OUR DIRT ROAD
Dear Supervisor Dvorchak, Members of the Town Board, and Highway Superintendent Briggs,
I am likely one of the only voices you will hear from who grew up on one of the dirt roads in question. I know you have received environmental and issue-based letters from our community, and I share these same concerns and am in complete opposition to the proposed chip/seal treatment of our beloved dirt roads.
I’m compelled, to make an emotional appeal from the heart. I ask you to open your heart and hear this letter, I ask you to read on.
The winding dirt roads I grew up on are part of who I am at my core. And I believe informed how I was raised.
Our dirt road preserved an older wiser way of living and a way of life worth protecting.
As a child here, I was free. Free to play in the woods and on the road, as it was quiet and safe to walk to the neighbors. My parents didn’t worry about cars driving fast, no one did, the dirt road was its own speed limit. I grew up with a deep connection to nature that rural communities inherently have.
As I grew up I came to recognize the uniqueness of my upbringing. As the world changed and developed, and roads around us were paved, Texas Hill Road remained the same. I began to feel immense gratitude, not just for the road, but for the people who continued to mend it and care for it, maintaining its original organic form, maintaining its history. Like a craftsman passing on his trade to a young apprentice, our road connects us to a wise way of living. And like many things worth preserving, it requires extra care.
Texas Hill Road is still my sanctuary. I split my time between Hillsdale and Brooklyn, where my husband and I work. This August we married where I’d always dreamt of marrying, in my parent's backyard.Our friends & family gathered together in my favorite place on earth, 333 Texas Hill Road. We took our wedding portraits, on the dirt road, the winding path that connects us to our past, to those who traveled before us, and to my dreams ahead. When we have children, we intend to raise them on this dirt road where they'll learn the wisdom I can’t teach. I dream one day, my children will play with the same freedom and connection to nature I found on our quiet country road.
We live in a time of fast-moving technology and innovations, and hastily made renovations. In Brooklyn there was a period when building developers gutted brownstones, removing fireplaces and ornate woodwork, turning historic masterpieces into white boxes. But now the brownstones with original historical details are the most valuable listed properties. Now there’s an understanding: the past has true value. I see a parallel to our dirt roads. Let the highway department that cares for our dirt roads be the craftsmen working with nature, rather than ones gutting it.
As a lifelong resident who will be here long after this issue is resolved, I beg you to stop. I would be dismayed if you did not listen to the voices of your residents whose lives you will affect. We choose to live here, not in spite of the dirt road, but because of it. Our dirt roads ensure the purity of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the forests that nurture our ecosystem. Not everything modern is right, and not everything old should be replaced.
In the 90’s, a tornado hit our road. By luck, our house was spared, but I continued to have a recurring nightmare, the tornado was coming. In the dream, I would pack my whole house, with my beloved winding dirt road, and take them out of harm's way. I’m sharing this odd picture because I feel it’s important to know that it’s not just an issue of practical arguments, for many, it’s emotional. It’s our way of life, and we ask you to protect it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
With hope,
Leandra Solovay
333 Texas Hill Rd.