I grew up in a town -
heck, and entire state - that
relies heavily on tourism
and retirees for its economic
health.
While my hometown is
in Northwest Florida, rather
than that vast stripmall/
amusement/park/
nightclub we liked to call
“the other Florida,” the
town still catered to the
tourists who brought their
vacation-driven need to
spend and retirees who
brought handsome next
eggs.
The powers that be considered
the future of the
town, and decided to outsource,
relying on people
and money from other places
to keep its economic engines
running. The town
had a long tradition of outsourcing
its future, from
it’s earliest formation as a
Spanish colony (or is that
in-sourcing?) to the town it
had become when I left - a
town which eagerly planned
a waterfront sports attraction
while its teachers were
some of the lowest paid and
its students some of the
lowest performing in the
nation.
We had a saying in Florida:
Thank God for Mississippi.
The problem with outsourcing
your future has
become pretty evident over
the past year. It doesn’t
take much (just a few dozen
bank closures, is all) for
nest eggshells to get a little
brittle and for people to
start scaling back their vacations.
Suddenly, the restaurants
and theaters are
empty, while the car lots
are full. The newspaper
where I used to work - a paper
that had served the
community since the late
1800s - now operates on a
skeleton crew and can’t
even afford to run its own
press any longer. It sends
its pages 60 miles away to
be printed on a former competitor’s
press.
I hate to say it, but I’m
glad I’m not there to see
what’s happening. And I
hope that all the buzz about
supporting local food, services
and goods will take
root in my hometown, and
they’ll start investing in
their most precious local resource:
People and ideas
and ingenuity.
Ironically, as reports
from old friends back in
Florida have given me
cause for pessimism, things
here in my new home are
filling me with hope.
Things just keep getting
more interesting here.
Of course, there has always
been a lot to love
about this area. Beyond
baseball and the beautiful
countryside, there is Glimmerglass
Opera, the Fenimore
Art Museum, The
Farmers’ Museum and a
handful of smaller museums,
historical sites and
arts groups that have long
been reliable springs for
cultural refreshment.
But those pools of music,
theater and art seem to
have started swelling and
overflowing their banks.
The Smithy-Pioneer
Gallery is proving that you
can bring some seriously
new culture to a town’s oldest
building.
The “Fen & Farm” (short
for Fenimore and Farmers’)
has continued hosting some
wonderful cultural events,
such as the Cooperstown
Chamber Music Festival,
as well as a stunning season
of exhibits at the art
museum, including Walker
Evans photography and
“America’s Rome.”
They’ve also added summer
immersive daycamp
experiences for kids at The
Farmers’ Museum, art
classes for kids at the Feminore
Art Museum and great
events such as Taste of the
Sublime. (Full disclosure:
my husband works there,
and I am friends with many
of the other folks there, so
I have first-hand knowledge
of just how dedicated
and passionate they are
about what the museums
stand for.)
Just a few miles south
of Cooperstown, Foothills
Performing Arts Center is
bringing in one amazing
act after another from
NYC and all over the
country. Under new leadership,
the team there has
focused its mission on providing
theater and entertainment
that is just not
available in this community.
(More disclosure: Foothills
is a client of my company,
and we are honestly
humbled by the work
they’re doing. Instead of
maintaining the status
quo and wishing for the
staff and money to run the
type of venue they dream
of, they jumped in and did
it. And if it means their
executive director is clearing
martini glasses at
Thursday’s cabaret night,
that’s what they’re committed
to doing.)
And now, just outside
of Cooperstown, the new
Rangjung Yeshe Gomde
meditation center has
opened under the leadership
of Phakchok
Rinpoche. The center’s
first weeklong retreat will
happen Aug. 30 through
Sept. 5.
Honestly, I could go on
and on. Every day, it
seems like I see one more
activity, event or exhibition
that makes me slap
my forehead and say,
“What a great idea.”
But what’s most exciting
is that, in our modern
economy, it’s going to be
the innovative, creative
and collaborative communities
that thrive, not just
as tourist destinations but
as hubs for innovation,
creativity and collaboration.
They become the
kind of place people want
to raise their families because
of the opportunities,
not in spite of the lack of
opportunities.
For all the uncertainty
in the world, this is an exciting
time to be here in
this community. I can’t
wait to see what comes
next.
Elizabeth Trever Buchinger
loves a smorgasbord
of choice. You can connect
with her at www.moremindfulfamily.wordpress.com.
