I appreciated the Times article on the upcoming transformation of the Graafstra properties (Graafstra Farm to be developed into Haller Point, Oct. 17). Mr. Graafstra deserves a good retirement after decades of very hard work, but it is sad to see the farm go.
As a consolation, the proposed village will surely be more palatable than say, the Lakewood Commons aberration. And the inclusion of a park in Graafstras lowlands would indeed be a nice touch.
I was particularly moved to hear that the projects planners intend to keep his great old barn. Suburban developers like to keep namesake mementos of what they have replaced a lone apple tree where an orchard once stood, a drainage ditch where a salmon-supporting brook once gurgled.
Hopefully, there will be a memorial erected in front of the barn, outlining its place in the valleys agricultural history. It should be remembered that this area was once one of the Pacific Northwests top producers of dairy products, with trains picking up shipments in Arlington.
The plaque could be in the form of a shiny milk can, sticking out of the new asphalt like Miss Liberty reaching out of the sand at the conclusion of Planet of the Apes.
You might be able to guess by now that Id prefer a working dairy and a pasture full of cows over a gaggle of upwardly mobile, Green thinking, Volvo driving, former Californian-by-way-of-Seattle villagers any day.
Unfortunately for the cows and I, those days have passed.
Steve Stav
Arlington