By Nutt
The neighborhood and community I have lived in has changed greatly in my twenty years of life. Cornfields, hayfields, woods and wetlands have become paved streets, cul-de-sacs, housing developments, and golf courses. Chanhassen, a sleepy little town, is now a major retail center with a Target store, a Byerly’s store and a mall.
My family has a long history in the Chanhassen-Excelsior area. My grandparents raised their family on Pleasant View Road near Chanhassen. My father worked on a neighboring farm and raised his family on Smithtown Rd. I have uncles and aunts and great aunts and cousins all over the area. All of my family enjoyed living in this quiet, agricultural area.
Where I used to play ball is now a housing development. My grandpa’s neighbor’s farm is now Near Mountain where there used to be cornfields, beanfields, and swamps. Where pheasants, rabbits, and foxes lived people now hit golf balls. The yuppies who live in Chanhassen last year tried to pass a law that said only real expensive houses could be built to keep the riff-raff out, you know. A few years ago a farmer that still lived near Chanhassen was fined because his rooster was crowing too early in the morning and was waking the yuppies up.
This is not a good way to live. It was better when there was room for farmers to farm, kids to party, and animals to live. Anybody who was willing to work could live here. You didn’t have to have enough money to build a billion dollar home. You could go fishing or swimming in Lake Minnetonka without being run over by a million dollar speed boat. I know I sound like my grandpa, but things are changing fast.