Some thoughts from the Chair….

June 7, 2023

30-something years ago, I was a young adult who wanted a place to live in Spokane. I moved into a cute Craftsman house on Illinois Ave. As time passed, I got married and had a kid, and before I knew it, the three of us were walking every school day over to Logan Elementary, occasionally stopping at Donut Parade for a maple bar or a blueberry cake.

Eventually, our kid grew up and left home, and it was time to do something I’d been wanting to do for a while — join the Logan Neighborhood Council. “You don’t have to move to live in a better neighborhood,” Spokane says, because if we have a vision, we can work towards making it happen. Because I love my house on Illinois. I love the neighbors I know. I want to see more great kids go to Logan Elementary and grow up to do neat things… and enjoy an occasional donut along the way.

Except I was one of the rare people actually joining the Logan Neighborhood Council. The people I’d been meeting through the years had retired, or left to care for family members, or stepped away from the Council to run for City Council. Many others left Logan for good. Over the decades, I watched my homeowner neighbors sell to investment firms that turned the homes into rentals. Eventually, I was afraid of getting to know my neighbors because I was too sad to see them leave when the rent got too high.

Some on our Council join because they’re passionate about one civic issue. I joined because we need each other. We need people to laugh with, people to cry with, to debate with, to help us see things from a different angle. We need to speak, we need to be heard, and we need to listen. We need to care about something outside of our own individual existence.

And we need some fun! At our first meeting, I’m announcing some things we can all enjoy together this summer, and asking for ideas for fall and beyond. I love board and card games, I love biking, I love singing and dancing. Maybe there’s something you like that you’d like to share with someone new. Maybe you’d like some new acquaintances. Maybe you want to just hang out with some people who think Spokane doesn’t suck. If this sounds pretty good, come on over to our next meeting.

Thanks, neighbor!

Janean Schmidt