[Vision2020] Questions and Memories

[Tom Hansen]

Greetings Visionaires -

Much of the talk, both pro and con, concerning the Wal-Mart Super Center
deals with "quality of life".

I agree that quality of life is a very, very important issue when it comes
to the economy of our community.

If I were living in southern Oregon, central New Jersey, or (for that
matter) Rhode Island, and I was considering moving my family to Moscow,
Idaho, there would be four questions that must be answered to my
satisfaction before I would start packing my bags and loading the U-Haul.
These questions concern quality of life, my family's quality of life.

1)  What jobs are available?  By jobs, I mean career-oriented jobs, jobs
where ten to twenty years later I have progressed up the management food
chain, and am not still welcoming people to Wal-Mart for $7.25 an hour.

2)  What school facilities are available?  By school facilities, I mean
schools that have been upgraded in the past twenty years, schools where my
children would have access to the latest technology, thus making their
future that much brighter.

3)  What health care facilities are available?  If my wife or children
needed immediate health care, how soon could I expect an immediate
responder?  

4)  What is the crime rate?  Would I, my spouse, or my children feel safe
and secure late at night walking the streets returning form an activity?

An adverse answer to any of these questions would probably prevent me from
packing my bags, loading up the U-Haul, and heading off to Vandalville.  

As I have stated before, my adopted home town, the town of my Alma Mater,
deserves better.

As you know, one of my hobbies is collecting old photos of Moscow, UI, and
their vicinity.  Over the past few years I have found a treasure trove of
photos in old UI "Gem of the Mountain" yearbooks.

These UI yearbooks not only depict the history of the campus and its
students, the advertisements within those yearbooks depict another history,
the history of businesses in Moscow.

For instance:  That business that recently closed its doors was advertised
on page 254 of the 1937 UI "Gem of the Mountains" yearbook.  That same
business was advertised on page 207 of the 1904 UI "Gem of the Mountains"
yearbook.  I am talking, of course, about Creighton's.

See how many businesses you can recall while you browse:

http://www.tomandrodna.com/Businesses

And it is no fair, and considered cheating, if you call Carl Westberg.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
UI '96
 

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Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.

- Author Unknown
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