people + place

productIon notes

Haggard and Centripetal Forces

Apologies in AdvAnce for introducing a difficult word. But sometimes that word nails it.

The story of the American frontier can sometimes be viewed as the contention of two forces. One is the force for change, for movement, to leave the old and embrace the new. Horace Greeley bidding us, perpetually, “Go west, young man.”

We see this force shaping our history: the adventurousness of the frontiersman, the restlessness of the pioneer, the rugged individualism of the emigrant.

“The

The great Merle Haggard, a displaced Okie baking in Bakersfield, got it down in a song (lyrics above). Then there is a countervailing force, the urge to settle down, to coalesce, to concentrate, to band together. Build a home, put down roots, know a neighbor. Form a community of commonality, a place to stay. A place to remain. Call it, if you will, the nesting instinct.

In physics these two forces have technical names. The spinning out, the leaving force, is centrifugal force. The homing in, concentrating force, is centripetal force. And the early story of Longview, and in fact the entire Pacific Northwest, can often be viewed as the interplay of these two forces.

Centrifugal forces brought people to Longview. Centripetal forces keep them there.

The American Frontier Can Be Viewed As The Contention Of Two Forces

where we’ve Been • where we’re GoInG

The Long View project pairs history with modern context. To celebrate Longview’s 100th birthday, Columbia River Reader is expanding its monthly “People+Place” feature to contrast the historical “Then” with the contemporary “Now.”

“It’s important to look back and celebrate the past,” said publisher Susan Piper, “but equally important to track the changes that make us what we are today. How close are we to the founders’ vision? What remains? What’s entirely new?”

Thanks to tremendous community support (see Partner Spotlights, page 26), the Reader will present 12 months of “People+Place Then and Now” reportage, then combine and expand these features into a commemorative book. The Long View: A Planned City and

America’s Last Frontier written by Hal Calbom, with a foreword by John M. McClelland, III.

The Reader is coordinating with the Longview Centennial Committee, led by Reed Hadley, to publicize civic activities and celebrations (see Centennial Countdown, page 27) and will host a Book Launch Gala June 30, 2023.

Then And Now

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