The Folsom Historic District In 2019 - The People, The Businesses, and The Neighborhood That Makes Up The District

As I begin to write this article each month, I try to find something that will stand as a theme for the 500 words I am entrusted with for this column. This particular month, as we start a new year, the natural theme would be the promise of the 2019 year and all the good things to come in the Historic District. Yet that is not what I’d like to write about this month. Instead, I’d like to write about infrastructure.

Any good system, one that operates with success and maintains forward motion, begins with a good infrastructure. What I’d like to do this month is to take off my hat and give credit to the people who are that infrastructure, those who make the Historic District a successful, thriving place.

The merchants, who fill the stores and restaurants, bringing merchandise and goods to our district each day, preparing their businesses with platefuls of optimism, are our foundation. They bring themselves, through thick and thin, to hang an open sign and hope that you will visit, support them, and in turn, continue to help the district thrive. They have risked much, and we are grateful for the risks they have taken.

The businesses who are not retails spots, but thriving businesses who have chosen to make the district a base for their businesses, are another tier in our small urban base. These are the people who pay rent, buy meals, and give the district the bustle of everyday activity that keeps it busy.

The property owners are another tier...those who have purchased long ago or just recently. All of those owners are part of the belief of the district, the willingness to make this a place of growth.

The neighborhood, our residential neighbors, are another special element in this little urban setting. The homes here are charming and quaint. Some residents have been here many years, others have moved in recently, striving to be closer to an urban settling without the downtown pressures. Having a charming neighborhood surrounding the district adds to the foundation of our place. We are happy to know each other and to be good neighbors.

Finally, the Folsom Historic District Association is a small group of all of those pieces of infrastructure who strive to help the district grow in ways that are forward thinking while still recognizing the roots from which we have grown. A genuine sense of family, community, good business practices, and well being are what guide the FHDA. It is their hope to keep the district grounded, with the same sense of optimism and hope that the very first seed was planted with.

My hat is off to all who make it work...thanks for your blood, sweat, and tears. Keep up the good work...the Historic District shows such promise in 2019.