President’s Message
It was 1930, and the country was reeling from the 1929 stock market crash. At a time exacerbated by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act — passed by Congress and signed by President Herbert Hoover over the objection of 1,000 economists — the first recording of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” became a nationwide hit. It was also in 1930 that “Happy Days Are Here Again” soared in the charts, destined to be Franklin Roosevelt’s campaign song during his successful run for the presidency in 1932. Thus, amid the worst economic calamity of the 20th century, Americans found solace in songs of hope. But there’s a caveat hidden within the lyrics of “Sunny Side.”
From the first stanza: “Life can be so sweet/On the sunny side of the street.” Followed by the bridge: “I used to walk in the shade/With those blues on parade…” — if you will, a free-will approach to hope. In other words, despite our difficulties, sweetness in life is still possible, providing one chooses the “sweetness of the sun” over the “shade of the blues.”
Accordingly, BWNA chooses to walk on the proactive, activity-driven side of the street, encouraging neighborhood involvement in the mitigation of problems as well as the organization of community-enhancing events.
A good example of the former is the much-lauded and PBOT-approved pedestrian crosswalk flag project that was initiated and implemented by BWNA with support from the Beaumont Business Association and Beaumont Hardware. Its purpose is to mitigate the danger of crossing busy Fremont Street. With respect to community-enhancing events, a prime upcoming example is the second annual BWNA Block Party along Skidmore Street adjacent to Wilshire Park happening this year on September 12. Mark it on your calendars, and plan to attend.
Thankfully we don’t have a Great Depression to deal with (though America’s current out-of-whack economy is worry enough), but a problem that neighborhoods continually face, in varying degrees, is crime. In response to concerns, Portland Police Bureau North Precinct Sgt. Greg Moore will field questions at BWNA’s next general meeting on August 11. Please e-mail your questions to me ahead of the meeting at President@BWNApdx.org so Sgt. Moore has time to research them.
Meanwhile, “Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street” in step with BWNA.