Community Ties That Bind

In the early 1970's "a proposed highway--Interstate 170--was changing the landscape. Originally planned as an east-west expressway that would run directly through the city, most of the plans fell flat--and so did the neighborhoods that stood in the highway's path. The city bought out the homeowners in the Franklin-Mulberry corridor to make way for a highway that never went anywhere....Despite losing their homes to fizzled urban planning, the bonds that West and the others formed back then are still strong. So solid that today, 35 years later, they're getting together for 'The Old Neighborhood Gang Reunion'....The four acknowledge they feel some resentment toward the city for forcing them to move--particularly for a road that was never fully constructed....But ill will about actions taken by city leaders 35 years ago isn't the driving force behind today's reunion. The former childhood friends say they miss the fun they used to have and just want to catch up."