I read with interest “Losing our history” and the smaller, related article “Vision for block short-lived, like Wattle Tree site” ( July 1, The Columbian). I think Clark County Historical Museum Executive Director Brad Richardson’s idea of preserving basic information about a property is a no-brainer and needs to be implemented ASAP. Losing history is a serious distortion of it.
Urban Renewal and Fair Housing, large projects that remade urban landscapes throughout the United States during the 20th century, destroyed neighborhoods and created millions of domestic refugees. The neighborhoods that were destroyed were as disadvantaged and thriving as the Fourth Plain corridor between Fort Vancouver Way and Andresen Road.
Now a Portland construction company stands to make big money destroying another thriving, disadvantaged neighborhood. The least we can do is preserve the memory of it. Wattle Tree Place is a community hub in a neighborhood that is home to families. If it all goes without a trace, as has happened in the past, then there is no record of the destruction, the human cost or the process that made whatever replaces it possible.
