Another old friend died this weekend. And another old house was razed. By and by, we’re not going to even know our town it is changing so much.

The familiar faces are fading away like the sunset slipping into darkness as one after the other of that generation passes from our midst. So, too, the houses they lived in, one after the other being torn down for various reasons by new owners.

No one can stop change, but it does leave some of us dizzy and out of breath when four houses are leveled in one month. Pretty soon, old-timers in town say, there won’t be a 19th century house standing. There will be vacant lots where the old dwellings stood or there will be new structures rising out of the footprints. Either way, the streetscape is indelibly altered. So, too, the character of the town.

Up and down the Maine coast, communities have grappled with change. They have drafted zoning laws to help direct the changes occurring in their towns. They have, in some instances, declared moratoriums on new commercial buildings. They have enforced their comprehensive plans; they have regulated land use within their borders; they have protected waterfronts and public ways; they have hired professional planners and consultants.

And none of these measures has been undertaken without squabbling and controversy at town meeting time. No debate rages as intensely as one dealing with a town’s future – and how to shape it. Seems everyone has a different view of what his or her town could and should be, and the remainder of the folks merely want their town to stay the same.

For the latter group, that means keeping the fish wharves lining the coves. That means repairing the old barn so it doesn’t fall into itself. That means adding an ell or porch to the old place rather than moving into something new. That means limbing a tree, not felling it.

These folks don’t want to look at sepia-stained photographs in the historical society building that show them what their town used to be. They want to look across the street and see the gabled house or around the corner and spot the farmhouse and barn. They want to visit the same old store.

They want to recognize their town today, not remember it from yesterday.

The times, they are a-changing, the sad chorus joins in the refrain with Bob Dylan.