You can take the B out of Maplehurst, but you can't take the Maplehurst out of the B

Last summer, I moved away from Maplehurst. I had lived there the two years after I graduated from college, two very fun and important years.

I've written a lot about the dire situation there. It was hard to live there as a tenant because you saw the damage of the buildings and couldn't do much about it. You also knew the good things about the neighborhood were at risk, too, but you tried to enjoy them while you could.

One night while living there, I decided to take a photo shoot of the beautiful Dogwood tree outside of my apartment. I had this funny feeling that after I left, some future crazy owner would cut it down.

A few weeks ago, a current tenant in Maplehurst told me I should come by and see the trees the new owners had started to cut down. As I drove up Poplar to Maplehurst, I looked for my tree. The current crazy owner had cut it down.

They had cut down some others too. Some people who lived there had started an impromptu boycott against the men cutting down the trees, which in turn caused some of the new owners to come over and explain things.


The suited men stood and rationalized their decisions to the young crowd that had gathered outside of the Kristopher apartment building. They said they were cutting down trees that were a threat to the buildings and to people. It did and didn't make sense. As they were talking, men with chainsaws began hacking away at a large Magnolia tree.

"What's wrong with the Magnolia?" The crowd asked.

"Oh. We just want to get a good view of the pretty buildings we have here. They're only trimming them."

I realized nothing was going to stop what they were doing. They owned the property after all.

***

It's been about a month since then. I heard recently how terrible things have become there. I went last night to see it for myself. They took down so many trees, and have hacked away at several others. The Magnolia they were "trimming" isn't really a Magnolia anymore.


I ran into a friend that lives there. She told me there is construction all day long, starting at 7am and that the men working have actually moved into her apartment building. As they carried cases of liquor into their apartment, she kissed the charm and peace of Maplehurst goodbye.

***

Something I wanted for Maplehurst while I was there was a neighborhood association so tenants' voices could be heard. But that's the thing about living in Maplehurst. You decide to move there based on your attraction of the tall unwieldy trees and old buildings. You begin to think that, because you think it's a magical place, everyone else must too. The threat of it being destroyed is always there, but you begin to walk around with your shoes off and you call up to your neighbors' windows to ask when they're going to come out and play. And you go night swimming in the Maplehurst pool after biking from downtown. You're too busy living while you are there to form any kind of organization. Then it's time to move because your ceiling is crumbling away a little too much. And nothing ever gets better.

***


To me, it was great to see that crowd of Maplehurst dwellers stand up against the trees being cut down. It is a rare thing for students to care about the longevity of good things in Knoxville. To most students, Knoxville is like a vacation. They're here to have a fun time, but they're packing up when it's over.

I've seen a lot of good people move from Maplehurst, and they continue to leave. I can only assume this is what the owners want in order to prepare for a new crop of inhabitants who won't mind the changes (because they won't know them as changes).

I applaud every effort to preserve what is there. Of course! But at the same time I mourn what will be lost. Time will tell, but it could be the beginning of the end of the free spirit Maplehurst has struggled to hold onto. It's on to something more ordered and polished, something I just didn't want right after college. This is just how it goes, I am told.


joe plays the fiddle by my dogwood tree, spring 2009