I’ve come back to visit my roots and am staying in a friend’s home on Lower Swede Hill. I grew up in Jamestown, graduated from JHS, and then went off to college. Like most of my friends, I settled elsewhere. I’ve lived in Tacoma Washington since 1974 and visited Jamestown only infrequently. During this visit, I was dismayed at the empty downtown, abandoned houses, and crumbling manufacturing facilities. Jamestown is no different from thousands of small, once-prosperous American cities, be they timber towns, mill towns, mining towns, or farm towns. At one time they were wonderful places to live. I loved growing up in Jamestown during the fifties and sixties when the town was thriving.

The first few days of my visit were depressing, but then I began to see the potential of Jamestown. There are some wonderful neighborhoods in the city. I lived on Hotchkiss Street and it looks great. Jamestown has great architecture, much more interesting than the cookie-cutter burbs sprouting up in the West and the South. Even in the worst neighborhoods, I see well-maintained, lovely homes.

The city has acres of green spaces which is lacking in many booming cities of our country, much of this is where homes and factories once stood. Greenery, be it manicured or left to mother nature, is good for one’s soul. The Chadakoin River now runs free and clear from Warner Dam. I saw turtles and fish in the river, and osprey flying above. Yes, there’s a bit of trash in it and I’d check with the health department before I ate any fish from it, but it is not the industrial sewer it was when I lived here.

I went to the Library’s block party which was a hive of activity. The area is fortunate to have a strong library system. The municipal band still gives concerts in Allen Park.

The county is one of the loveliest places in America with rolling hills, lakes, and woodlands. If you want true wilderness, the Allegheny National Forest is a short drive away.

There are few counties that offer as much year-round recreation as Chautauqua County.

Jamestown has lost a lot, and much of it won’t come back. One thing that just about every place in America has lost is community. I recommend reading Robert Putnam’s prescient essay “Bowling Alone” to understand what has happened throughout America. When I was growing up most men were in service clubs and families attended lodge functions. It seemed that everyone was a member of a church. In the factories, workers grumbled and complained yet formed a bond. They had a sense of purpose and made quality goods. I worked at Dahlstroms in the summer where we made the Cadillac of elevator cabs.

A strong sense of community can offset the despair that settles on a city when its economy turns down. Community is something that doesn’t need prosperity, government services, or economic investment. It just takes a bit of willingness to get to know one another. My neighborhood in Tacoma has a great sense of community. It started a few years ago when one of the residents had a potluck barbecue out on his front lawn, and invited the neighbors. It has become a twice-monthly event and we’ve come together over a hundred times. We don’t talk politics or religion but joke around, discuss what’s happening in the neighborhood, and share our stories. We laugh a lot. I now host an outdoor winter solstice party around a bonfire that features Glogg made with spices from Peterson’s Farm Stand. – I enforce a two-drink limit – I don’t want my neighbors to wake up with terrible hangovers on December 22nd. Now we know each other, help each other, and trust each other. It was so simple yet it has increased the quality of our lives immeasurably.

If I lived in the place where I’m vacationing, I’d buy a bunch of hot dogs and marshmallows, set up a barbecue on the vacant lot across the street, invite the neighbors to bring some food to share, and just talk with one another. I’d eventually try to get the conversation focused on how we can help our neighborhood. I’m sure we’d begin to care about our minuscule part of the planet and get together to make improvements, like picking up trash in vacant spaces. There’s much neighbors can do to improve their blocks. As blocks improve, the city begins to look better. Despair can give way to pride.

Jamestown, because it is a small city, can build back its sense of community. It will take time, but it is a way for even the poorest residents to contribute to the rebirth of Jamestown. There are too many good things here and it would be a shame to let the city languish.

David Olson is a Tacoma, Wash., resident and a native of Jamestown.