Preserving the past, embracing the future

From the Gloucester Daily Times
Editorial

October 26, 2006
Gloucester has been a tourist destination for more than a century. But it became part of the national consciousness in an unprecedented way last week, thanks to first lady Laura Bush.

Bush, speaking at the Preserve America Summit at the U.S. Customs House in New Orleans, used Gloucester as an example to challenge the entire nation to preserve its cultural heritage and historic structures. That kind of preservation comes at a cost, she said, but she quoted Mayor John Bell in saying Gloucester’s history is "its soul."

"Gloucester people are ... preserving priceless icons of their history - and America’s - because, as Mayor Bell explains, they ‘have no other choice,’" she said.

This is something in which residents and their leaders should take justifiable pride. While things like the Fishermen’s Monument, the schooner Adventure, the Paint Factory, the Maritime Heritage Center and one of the nation’s oldest authentic fishing ports are sometimes taken for granted as part of the local scene, they are indeed national treasures. St. Peter’s Fiesta and other local events have become cultural landmarks. They are among the reasons Gloucester is one of 550 cities nationwide to have earned Preserve America status, which makes it eligible for federal grants. First, about $140,000 will be used to create signs to help tourists find their way around the city.

The first lady’s speech should also be a time for local reflection on how best to balance the iconic treasures of the past with the reality of the need for survival into the future.

Most Cape Ann residents and those throughout the region fervently hope that Gloucester will always remain a fishing port. But fishing is no longer the dominant economic engine of the city and is expected to decline further with stiff federal regulations.

It is wise - in fact it is crucial - for city leaders to be considering changes to current restrictions on use of the harbor to marine industry uses. It should be expanded to include uses that will accommodate the cruise ship lines that have already brought thousands of new tourists to the city. That economic infusion can make up for some of the losses sustained from the decline of fishing (emphasis added).

The city should carefully consider new development but should not reject it outright because it doesn’t fit the model of the city’s past identity.

Gloucester must continue to preserve its past. But it must not only preserve its past. It must embrace its future, or that future will be bleak, indeed.