Paul Turner: Need a party theme? Try 1974 in Spokane.

It wouldn’t be just an excuse to throw some midwinter parties.

Though there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

And no rational person would suggest this might solve all of Spokane’s problems. Or any of them, for that matter.

But it would be interesting if we had a cluster of “The Year You Moved Here” parties. Those who came to Spokane in 1974 could congregate in one venue on the appointed day. Those who moved here in 1993 would meet somewhere else. Et cetera, et cetera.

And Spokane natives could be free to decide which year’s celebration they wished to attend. The one for the year they got married? The year their first child was born? The year they moved back to Spokane?

OK, I’ve proposed this before. More than once, ages ago. And each time the reaction was the same.

Crickets.

Yet I still think this is a good idea. Here’s why.

Instead of focusing on the many things that divide us, these gatherings would be all about something we have in common. That is, a shared, specific frame of reference. Because it could be argued that 1969 Spokane and 2004 Spokane were different places. Just as 2017 Spokane and 2018 Spokane aren’t quite the same.

Those who moved here in the same calendar year will have a commonality of experience that could make conversation among strangers easy and free-flowing.

“Remember that restaurant on the skywalk that used to have a different next-door competitor every three months?”

“Remember what houses sold for?”

“Did you ever go to that stereo store downtown that was over by the Ridpath?”

“Remember going to movies up past the Y or in that space near the South Hill Trader Joe’s?”

“Remember the produce stand that was where Luna is now?”

“Do you recall when the Valley considered naming itself after Chief Joseph?”

“Remember when GU was in the Big Sky Conference for half an hour?”

There’s no end to that stuff, once you get started.

Not all the conversations at theses gatherings would have to be soaked in nostalgia. But chances are, remembering front-page news stories, big concerts and local sports highlights from your arrival year would make it easy to talk to someone with whom you might otherwise not have much in common.

And that’s the whole point.

People of different ages, income levels or political persuasions might find they have something to talk about if they all moved here the year Mount St. Helens erupted, the year Tom Foley became speaker of the House or during the final season of AAA baseball in Spokane.

Or maybe not. Some people aren’t into the news.

But who doesn’t enjoy talking about long-closed restaurants, quirky stores, drive-in theaters or now-defunct airlines that used to serve Spokane?

Still, the core of this fantasy – and I suppose that’s what it is – is not just year-focused local trivia. It’s about people who came here and made the choice to stay here.

I like the idea of strangers who share a coincidental connection discovering what else they might have in common.

The obvious answer for starters, of course, is Spokane. Sometimes actually living here tells you more than a consultant’s report.

For some of us, it’s almost always interesting to hear the impressions of others who came here at approximately the same time.

How has the city changed since then? How has it gotten better? Has it lost some of its charm? Are you more excited about Spokane’s prospects than you have ever been? What do we need to take the next step?

The Year You Moved Here parties would not be like high school reunions. Ideally, they would be sprinkled with multiple categories of diversity.

But if we didn’t come up with any great, penetrating insights about what makes Spokane tick, that would be OK.

Maybe it would be enough to reach a consensus about who was the best-looking local TV news anchor when you moved here in 1988. After all, parties aren’t supposed to be like doing homework.