwest Hills Residential League. (This too involved a community vote)

Heading off the opening of a Chase Bank branch here and attracting a credit union instead (and, yes, I'm certain this will happen in 2014.)

A preference for making many decisions through consensus.

Finally, a word of caution. We need to be aware that much that could still happen hasn't happened within our memories.

Case in point: An earthquake is certain to strike this city in the next 25 to 50 years, and we are woefully ill-prepared for it. If a quake were part of our memory, preparedness would be part of our community's culture.

Nor have we experienced a truly devastating economic depression, and so we haven't considered ways to respond.

Finally, global warming is a reality that we must address locally. We have largely ignored it and done little to contribute to averting it.