The Small Township Of Hoquiam Considers The Future Where We’re Going

Towns sometimes seem to grow all on their own, to become their own people, so to speak, practically independent of the people living in them. This is of course only an illusion, but the way time and culture shape a town, especially a small one, says a lot about the culture at large, and about the people who are shaping it, day by day, through thousands and thousands of decisions large and small. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to make a decision on some big changes.

The town of Hoquiam, Washington is in the middle of these considerations at the moment. Historically a logging town in the lumber rich Pacific Northwest, Hoquiam has preserved its heritage through a variety of events. There’s the annual, and internationally famous, Loggers’ Playday, as well as logging competitions and parades in the fall. Now it has to consider whether it wants to grow.

Possibilities for Downtown Development

Hoquiam’s waterfront is at the center of its ongoing discussion of how Hoquiam will grow in the coming years. The Hoquiam River flows through the city’s downtown, emptying into Grays Harbor, all in all a lovely natural feature and abundant with potential. A well-used waterway did good things for Baltimore, and practically put San Antonio on the tourist map. Is Hoquiam ready for waterfront dining and entertainment?

The Hoquiam waterfront hasn’t seen much action since its heyday in the 1980s, but now there is development interest, and so the community has to think seriously about what kind of town it may want to become. Development is obviously no guarantee of success, nor will it necessarily turn Hoquiam into a metropolis, but decisions need to be made collectively, because of course growth isn’t free — tax money is the ruche fertilizer for civic growth.

A Process of Maturing

Another consideration worth a moment is Hoquiam’s relationship to Aberdeen, the larger city to the east. This relationship, like probably all neighboring towns, is one of friendly rivalry. And rivalry often does good things for innovation. Hoquiam is at the mouth of the river, right on Grays Harbor, so it has opportunities no other town in the area does.

But Hoquiam must proceed cautiously. It is interested in preserving its past, as is evident in the 2009 revitalization of its train depot. So it knows how to preserve and honor its past; now it must seriously consider how it wants to carry that history forward, what kind of city it wants to become.

Ascertain moreover about Geneva Entezar.