Page 26 THE COMMUNITY CRIER: October 23,1996 Community opinions Keep campaigns clean JL JL It’s Old Village to us The Nov. 5 election is right around the comer. As voters, we have the responsibility to be informed on the issues and candidates and take the time to get out to the polls and cast a ballot. But the candidates and issue- spinners also have responsibilities to us. EDITOR: I believe that this historic section of Plymouth should be called Old Village as opposed to Lowertown. Starkweather, used to tell people that it was really uppertown, and it used tc peturb him a bit when he heard people call it Lowertown.
Far too often, the final weeks of political campaigns turn into mud- slinging matches. Instead of focusing on the issues, campaigns sometime turn to ugly personal attacks in desperation. Let’s not let this happen to us in The Plymouth-Canton Community. Historic does signify being “old” and is “history.” It is a quaint little village and I think Old Village suits it better for a name. It is also a little more dignified. 6 9 9 I am casting my vote for “Old Village” for a number of reasons. In m y opinion, the term Lowertown is derogatory in nature and paints a “lower class, wrong side of the tracks” image.
This image becomes magnified when you consider the fact that this is the only area of the City of Plymouth that is considered low to moderate income and eligible for Federal funds. This isn’t the image I want painted foi my neighborhood of my community. DORIS S. WERNETT Candidates should remain focused on the issues that affect us. They should also attend each and every one of our local forums and debates. Granted, there are some scheduling conflicts, but the best effort should be made by every candidate to attend these important events. Lowertown seems to downgrade the town or village (as preferred). It sounds less dignified.
Just like the “other side of the tracks,” so to speak, or articles referring to upper class people, lower class people, upper class neighborhoods, lower class neighborhoods, etc. “Lower” seems to downgrade. State Rep. Deborah Whyman obviously thinks we, the voters, aren’t very important. She has skipped all four scheduled face-to-face interviews with her opponent, Deborah Nesbit. A fter all, how can can d id ates be taken seriou sly if they skip opportunities for us to weigh the pros and cons of their campaign? When candidates skip public forums, it’s a slap in the face to all of us. If you want to get technical, the village is not south of Plymouth, but northeast, so it isn’t really lower.
If anything, it could be called Uppertown, in that respect. Recently, the City contracted with HP Associates to conduct an historic district feasibility study. While their report has not been published as of this date, they have reported to me that theii findings indicate that this area was never officially designated as Lowertown. According to the information provided to me, the area was initially called North Village and was later changed to Old Village. The term Lowertown was used by some in reference to this area, but was never an official designation.
Further, the “wrong side of the tracks” reputation and image seems to date back to the era when a debate ensued on whether to build Starkweather School on “that side of the tracks.” This seems to further indicate that the term Lowertown was meant to imply a lower class, wrong side of the tracks image. We voters can also expect a barrage of campaign literature to clog our mailboxes from now until election day. Some of this mail will focus on the topics. Other mailings will unfairly attack candidates. As voters, it’s our right and duty to recognize these unfair tactics.
If the “Village” were in a valley and Plymouth were up in the mountains, then it would be appropriate to call it “Lowertown” or “Lower Village.” Many current and would-be lawmakers ignore laws against placing signs on public right-of-ways like the I-275-Ford Road entrance in Canton or the Sheldon Road-M -14 entrance in Plymouth Township. We need to vote “no” for candidates who pollute these public areas illegally. So as we move closer to election day, it’s time for the candidates to clean up their act. We demand a change in campaign tactics and will make that known on Nov. 5 at the polls. The only way campaigns will become cleaner is one community at a time. Let’s start with ours.
DOLORES THIBEAU In my opinion, Lowertown sounds demeaning for the area. GAYL PARR THE COMMUNITY CRIER Lowertown or Old Village? The 1860 plot of Plymouth, prior to the railroad and incorporation of a village, show distinctly that the main part of Plymouth was Liberty, Starkweather, Mill St., etc. The votes are being tallied. The readers will decide. W hat should the quaint part of town on the northeast border of Plymouth be called: Old V illage or L o w erto w n ? Send in the b allo t below along w ith an explanation of what led to the decision.
The ballots will be counted and The C rier editorial staff will use the argum ents to decide what the official newspaper title will be for this historic section of Plymouth. Obviously, this is not scientific and will not be used by the Plymouth City Commission to change the name. That part of town was first and it has nothing to do with upper or lower. JIM MCKEON This is an area of town that has much to offer the Plymouth community both in history and diverse architecture. It is an area of town that is currently undergoing a renaissance. Many of its home and business owners are investing a great deal of time and money into their properties.
While I am not necessarily opposed to changing the name of this area, it should be a name that reflects its character. I should be a name that paints an image of its history, architecture and community spirit. To me, the name Old Village depicts this image and character better and without the negative and derogatory tone that Lowertown seems to imply. I voted for the quaint part of town to be called Old Village because that name is much more descriptive. S ee w hat you r n eig h b o rs are say in g ab ou t the O ld V illa g e - Lowertown debate on today’s — and future — Community Opinion pages. Many opinions have already come in. W hat do you think? I am a new resident of Plymouth.
If I were to see a headline or a sign regarding Old Village, I would know immediately what that meant; I would not know what Lowertown meant. TH E CO M M U N ITY C R IER Community Editorials CORRINE KERT The Lowertown Grill should be called The Old Village Grill. Lowertown should have never been called Lowertown in the first place. Welaomaio- Jlow&itoumI Old Village Downtown Plymouth is on a lower level than Old Village. My dad, Karl CAROL STONE How about Lowertown’s Old Village? EDITOR: I am originally from upstate New York, but have many friends from the Plymouth area. The old, long-time residents, from what I hear, like Lowertown because that’s the original name.
They get upset at this area being called Old Village. CIRCLE Y O U R CH O IC E NAME ___________ _________ PHONE NUMBER ______________ Well, in my opinion, it does look like an old fashioned village area, but if bom here, I’d want the original name. So to make everyone just a little bit happy, why not call it, “Lowertown’s Old Village.” A T T A C H SHEET W IT H EXPLANATION OF H O W YO U DECIDED SHIRLEY BULSON