We built this city on Rock n Roll (remembering the past) 4.5.02

I was recently reminded of just how difficult it is to run a city. Two weeks ago, I bought "Sim City 3000 Unlimited" for the old computer. Since that fateful day, I have spent every waking hour devoted to the pursuit of making Ho Chi Greg City a Pacific paradise.
I have laid every inch of pipe that can be laid on that island. I built the schools, roads, police stations, firehouses, lured industry and commerce all while keeping the environment in mind.
When my residents dedicated a statue in honor of Jerrett-san, a single tear of joy escaped from my eye as I realized it had been worth the sacrifice I had put into this city of approximately 70,000 residents (give or take 5,000 depending on if the UFOs have attacked recently).
It is hard building a city and making it last because everything looks rosy early on. You set up shop and people come running. A little civilization is better than nothing.
As the years roll on, people get greedy and complacent. Things become more complicated. Crime rates increase, educational needs change. Once supportive and proud citizens become spiteful and disloyal. You open a road to your neighbor to aid commerce and 25 percent of your population moves to the big city.
When does the hurting stop? Never. Frankly, being a mayor is a tough gig.
I spent a good deal of time this week on another tough gig and that was looking into the history of Council Bluffs for our upcoming Visions of the Past special sections.
It promises to be an eye-opener to many who are unfamiliar with our history.
Why is our history so downplayed? Are our lives so full we don't need it? Has the past has been made irrelevant?
No way, pal. No matter how far we think we've gone beyond our past, it is still important.
How can we be expected to live up to the examples set by our ancestors if we don't even know who our ancestors were? How can we avoid the pitfalls of ages gone by if we ignore them?
DeLong, Mynster, Marks, Bregant, Bayliss, Dodge, DeSmet, Young. All names that should mean something to every living soul who ever walked the streets of Council Bluffs.
History is a touchy subject with me. Not world history, not the history of Western Civilization, but the history of our town because I learned next to nothing of it in school.
Buttloads of American history were to be had. I remember thinking about how cool just about every other part of the country was but ours. Maybe once or twice a history teacher would mention Council Bluffs used to be a place people drove through to go someplace cool like California. No context, no perspective. Just the idea. If you want a good life kid, you better follow those people.
If I were discover now that an entire week of my primary education was ever spent on local history, I would drop dead immediately from shock.
As a result of this oversight, I have pretty much wandered about in the wilderness wondering who I am and where I come from and I am not alone.
Growing up, if you wanted C.B. history, you had to go get it from the library and most kids don't go a-learnin' all on their own. We assumed there was nothing to know about our city any way.
How wrong we were.
Local history should not be optional, it should not be a hobbyist's pursuit or the fascination of the eccentric. Our history should be ingrained in us. It should be that one thing we take with us no matter where we go.
This is not just a message for Council Bluffs, but the whole state of Iowa. If we want to keep people who were born and raised here from leaving, we need to give them an incentive. They have to know they have a future here, but just as important, they need to know they have a past here as well.
Our predecessors walked the earth like hairy-faced giants in bulky overcoats and stovepipe hats. They carried the weight of westward expansion on their gnarled shoulders.
They built this city on rock and roll, intestinal fortitude and maybe just a little gambling. They laid the tracks that stretched from here into the future with their bare hands.
In old photos, the men look stern, staunch and determined.
The women of the past had wide, child-bearing hips and iron constitutions. They could feed and clothe 12 kids of their own plus any neighbor kids whose parents happened to die of cholera or diphtheria. They baked bread, tended the chickens, milked the cows and still had the inclination to charitable works in their "spare time."
In old photos, they possess a beauty no makeup could improve and sport expressions that explain why the men were so stern, staunch and determined.
In many ways, our town has fallen. I may act like a booster most times, but I'm not some fool blind to reality. There is less to do here now than there was during the Great Depression when Playland and Manawa were really jumping.
I am not an optimist, but neither am I a pessimist. I am pragmatic most of the time. Still, I believe in the ability of 60,000 or so people at any given time to improve their lot in life and pay homage to the greatness of their communal past by continuing to build their future.
- Greg Jerrett is a Nonpareil staff writer. His column runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He may be contacted at 328-1811, Ext. 279, or by e-mail at gjerrett@nonpareilonline.com.