Preserving rural Millstone and the families within it

I have been saddened to read in the past several months the articles and letters about and from numerous longtime residents of Millstone who are making the tough decision to leave. It must be a gut-wrenching experience. When I moved to the area from Perth Amboy 25 years ago, I was really taken by the natural beauty and quality of life I found, and I still feel privileged to be able to make my home here. I can only hope that my family and I won't be faced with having to make a similar decision sometime down the road.

So as I read that so many "old-timers" find themselves of a mind to move on, it gives me pause and makes me wonder if things really have changed so dramatically in recent times that these folks start thinking it's time to go.

As is often the case in today's world, it is not easy to know what the current realities are until an issue finds its way to your doorstep and you have to work out a way to deal with it.

It occurs to me that the families who have been here for many generations represent a unique and irreplaceable facet of life here, and that we newcomers owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us. After all, these citizens helped to define and maintain this little corner of the world that we discovered when we arrived here, and which we continue to enjoy today.

While we all share the admirable goal of preserving the rural character of Millstone and the surrounding area, open fields and stands of trees are only one element of that quality. It seems to me that an equally important aspect of the nature of any community is found in the people who reside within it. The old-line families, based on their singular knowledge and perspective of what a rural Millstone really was, represent a great resource in helping to guide Millstone into the future.

If there is any merit at all to these thoughts, how can we ever hope to achieve our preservation goals when so many longtime residents feel they are being pushed out the door? Seems like we should be looking for ways to encourage them to stay.

Tom Vash

Clarksburg