The Pacific Northwest consists of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia and is defined by regions of culture and architecture.  Long before 1850, about 10,000 years ago to be more specific, Indians lived a hunting-gathering life-style.  One of the three identified types of Indians was the Coastal Indians who sported two types of structures: the Chinook house and the Alaskan house.  The Alaskan house was, of course, built just north of the Pacific Northwest.  Indians saw the land as sacred whereas the white people who came to America and transformed the landscape into farming saw the land as a utility.  This Utilitarian outlook was, perhaps, derived from the bible, a misleading document that seems to justify the destruction of the planet.   

Before the time of the railroad Captain Cook initiated maritime fur trading without permanently settling.  Then in the early 19th century permanent pods were established including the Hudson Bay Company.  After 1834 missions were organized in order to convert the Indians to Christianity.  The nature of the Methodist Church is of domination, whether it be over land or over people.  Agriculture was the culture in Oregon but in Washington and British Columbia trees were the most important resource and was the basis of the economy.  Cities in California such as San Francisco were built out of lumber from Seattle and Victoria.

The Oregon Territory (Oregon and Washington) had a Donation Land Law in order to get people to come to the area and develop the land.  In an agreement to occupy land for a minimum of four years, 320 acres were given to each person or 640 acres per married couple.  The Donation Land Act was credited with bringing 30,000 people into Oregon before its expiration in 1855 but was criticized for having unnecessarily isolated early pioneers.  Portland was helped in the beginning by the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, which provided waterways for boats to transport people and goods. 

It’s believed that familiar things in new places make people comfortable.  The settlers of Portland brought with them the house types and designs they were used to and comfortable with.  The New England salt box, the Mid-Atlantic Type House, the Scottish House Type, and the Southern House Types all made an appearance in the early days of Portland.  Andrew Jackson Dowling had a fondness for the picturesque style and tried to develop a national taste and so gothic architecture became popular.  Dowling even preferred “picturesque” (or gothic) over “beautiful.”  

Ben Holladay (controller of the Oregon Steamship Company) completed the beginning phase of the Oregon and California Railroad line in 1872 that spanned from Portland all the way to Roseburg (located in the southwestern part of Oregon.)  Henry Villard who started construction of a railroad along the south bank of the Columbia was aiming to get the region connected nationally as opposed to Holladay’s desire to strengthen trade up and down the Pacific Coast.  In 1883 Villard, who had gained control of the Northern Pacific, was responsible for the first transcontinental connection to the Pacific Northwest.  In the 1880’s and 1890s Richardsonian Romanesque architecture dominated building styles because eastern railroad companies promoted such construction. 

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Prosper Texas…Why So Popular

  

While some of this is old hat to some of you Prosperites,  I recently wrote this article for publication on certain websites in an effort to attract  potential homebuyers from out of state…except the title was Why Live in Prosper Texas.  And, by the way, Prosper soon will have its very own Starbucks.

 

  

Why are so many people talking about Prosper Texas as a place to live?  One reason is its proximity to Dallas now that the Dallas North Toll road is open from downtown Dallas to Prosper…a 36 mile treck.  And, Prosper is now only 10 minutes to Frisco, 20 minutes to McKinney, and 30

 minutes to Denton and 35 minutes to Dallas!  A new Prosper Awareness campaign to be launched this spring is named “All Roads Lead to Prosper”.  But proximity is only one reason.

  

The Town of Prosper is an attractive town in the northern part of Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.  It is a place that is very desirable to live, work and play.  When residents are asked what it is that they like about Prosper, it is usually the rural character of the Town with ample open space that brought them here in the first place.  The country feel is also an extremely important quality of the Town that residents wish to see retained and preserved. The current population is about 7100…only 2500 five years ago!

  

So, Prosper has the country feel but is only 15 minutes away from all the shopping, restaurants and entertainment you would want.  Most residents commute to work in an urban setting but come home to the “country”.  Prosper is blessed with peace and serenity and as our mayor says “people wave to you as they pass in their car or pick-up.”  No traffic jams, honking horns or drive by shootings.  And, on that note, Prosper boasts a brand new Fire House centrally located with all the high technology available.  Its Police Department recently expanded and is now ready for the population growth predicted for the next decade.  For more information on Prosper go to http://www.prospertx.gov

  

  

Another important reason people are moving to Prosper is the outstanding school system…3A School District, A TEA “Recognized” District.  Its four elementary schools are all rated Exemplary.  A new 21st century high school will open in the fall of 2009.  The $96 million new Prosper High School facility has a student capacity of 1500 students. For more info on the schools go to http://www.prosper-isd.net/

  

  

We do not want to leave out Friday night football as another reason to live in Prosper.  The Prosper Eagles beat the Waco La Vega Pirates at the Texas Stadium to win the 2008 Class 3A Regional II Division 9 state finals!

  

I didn’t mean to put football ahead of God.  However, Prosper has some incredible churches.  Its masterpiece would have to be the Prosper United Methodist Church located where else but on Church street.  Built in 1926 this church is absolutely beautiful with hardwoods, hand made wood pews, a giant ceiling and stained glass throughout. It looks like, smells like and sounds like a church.  Prosper has 2 Baptist churches, an Episcopal church (not built yet), a Presbyterian church and the Lighthouse Community Church.

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Prosper boasts its own private Gentle Creek Golf Club ranked 12th in Texas last year.  Designed by D.A. Weibring Gentle Creek Golf Club is absolutely beautiful with a huge lake in the middle, rolling hills, trees and wild life.

  

We have left the best for last.  Prosper has the most wonderful selection of custom homes in several different subdivisions.  Many have 1 acre lots which are hard to find in the Metroplex.  Some of the most exquisite places to live are Gentle Creek, Whitley Place, Whispering Farms, Saddle Creek and Whispering Meadows.

  

So, what’s not to like about Prosper Texas? 

Basically prior to the coming of the Europeans or more aptly introduction of Western education in Nigeria there were basically two distinct education systems in Nigeria namely the Indigenous system and Quoranic type. Formal or Western education was brought to Nigeria perhaps in 1843, a system which added to the already existing two bring the systems to three. Indigenous system entailed becoming apprenticed in crafts and services in leather works, painting, medicine etc passed down in families. Skills are acquired in this way and utilized. Quoranic system had to do with Islamic education in which a child learns the whole lot of the chapters of the quoran usually by rote and said his prayers regularly as required.

 

Western education in Nigeria as introduced by the Europeans mainly was all about the spread of Christianity and was thought useful and important to evangelism which appeared to reign supreme in the hearts of these Europeans other than the much desired education by Nigerians. Perhaps the Europeans were of the opinion that the combination of education and evangelism was a necessity in achieving their aims.

 

The spread of western education was successful in the southern part of the country were curiosity to learn was considered very high. In the forefront of the introduction of this western styled education were Methodist Church of Scotland Mission, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the Roman Catholic. These missionary worked so hard to spread western education particularly in the south. In the north the difficulty of efficiently planting western education was considered not very smooth because the region had already deeply rooted in Islamic education and a host of other reasons, still the missionaries continued to put in their efforts. It should be noted that Islamic education was delivered under the tutelage of Malams and scholars.

 

Some people have argued that the system of education as handed down by the Europeans was ultimately aimed at merely producing Nigerians who could only read and write and no more. They further argue that the subjects taught in majority of the elementary schools such as Scripture, English Compositions, English Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, Music, Singing, Reading, writing, Dictation, and sewing (Fafunwa, 1974) Prof. Babs Fafunwa may not share this idea though.

 

It held that the combinations of subjects like these will produce nothing of teachers, Court clerks, Interpreters etc. These may not be a misleading idea anyway but I wish to state that there were other militating factors on the part of Nigerians such as unwillingness to send their especially girls to school. This is still exhibited in some parts of Nigeria today.

 

There is no doubt however that one needs to commend these early European missionaries who left their countries and tirelessly established these schools even though certain drawbacks may have undermined these gestures in so many ways.

 

On the 25 January 1976 the Federal Government of Nigeria acting on the idea or advice of Alhaji Yakubu Adamu the Executive Chairman, kano State Primary Education Board changed from the former 7-5-3 system of education to 6-3-3-4 systm. In 1982, the same Nigerian Governent established the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and senior secondary School (SSS) dividing the system into two i.e. junior and secondary the same Nigerian government argued was aimed at awarding certificates after the first three years of junior school and second years of senior schools. It is however very clear that the Federal Republic of Nigeria erred when it suddenly jumped into the system.

 

Till Today I am yet to see any junior secondary school “graduate” awarded with a certificate in search of job or further educational pursuit. This system will hurriedly replace the West African GCE ‘O’ Level in 1989 is nothing but effort to produce nothing. It is no news that our standard of education has fallen completely to the ground with the Nigerian government fast neglecting the education sector. Public schools are rotting away and now declared a no go area in the minds of the people and by the people.When Nigerian graduates are not employable (Prof. Charles Soludo) How is the system introduced by the Nigerian Government comparable to that operated by the early European Missionaries?

 

Nigerians are now getting accustomed to the establishment of private universities too expensive for the children of the common masses who require education. Church owners in Nigeria have joined the race too. It is now the race to establish, control and spin money using universities. Many of these universities are no go areas for the poor masses. So the question again is who are these universities established for? When Nigerians see these universities and run to Ghana we start asking ourselves what is wrong with these big expensive universities.

 

The Nigerian Government needs to do something about it fast before it gets too late because when education becomes out of bounds for its citizens, the citizens will choose nothing but ignorance. Early European missionaries did better and deserve our praise.