Change Can Be a Long Time Coming

Do we notice things that change slowly?

I don’t mean the weather, or anything that changes abruptly or over a short time. I’m thinking of changes to our surroundings, from neighborhoods to the entire world.

As I ride my bike around town I’m often surprised how things change, including the area of Red Wing I grew up in which is the basis for this column. The neighborhood of my youth is between the bluffs along East Seventh Street. It has seen a lot of changes. I rode to the top of Memorial Park recently and was reminded how nice the park looks today. The views are gorgeous.

Back in the 1960s, I had direct access to the park from the backyard of our East Seventh Street house so I knew what it looked like. It had fallen into disrepair. But I didn’t know any better and thought that’s what it always had looked like. The park, like most public property, goes through cycles of upkeep, based on funding. It mostly received token updates until the city and volunteers made this happen.

Equally improved is the visitor experience at He Mni Can-Barn Bluff. In my youth there were no well maintained trails. I don’t think climbing it was publicly promoted although we did it with abandon. Now there’s a trail system, steps and a parking lot which is full on many weekends.

Don’t tell anyone but my brothers and I rode dirt bikes all over each bluff. We rode on the “Baja” trail in the south part of Memorial Park and across the top of He Mni Can-Barn Bluff. We also rode snowmobiles on Memorial. All of this took place long before serious efforts were implemented to improve the bluff parks and better control access.

There’s more to come for He Mni Can-Barn Bluff with the trail extension to Colvill Park. Even Colvill Park has had major improvements over the recent past.

Street Cred

My old neighborhood looks better today because of the complete overhaul of East Seventh Street and the sidewalks. And that often instills a pride factor so I expect to see some home improvements along that stretch.

Red Wing is a mature Minnesota community, locked in by bluffs and the Mississippi River. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t change. But any significant expansion to the city such as a manufacturing facility or housing development would need space. That won’t be downtown.

During my lifetime here, the hospital has moved out further as has the high school. The oldest elementary schools have been repurposed as student counts shrink. One has been for sale.

If you had been away from Red Wing for many years, probably the first thing you’d see coming in from the west is how Burnside has changed. Red Wing’s annexed township, now called West Red Wing, has become our main shopping area. Big box stores and their tag-along businesses have no choice but to build out there.

I’m not sure what happened with development along the Highway 58 entrance to town. When the high school moved out there, the area was expected to boom with housing and businesses. Some have tried and failed. It seems inevitable, though, that the area will grow.

A Charming, Changing Downtown

The downtown itself is always changing. We thought it was convenient in the old days to have a pharmacy, hardware store, bakery, grocer and more right within short walking distance. Now, most of that is available in just one big box store.

The charm of downtown being a historic river town with its sturdy limestone buildings is already baked-in. Yet the biggest competitors are probably nearby river towns that offer a lot of the same things. It’s the downtown businesses and local events that make it unique.

One of the complaints I heard about Red Wing over the years is that it never changes. What that probably means is that it doesn’t keep up with the faster changes in large metropolitan areas. Kids notice that. We certainly did when we were young. But we’ve all seen the good and bad of rapidly growing areas.

It’s often argued that parks are far less important than other infrastructure like roads. Of course. But parks can tell us a lot about the quality of life a city offers. They are often one of the first things looked at before considering a move there.

What will the parks say about Red Wing in 50 years?