Longtimers and newcomers both miss the way things were

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Longtime residents recall with more than a little fondness the way things used to be.

And they are joined by newcomers in wanting to preserve Maple Valley's ambience.

"I remember being a Bluebird in grade school and we marched down the Maple Valley Highway in the Maple Valley Days Parade," says Beckie Town, a lifelong valley resident. "We walked down the street and we knew everybody by name."

The town still holds the parade. But it's held on a side street because there's too much traffic to shut down the Maple Valley Highway. And the Bluebirds who march these days certainly couldn't hope to know the names of everybody lining the sidewalks.

Despite that, Town says, "I still like the feel of the town. I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else. The people are real friendly."

Sarah Clyatt feels the same way, even though she has spent much of the past two years in a bitter fight with the sewer district over plans to install a new sewer line down her street. Clyatt and some of her neighbors believe the line would destroy the rural character of their wooded neighborhood.

So they put up a banner that says, "This neighborhood stands united against destruction of sensitive areas and of rural lifestyle."

And they geared up for a court battle.

The dispute over the sewer line hasn't been resolved, but Clyatt says it has brought the neighborhood together. "We all know each other now and we all look out for each other in ways we didn't before."

Clyatt, who has lived in Maple Valley for 10 years, isn't any happier about the cars that speed past her home on Witte Road Southeast than she is about the proposed new sewer line.

Traffic-clogged roads during rush hours -- and speeding cars and trucks the rest of the time -- go against the grain of many residents. Police say they get a lot of complaints and are cracking down on speeders.

But Clyatt is generally impressed with how things are going in the fledgling city. "I really believe the city is doing a great job," she says. "This is a great community. The people here are very nice. I think it's perfect. Maybe not on my little corner, but it's perfect."

Don Eberhardt, who moved to Maple Valley from Portland five years ago, is sold on Maple Valley's livability:

"It's close enough to go to things like sporting events in the city, but still far enough out to have the country atmosphere. . . . When you go to the grocery store here, more people talk to each other."