Watching the Neighborhood

I grew up in a tight-knit neighborhood. We lived next door to Susie and “Tet” Tetter, and a small pond separated us from the Durwalds at the corner. Across the street was the Kovach family, and then the Perrys (the junior high principal), the Foits, the Holdaways , the Tollars, the Netters, and the Fritkzes. I’d walk through the Foit’s yard to get to the Yondt house, where my friends Sue and Pam lived.

I moved away from Klinger Avenue in September 1973, yet I still remember the families who resided in the houses on my street, and stay in touch on Facebook with some of the neighbors. Our moms didn’t play bridge together each week, nor did our parents share in cocktail hours or dinner parties, but we knew each other, and both the adults and the kids of the neighborhood were on the lookout for any unusual activity on our street.

Fifty years later, times have changed. We live on a similar street here in Ashland, as I estimate the socio-economic status to be close to that of my childhood neighborhood, but fewer people own their homes than did that cluster of families on Klinger Avenue. Children ride their bikes through the alley every day, and residents mow their lawns with regularity. I know a few of the neighbors, but during the day, not many of them are at home. Perhaps it has something to do with our long-time nomadic life as Salvation Army officers, but I’m not connected too well to my surroundings, and I’m guessing this may be true for other Ashland residents as well.

There was a drug bust on the block behind us a couple of months ago, but I only found out about it on the pages of the T-G, not through the neighborhood grapevine. I don’t think those living on my street know each other well enough to have each other’s backs, and so I was glad to hear about the birth of the Neighborhood Watch here in Ashland. It’s a simple concept: neighborhood residents commit to keeping their eyes and ears open, and to report any suspicious activity to the local police. Is there a broken window in a vacant house in the neighborhood? Does someone appear to be peering into parked cars on your street? Don’t assume someone else has reported it. Make the call and let the police check it out. Better to embarrass your neighbors for locking themselves out of the house than ignoring the potential signs of a break-in.

Are local police open for citizen input? Absolutely, suggests Lt. Gary Atling. “It’s our job. Nothing is too trivial . . . we take that seriously. And we teach the new officers to take all this stuff seriously and remember who they’re working for are the men and women in this community.”

There is a balance between rooting out the bad (being on the lookout for criminal activity) and building up what is good in our neighborhoods. Those who have studied cities both large and small know the value of both organized neighborhood watch programs and intentional community development activities. Since we don’t want our lives to be consumed by our James Bond or Austin Powers impersonations, we can also take time to chat over the backyard fence, lend a lawnmower, plant flowers, or clean up a vacant lot, for all of these activities contribute to the safety and security of a neighborhood.

Here’s my hope. Not only might we be on the watch for potential criminal activity, but let’s be open to the formation of neighborhood bonds that allow for an awareness of the signs of difficulty long before they evolve into criminal matters. It may not be the 50s or 60s, and neighborly connections today may not happen as naturally as the relationships of my childhood seemed to suggest, but investing on the street where we live can bring rewards far beyond increased property value. I like Lisa Miller’s counsel: “Don’t forget to leave your handprints on the ones you love and your footprints around the neighborhood.” Good advice for sure.