Letters

4 cents worth from a Westside native
       I just read a copy of the Sept 15 Westside Pioneer at my parents' home.
       Let me give you a little bit of history of who I am. My grandfather purchased land on the Westside back in 1932. My dad still lives on part of what use to be my grandfather's land. I grew up on the land too. My grandfather moved to the Westside in about 1900.
       My first two cents, if you will, is about the ghetto-looking writing on the side of West Side Tattoo on 21st and Colorado. I must say my first thought after seeing that was, oh my gosh, the Westside is becoming a ghetto. It made me fearful a little to think of what kind of minds would draw such a thing in a Victorian area like Colorado Avenue. I was going to rent the building myself but it had a little too much space for my business. I now wish I did. I think of the Westside as my home. It kills me to see it going down.
       The second two cents I have is, I find it a shame that a business is having a hard time opening up there at Gil's Auto parts shop. Gil (Martinez) was such a nice and wonderful guy. As a kid my parents used his services a lot and found it to be a great thing to have in the area. Gil and my dad were friends for life. I found it wonderful to have a neighborhood business in the area. Just like all the horses and open space that are now long gone.
       Last but not least, I want to thank you for writing about my home church. I grew up in Bethany Baptist church. Here is a little bit more to know about Clifton Moser. Moser has married a lot of our family members. He married my parents and then in 1988 he married my husband and I. I was so honored to have him do it.
       It is so disheartening to see the Westside going down. I would have to say that from 23rd to 26th or 25th street it is really looking bad on Colorado Avenue. I have never seen it look so cluttered and with junky store fronts. Then it looks OK till you hit 21st and wham, there is this ghetto-looking art, as they call it, on the side of the old store. Most remember it as a carpet store but before that it was a grocery store. My mother told me she would go in there and buy the biggest pickles you had ever seen. What a great memory she has.
       Thank you for your time. Thanks for putting out the Westside Pioneer. There are still a few old Westsiders around but they are far and few. If you never met a native, well you can now say you have. Third generation native.

Judy Freeman