Further Thoughts About 1975

My previous post offered 1975 as an important date as we try to establish “when things began to go wrong” in the Delaware Valley.  The year marks the earliest appearance of a factor many people consider to be very important: “subsidized housing.”  The date is not so cut-and-dried as it seems, because Federal housing assistance programs appeared during the Great Depression, and a 1965 Act established the first housing subsidy.  However, the amendment to the Federal Housing Act known as “Section 8” that took the housing subsidy program to a new level and into the national discourse was passed in 1974; hence the significance of 1975:

If “things began to go wrong” before 1975, “subsidized housing” had very little to do with it.

As I also noted last time, my book What Killed Downtown? Norristown, Pennsylvania, From Main Street to the Malls pronounces downtown Norristown “dead” by that date.  Surely the collapse of the region’s largest center of retail commerce and services constitutes something going (very, very) wrong in Norristown.  Two conclusions must follow: (1) Norristown’s decline began before Section 8 ever saw the light of day, and (2) we must examine—and give serious weight to—other possible causes of Norristown’s decline.

1975 is certainly a significant dividing line date for Norristown, but what about the others in the Schuylkill Valley?  Can we extend the 1975 dividing line to other communities despite their individual differences?  For now, let’s shift our gaze both up and down the Schuylkill, to the other “river boroughs” (yes, I know that Norristown is no longer a borough).

There is considerable evidence that suggests yes, 1975 is important to other communities.  Consider Conshohocken:  the differences between it and Norristown are considerable, and size is only one of them.  Yet the much tinier Conshohocken also had a downtown, smaller but relatively as bustling and vibrant to the local community.   The record shows that the deterioration of its downtown had reached such a point by 1965 that the Conshohocken Planning Commission asked the Montgomery County Planning Commission to develop an urban renewal plan.  In 1974 the borough received a multi-million Urban Renewal Grant and proceeded to bulldoze the 25 core acres of downtown, leveling buildings and evicting residents in the process.  We should consider this evidence that things had started to go wrong before the arrival of Section 8.  Even a superficial look at Conshohocken’s history suggests that the decline of Alan Wood Steel and Lee Tire, and the jobs they offered, might lie behind downtown’s demise.  In the case of Conshohocken, therefore, we are looking at economic, not social reasons behind the beginning of the borough’s decline.  Does that make sense to you, veterans of Conshohocken?  In thinking about this, don’t rule out the possibility that after 1975 subsidized housing played a major part in the borough’s continued decline, just try to place it in perspective.

And what about Pottstown?  It is closer to Norristown in size than to Conshohocken, or any other river borough, for that matter.  It developed a commercial downtown second only to Norristown among Montgomery County river boroughs, one that was the hub of its own region.  Pottstown was, however, an industrial town, and thus more like Conshohocken, although not as tied to one or two major companies.  Still, the nationwide decline in our steel and automobile industries lies behind the declining fortunes of both, and those boroughs in between.  Pottstown did not engage in urban renewal to the extent that Conshohocken did, but the responses of both boroughs were more similar than that of Norristown, which repeatedly rejected the lure of government money during the time we are discussing (much to the dismay of its own planning commission, of course).  Pottstown has also experienced more population diversity than Conshohocken, and “subsidized housing” continues to be a hot topic there.  Those who remember Pottstown may simply have more (bad) options to choose from. 

There are many variables at play here.  Still, regardless of the specific date of this or of that, what we are searching for here is what people—that means you—believe to be the most important thing that happened, and when.  But what if you can’t decide on just one thing?

If you can’t, that may be because all the options you are considering actually qualify; there may be more than one event or trend, and they might be quite different, but each important in its own way.  That is why the When remains our focus for now.  It doesn’t mean we are done with subsidized housing as a suspect in our investigation.  Far from it.

So what say you veteran residents, advocates, those who moved out of either Conshohocken or Pottstown, or for that matter, any of the boroughs in between?  When did things “start to go wrong” in your town?  Was it before—or after—1975?  Remember, we said start to go wrong.  There doesn’t have to be only one thing, or even one thing at a time.  Tell me what they are, and we will get to them in this blog.

When Were the "Good Old Days"?

I previewed this question at the conclusion of my last post, but such a question requires more explanation before I actually begin to discuss it.  So here goes.

I begin with four words, despite the fact that invoking them might generate unpleasant memories for too many of you.  They are the dreaded “Facts of History:” Who, What, Where and When.  My ex-students know how little I focus on them in the study of history, but together these four words can serve as an adequate starting point on our quest.  The question I have posed is a When, but as I am sure you are already grasping, such a question in our community context makes little sense unless it is linked with a What.  Knowing what changed for the worse makes it easier to determine when that change began.  We will thus treat When and What largely together.

We will do the same with both the Who and the Where, but after we identify them we will largely dispense with them both.  They will be superfluous.  Who should be considering the question I have posed?  Let’s answer by discussing the Where.

The question of when were “The Good Old Days”? is not asked about where you live now.  It’s about there, and back then.  You may have come from ANYWHERE (and I am by no means limiting this to the U.S.), and you may actually live ANYWHERE now; the point here is not about the specific details, but about attitude.  Do you have a connection—even just an emotional one—with the terms “community” and “neighborhood”?  Do you find where and how you live today less than desirable as either or both?  Those are quite broad questions, and those who answer “yes” to either can be of any age, gender, location, race, ethnicity, or just about whatever.  You are the ones I seek.

Age is the only qualification worth mentioning now.  Depending on your age, the answer to my question might be in your memory, or it might lie in the memory of your parents and thus perhaps of yourself as a child.  Or, if you are young enough, the answer might be back when the old folks talk about but you yourself were not present.   In other words, the question can be addressed to just about everybody, regardless of age.  Just remember my point from my previous post, that important things did happen before you came along, regardless of how old you are.

Now back to the When (and the What).

When were “The Good Old Days”?  When was your town a community, when the interdependent parts seemed to produce a social stability and at least modest prosperity?  When was “before things began to go wrong”?  Doesn’t that depend on what changed?

When that change began, do you (or your sources) connect it with any memory, of an event or a sequence of events?  This did not have to happen quickly, although it may have been felt suddenly, as with the closing of a big industrial plant nearby.  Perhaps decline seemed have sneaked up on you, only to accelerate once you actually noticed it.  Examples here might include the seemingly quick decline of an industry on which your community depended, or perhaps of “downtown” itself.

Your memory need not have much to do with a company, an industry or a downtown.  It’s your memory, not mine.  You experienced it.  Did it instead stem from changes in population?  Did the better people begin to move out and the worse move in?  We are attempting to more fully understand the truth about what happened, so political correctness be damned.

To aid you in sorting out the when/what, I offer….a date.

Dates—and certainly not exact ones—will not play a significant part in my presentations, but they cannot and must not be avoided entirely, and are bound to crop up now and then.  Now is one of those times.  This is due to the fact that the subjects on which I blog are the direct result of what I hear from you.  From the very beginning, when I was first introducing my book, I began to hear the two phrases that have continued to dominate the discourse: “Section 8”, and “Halfway Houses.”  The latter phrase has a direct connection to Norristown residents, but Section 8 (or “Subsidized Housing”) evokes deep, visceral responses from everyone, everywhere. 

As an example of my approach (I offer questions, the answers depend on you), I offer this thought:  Were the “good old days” before or after 1975?

Those of you who have already read my book know that 1975 is a significant date in my analysis of downtown Norristown sad decline.  The reason, however, may be coincidental to our discussion at this point.  In my book, 1975 marks the end of a period, the date of downtown’s “death.”  By contrast, I employ 1975 in my question above because 1975 marks a beginning, the earliest possible date to identify the effects of “Section 8” or “Deinstitutionalization” (the placing of formerly-confined mental patients in “half way houses”).  In truth, 1975 is a little early, as the triggers for both programs occurred late in 1974, but it’s a round number, and easy to remember.

So, depending on the date you choose “when things began to go wrong,” the issue of “subsidized housing” is either very important, or perhaps less so. 

What do you think?

Coming Together

I’ve just concluded a week in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and what a week it was!  From my presentation to the Norristown Municipal Council on Tuesday evening to my talk and book signing at Towne Book Center & Café in Collegeville on Sunday afternoon, the week was a flurry of speaking, listening (I learned a lot!) and, of course, selling copies of my book.  So, thanks to everyone involved in spreading the word, including Hank Cisco, The Norristown Rotary Club, The Norristown Preservation Society, Norristown Nudge and PK Sindwani at Towne Book Center.

Now it’s time to get back to what is important.  My biggest impression after my week talking with people in the area was once again how strong—and growing—is the local desire to improve the quality of life in local municipalities.  I was very pleased to hear that Norristown Nudge had been in contact with the Pottstown activist website Golden Cockroach.  I hope that this kind of communication will both broaden and deepen.  Both communities have much to learn from each other, and you are stronger together than alone.  When others join, you will be stronger still.  I’m honored to be a part of this, and will utilize my blog to both broaden and deepen my commitment to your cause. 

My blog, “The More Things Change…” now appears on the websites of both the Times Herald and the Pottstown Mercury, on twelve Montgomery Media websites, and on eight local Patch websites, so far.  I’m working on adding more.  As my blog has begun to appear quite recently in wider distribution, many of you may be encountering my approach for the first time.  I strongly recommend, in fact I implore you to visit my blog site (themorethingschange.michaeltolle.com) and read my previous posts in chronological order.  They will help you understand where I am coming from, and realize that my posts build successively on one another.  Future posts will make a great deal more sense if you do.  I will resume the subject development with my next post.  All future posts will be available on this site, whatever “this site” is to each of you. 

In recognition of this step towards my stated goal of linking many individuals and communities together in understanding their common problems, my posts will tend to take a broader approach to the subjects I have been pursuing from the beginning.  The subjects themselves will subdivide as we examine what are quite complex issues, but they will remain the same, the ones that resonate today.

My specific examples will continue to originate in Norristown.  I can claim some knowledge of its history, particularly since WWII; I can make no such claim about Pottstown, or Conshohocken, or any other community that may enter the discussion.  However, my oft-repeated thesis is that a great many local communities experienced the largely unwelcome effects of much fewer shared afflictions.  The names and the specific circumstances will certainly differ, but our goal is to achieve a deeper understanding of what actually happened, and why.  This is what I endeavor to provide: the shared historical context.  My contribution will be to put current issues into perspective (and perhaps suggest when history instructs what not to do).  The rest, as they say, will be up to you, although I will always be available to assist as I am able.

I’m going to leak the title of my next post right now, because it’s a question, and I would like you to give some thought to it before I explain what I mean and why I ask it.   

It’s a short question, but not an easy one to answer:

When were “The Good Old Days”?

Here’s what I mean:  When was your town a community, when the interdependent parts seemed to produce a social stability and at least modest prosperity?  When was “before things began to go wrong”?

It’s a single question, but it is addressed to you, you and you, and the answers will be different.  By comparing the differences we may discover what is actually the same.

Only a few possess the personal perspective to address the question directly.  They are your elders, and you should consult them before arriving at an answer.  They offer a perspective, and thus an antidote to the tendency we all possess to see the truly significant events as occurring in our lifetime.  Of course, always keep in mind that everyone’s memory gradually paints their pre-adulthood years in progressively more rose-tinted hues, theirs as well as yours. 

Those of you who have followed my blog or heard me speak know what I am getting at:  The “Good Old Days” may be longer ago than you think.