The Little Township Of Hoquiam Recognizes The Future And Keeps Up With Its Neighbors

Think of all the small towns you’ve passed through in your life and all the forces large and small that shaped them into that town that you either linger in or speed through, depending on the kindness of time. Any small town is the sum of many decisions, often just everyday decisions, and this is the sound that culture makes. But sometimes it’s important for the people of a town to sit back and take a look at the direction their town is taking — and think about what kind of town they really want.

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.

Those changes would happen on the Hoquiam waterfront, a stretch of downtown running alongside the Hoquiam River. These kind of cultural centerpieces have done amazing things for cities such as San Antonio and Baltimore. Where once there was a bunch of running water, now there is shopping and dining and hotels and bars and a whole stretch of real estate just made for entertainment.

The waterfront hasn’t been much in vogue since the 1980s, but recent development interest has revived a discussion about how best to use that area. There is a lot to consider, because of course this is tax money going into any new project. It’s important to review options and decide, as a community, how best to use and area, and who best to head up that development — a decision that can’t be taken too lightly.

As a small town, Hoquiam has to decide whether it wants to stay small or make some growth decisions. It’s already got a rivalry with its larger neighboring city Aberdeen, and friendly competition often spurs some of the best kinds of growth, personal and otherwise. Sometimes the bigger towns get all the tax money, all the tourism, so if Hoquiam decides its identity is as a larger town, it may suddenly make the rivalry that much more interesting.

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.

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