Remember the parable of blind men examining an elephant, each describing something very different from the others? Substitute Magnolia for the elephant and imagine we place sighted visitors at, say, Fishermen's Terminal, Discovery Park, Magnolia Boulevard, the railroad roundhouse, the Village and the center of Pleasant Valley. Here, too, each observer's description would be incompatible to the others, yet each true in its own way.
Suppose those visitors explored all of Magnolia, compared notes and compiled a brief description for other visitors. Here's what they might say:
"Magnolia is a distinct peninsula of more than four square miles, surrounded by water on three sides and having only three access roads. The hilly terrain provides both great mountain views and water vistas in nearly every direction.
Mostly residential, there are dispersed commercial areas and a light industrial zone. Magnolia has 11 parks totaling 581 acres as well as a tidelands park of 173 acres.
Magnolia's infrastructure includes three main schools and at least six specialized ones. There's a library, post office, fire station, 11 churches, a village center and a community center.
Additionally, there's an Indian cultural center, a marina, a golf center, a lighthouse, a military reservation and the busiest locks in the nation. Generally, physical structures are in good condition and well maintained."
Our hypothetical visitors would craft this description based on what they could see. Yet, they would miss all that can't be seen. What is invisible is equally vital to our quality of life: an infrastructure of social institutions that tie us together and nurture our satisfaction.
Consider these: the 11 churches have programs for their congregations; schools have their PTAs; there's an adult daycare and a senior activity center. Interest groups include our Magnolia Historical Society, Friends of Discovery Park, Alcoholics Anonymous, Heron Habitat Helpers and the Magnolia Bluffers.
Formal community groups include scouts and many organized Magnolia sports groups, from aerobics to fencing to volleyball.
And, of course, there are the numerous programs offered by the community center and Discovery Park.
Also not visible are: The Magnolia Helpline which, along with its partner the Ballard Food Bank, recently aided 200 Magnolia households with holiday goods, rent, utilities, transportation, daycare, single parent tuition and food. Located in Magnolia are the warehouses for Northwest Harvest - which serves 300 food programs in our state - as well as the Moyers foundation, which addresses the special needs of children.
Crime is not seen, nor is how we coalesce to respond to it. The Seattle Police Department categorizes Magnolia's frequency of crime as "average occurrence," but we are far from average in our civic response. Magnolia has 95 organized block watches, the most of any neighborhood in Seattle. Additionally, our collective concern created 54 organized Seattle Disaster Aid and Response Teams (SDART).
Not seen but distinctly heard in Seattle is our voice: the Magnolia Community Club, open to all, is a focus for information and action on both neighborhood and civic issues. The Neighborhood Advisory Committee legally represents our concerns in the Port's pier 90-91 area.
We're strongly represented in both the Magnolia-Queen Anne District Council and the City Neighborhood Council. The BINMIC association represents the shared interests of the Ballard Interbay North Manufacturing Industrial Center.
Less apparent than bricks and mortar are events we've institutionalized: The Magnolia Chamber of Commerce sponsors at least six annual community events, including Summer Fest and several holiday celebrations. Charitable events in Magnolia include Moonlight & Merlot, Bike the Bluff and Relay for Life.
The city also sponsors events here. City Light has provided, and volunteers have planted, 1,100 trees along the streets of Magnolia. The Department of Neighborhoods annually sponsors "Neighborhood Night Out." Biannually, a host of city departments and residents take part in a "Neighborhood Cleanup" in Magnolia, such as occurred this past weekend.
All of the above are the "invisible" Magnolia. Street signs typically designate visible features; perhaps "Welcome to Magnolia" signs should cite that which sight does not.
We like our neighborhood. Obvious natural beauty and an abundance of amenities are not the only reasons for this. We in Magnolia are satisfied because of what a visitor sees and what a visitor would not see. It's the invisible that nurtures our needs, implements our interests and hoists our humanity. Because we have both the physical and the social infrastructure, we're often content not to venture off our hill.
Steve Erickson lives, obviously, in Magnolia.[[In-content Ad]]
