On an unintentionally slow walk around the town center this afternoon, we stopped to talk to a man who was doing some fix-up work at our local "gateway" church. Or maybe he stopped us with a comment about the ugliness of the Walgreen's going up (and up) right next door to the church. There had been a letter to the editor of the local newspaper on this very topic this week, expressing surprise that it wasn't aesthetically appealing. It just makes me want to say "What did you expect, historical accuracy?" It's Walgreen's for crying out loud! It's a notch in their business belt so that they can get points for opening more stores this year.
Our new friend said that he'd heard that the Board of Zoning had been "paid off" with a $50,000 donation to the library. I mused that it least the payoffs hadn't been to the individuals on the board, to which he replied "not that they've discovered yet." That's about how it goes.
He told us that in Concord in the 50s, there were no zoning laws for downtown because it was expected that everyone knew what stores were supposed to look like. Woolworths apparently built a brand new standard-issue store, held their grand opening, and ... nobody came. And people stayed away, too, until WW put up a fake colonial front and changed their sign to discreet carved gold leaf letters.
Our friend also worried about whether his church could survive. The congregation is aging and dying off. At 63, he's one of the "kids" and apparently serves as chief cook and bottle washer on the maintenance committee. The Episcopal church in town has already closed. It would be sad to lose this one too. Then again, we as members of no church really don't have the right to comment on those matters.
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