South Clinton: The Death Of A Neighborhood

Big tip of the hat to Jerry Goedkin for pointing this out to me.

Dr. James R. Fishr, Jr. is an organizational psychologist, organic chemist and author of a number of books. He is also a Clinton native and expresses eloquently the tensions in the city. Do go read the whole thing, The Death of A Neighborhood

You look like you're lost, sir," said a stout female security officer, as she left her vehicle with the large letters “ADM” on the vehicle's door.

"No, I'm not lost. I'm seeing how you have destroyed the neighborhood of my birth."

In an officious manner, obviously feeling duty bound to fulfill her appointed role, she replied, "I'm sorry to tell you, sir, but you are now on private property."

"That is sad," I said as I put my car in reverse, hesitating to touch the button to automatically roll up my window. Turning her back to me as she returned to her vehicle, I could hear her say, almost to herself: Yes, it is, isn't it?

...

Two sets of ironies come to mind in the "Death of a Neighborhood." One is that a disproportionate number of my friends who grew up in South Clinton have either died early in life, or have suffered from incurable diseases. It causes me to wonder if the climate of the community was a factor. If so, they would be better off living elsewhere. My friend still living in South Clinton suffers from cancer. She has fought valiantly to deal with it without complaint and would never think of blaming her condition on the location of her home.

Another irony is that were it not for the Clinton Corn Processing, then the name of the company, I would not have had a chance for a college education. I worked for five summers at Clinton Corn while acquiring two degrees. Indeed, Clinton Corn, then changed to Standard Brands, Inc., was my first employer as a chemist in research and development under Dr. Newton. Nor would I have been able to enjoy the professional life I have experienced were it not for this summer place of employment.