La Mesa Centennial

Village Cleanup Off To An Ecumenical Start

LA MESA -- The La Mesa Centennial Village cleanup, an event spontaneously planned by some downtown merchants and scheduled for today, drew several dozen groups of people early Saturday who braved a constant drizzle to sweep, polish, remove gum and pick up trash in advance of Tuesday's Centennial kickoff.

Mayor Art Madrid and City Councilwoman Ruth Sterling joined groups from local churches and political supports and some opponents in taking on the cleaning task.

For the most part, people endeavored to put political issues aside. Cordial conversations between people who sometimes exchange harsher words were witnessed. There were handshakes and hugs between groups that are on either side of the debates about the future stewardship of Village development.

Frances Settle, a La Mesa Boulevard merchant, had a time conflict so she and Kelly Wieboldt of Unique Travel, started the cleanup early, targeting the sagging island where La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Avenue meet near the new Gingham restaurant.

They started trimming and painting at 6:30 a.m. and were greeted by Bill Jaynes, owner of nearby All Things Bright & British, who had prepared some warm wassail for the workers.

The passing of the wassail might be seen as a detente moment in local history. Jaynes and the recipients of his drink have been vociferously on opposing sides of the debate over the stewardship of Village's future (i.e. the Property Based Improvement District) debate.

But for this morning, with rakes and paint brushes in hand, all seemed to agree that sprucing up for Tuesday's Centennial kickoff was a unifying cause. Mayor Madrid was even photographed sweeping up the street and sidewalk in front of Maxwell Books, whose owner has been such a vocal critic of the mayor.

Metaphorically, the Centennial endeavors seem to be creating at least a temporary Pax La Mesa, though t-shirts that popped up during the cleanup showed the fissures remained beneath this cordial surface.

To enjoy a moment of civic peace, watch the prayer that began Saturday's cleanup in the video below.