Three decades ago, the city of Weed looked very different than it does today. That was before its largest employer collapsed, leaving the city struggling to maintain its identity and economy.
Now, a revitalization effort is underway to fill empty storefronts, and rebuild the city. But the efforts have been hampered, some say, by warring factions in the city and on the city’s council. But as the council recruits new blood, new plans have come forward.
With the help of just $400,000 of state grant money, and the invaluable help of volunteers from across the city, the city is undergoing a facelift of its downtown, hoping to attract more pedestrians, more traffic, and more business for the city. It’s being done with the help of a group called Weed Pride, which has worked to remove the barriers to success by bringing together the factions.
From the Redding Searchlight:
The town of Weed, population 3,050, is a work in progress, a small town trying to reinvent itself after the collapse of its major employer.
Employment at the lumber mill has shrunk drastically over the past three decades, to the point where only 150 employees work at the Roseburg mill today. That’s been accompanied by a typical scene in dying small towns: a Main Street littered with empty storefronts. There’s a bar, a furniture store, a bowling alley, a couple of thrift stores, and not a whole lot else. No hardware store, no coffee house, and only one restaurant, at the far end of Main Street.
“People who grew up here and come back are appalled by the condition of Main Street,” said Monica Zinda, a local artist and tile contractor heavily involved in the town’s fledgling revitalization effort.
Read the full article here.
