For the Locke post, I didn't necessarily choose the most recent or most popul
ar news story. I chose something a bit closer to me that I thought related to Locke well.
ar news story. I chose something a bit closer to me that I thought related to Locke well. I read a letter to the editor at the Joliet Herald News from December 27, 2006 written by fifteen-year Joliet resident, Kurt Bihler. His letter focused on Joliet's Pilcher Park and the flowing artesian well within its confines. The artesian well at Pilcher Park flowed tirelessly since the 1930's and stayed a Joliet landmark for decades, until being capped and sealed around 2004. In his letter, Kurt says he had recently been out having dinner and two elderly ladies in the booth behind him were talking about how much they missed going to the flowing well. One of the ladies explained, "My son used to take me there every week to get my water, and now that it's closed, I never see my son anymore." He goes on to explain about talking to friends and neighbors that have lived in Joliet all their lives, taking them back to great memories at the well. This hits close to home for me. I was born and raised in Joliet. When I was growing up, my father and I went there every week and filled up our empty jugs and bottles. My dad called it "the water spot". It became part of me, as it did for so many thousands of other Joliet residents.
The well was capped and sealed approximately six years ago. The Park District claims there are various reasons it needed to happen. Officials claim pumps were worn out and constantly needed replacing, among other things.
Joliet Park District's Woodruff Golf Course is situated right next to Pilcher Park. One of the obvious components of golf course maintenence is watering. When golfers started complaining to the course managers that the course was just a little dry, they quickly realized the well had to go. The park district was not making any money from a free well, but they were making about $30 per round of golf. I hope the park district is happy. Hopefully Woodruff's fairways have never been greener and the golfers have never been happier. By chasing the money coming in through the golf course, they have erased a timeless piece of Joliet history.
By our observations and discussions in class, we know that water is one of the things in the world in which the possibility of ownership is debatable. Yes, I see that the well is on Park District property; but Park District property is also essentially public property. For me, this means it is a service for the community. Joliet residents became so accustomed to having this resource that it feels unfair to be taken away just like that; especially for that reason. It is not as though the Joliet Park District was struggling financially; there are three public golf courses in town, Woodruff being the least popular. Despite my thoughts on ownership of property and the public element of Park District property, I know the Park District owns Pilcher Park. And by virtue of the fact that the well is on their land makes it theirs; however, I do feel there is some subjectivity to this. This water was seen as the community's water; nobody owned it. Shouldn't the history and signficance of this place pull some weight in deciding whether it stays or goes? Not if profits increase if it goes; there's no question about it. Joliet has several historic sites; apparently this one wasn't historic enough to be kept around. But it was historic to the people, and those who knew and loved it will never forget it.
Overall, it's the Park District's land and that's all there is to it. I bet they're really hoping we all go run out and buy a set of golf clubs.
Nice post, refreshing to read a more personal blog post. I completely understand where you are coming from about the well being a "special" place for the community to gather. I understand that there are traditions and relationships that are ruined over this issue.
ReplyDeleteFor Locke though, with his stong ethos of industriousness, I believe he would want the well to be used in the most efficient way. If that means getting rid of the well or using the well to make the golf course greener therefore making more proift, Locke would approve. He never mentions much about emotions and the rights of communnity and tradition. He is focused on making property one's own by adding labor/value to it. It is the right for the town to do what they want with the water/well because they own it by laboring the land to retrieve the water from the earth.
This is an unfortunate situation, and I was not trying to be cynical. I hope you can see the relation to Locke that I am getting at!
This is a very interesting article and it brings up a debate similar to those that we discussed in class. I believe what debate you are pointing out is whether it is right to put a stop to a free public service just so the grass at the golf course is a little greener. I agree with you that it is wrong to seal up a well for the sake of greener grass at the closest golf course. That water-well seems to have a place in many peoples hearts who used it to acquire the water they need on a weekly basis. I believe Locke would not be happy with what the park district did. His ideologies were focused on labor and it seemed through this article that the people of Joliet were using the water-well properly so it should not have been taken away. Its not like the people were misusing the water from the well and it wasn’t like they were preventing others from using the well. The people were using it to acquire what they need, water. I also don’t see a reason for closing it. Did closing the well actually cause greener grass? Did closing the well cause sales at the golf course to go up? These are questions to ask but I really don't see how closing this well could have helped the lives of anybody in the district. This well probably should have never been closed and it makes you wonder if the water companies of Joliet stepped in and wanted to close this well to increase their profits.
ReplyDeleteYou put your jug in the water and pull it out, you've just done labor and made what's in the jug yours. This is a direct example out of Locke's own writing and it works so perfectly with the article you have. If work is being done and the well is being put to use how can you eliminate its existence and not see that it's destruction has stolen this from people. It's true that through its elimination the golf course has now been able to maintain it's water supply and fairway but I don't believe this was the route that should have been taken. If anything there should have been a solution found for both to exist and for both to compliment one another, because there should never be an elimination of something in favor of another.
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