Historical March 1980 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
To the Editor: In the February issue of The Paper there was a letter from Joan Bender in which she mentioned a meeting at Grace Methodist Church about the Mexican Restaurant. She stated that the article in the December issue of The Paper was the first’ she had heard of the restaurant. There was a conspiratorial implication to her letter that, frankly, I resent and would like to address.
I would like to point out to Mrs. Bender that the proposal for the restaurant was announced at the Rosedale potluck dinner in June, the restaurant was discussed at length at the October meeting of Rosedale and that there was a special meeting in November specifically about the Restaurant. At the meeting with Grace Methodist Board it was pointed out that there was very little notice given of the special meeting in November. I am sure that was the case. It has been my experience in Rosedale that you are more likely to receive a flyer the day of a meeting than you are the week before a meeting. That is something I have complained about in the past, that I hoped to change when I became president. At every meeting we have had I have asked for volunteers to distribute flyers and, with the exception of Jim Dyer of the 6100 block of Kingsbury and the Irwin kids, who need 80 hours of volunteer service to graduate, no one has vol- unteered. At this point I am willing to conclude that late flyers is an inherent problem with volunteer organizations. Perhaps next year our project should be to organize a phone chain which, although it would be more complex, would probably be more efficient.
There is a larger issue involved in this controversy that I would also like to address. That is what the role of Rosedale Neighbors Assoc. should be in it. Previously, Rosedale has functioned as a social organization and as a forum for neighborhood concerns. I think there is a great deal of wisdom in that, for it allows neighbors to meet each other in a nonissue oriented setting and avoids the divisiveness that invariably follows when people are taking stands on either political or controversial issues. On the other hand, when Rosedale does not take a stand it allows self-appointed spokesmen to represent the neighborhood, whether their constituency represents twelve buildings or twelve blocks. At the meeting with Grace Methodist there was a great deal of talk about “the neighborhood” being solidly against the restaurant. It is not my impression that Rosedale as a whole is against the restaurant although certainly the blocks immediately adjacent to the restaurant arc. The people on those blocks have every right to express themselves, to petition and take legal recourse if they deem it necessary. However, without a vote of the association, I don’t believe they have a right to represent themselves to Grace Methodist or anyone as speaking for the neighborhood. I am sure that this is an issue that we are going to face again as we witness the commercial redevelopment of Skinker, Delmar, DesPeres and DeBaliviere. What our role is going to be in that redevelopment is something we seriously need to consider. Finally
I would like to say that we’re probably all still going to be here after the Mexican restaurant issue is settled and I think our first priority should be to maintain a healthy respect for each other’s opinions. After all, being a good neighbor has a number of dimensions. I may not want a Republican for Alderman but I would be more than happy to have him as a nextdoor neighbor if he kept his dog on a leash and his trash out of the alleys. Sincerely, Roy D. Bell President, Rosedale Neigh. Assoc.
Originally published in The Paper, March 1980.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1980_03.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
