NOTES FROM THE VAGABOND JOURNAL A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NEBRASKA APRIL 30, 2003 - (16)

April 30, 2003, cont'd
From what I've seen, West Point has a few empty storefronts, only a few. Will Staci get nervous if I talk about empty storefronts in town? "I get nervous when I see empty storefronts," she said. "Right now we do have one building - two storefronts - that's open. We're trying to figure out what would fit the community that the community will support. We don't want to bring in something that would be here six months or twelve months, we want something stable."

Prospects for the future - what will the rural community of the future look like? "In the community of the future, we're going to need the telecommunications infrastructure in place, it has to be, for us to survive and thrive. We've determined that if we can get what is needed for business, what the residential areas need will follow." The Chamber has arranged for classes in web page development for area businesses. "Some businesses have come out of it with some good tangible results from that," Staci said. "Again, this goes beyond the city limits."

"We keep hearing from the community they want light manufacturing. We just heard it again from the city council and the county supervisors - light manufacturing that mothers could do while their children are at school, that students could do in the summer when the mothers might want to be home with their kids."

Are there other issues facing rural communities, beyond the aging population, the declining population, the downturn in the agricultural economy along with the general decline of the economy?

"For smaller communities to be successful, they have to have certain cores," Staci said. "There has to be a good educational system. For young families to consider moving, there has to be good schools. Health care has to be there. Employment, there has to be employment in the community. Those would be core. I'm a prime example. When we were looking at communities, I told my husband we were not going to be forty-five minutes from health care. I grew up fifteen minutes from the nearest hospital. Once these core needs are met, people want to be able to have other needs met - their spiritual needs, a feeling of community."

"We had a meeting," Staci said. "There were third, fourth, and fifth generation people in the room, and some of the newcomers, people who have been here less than a lifetime. It was interesting - the long-time residents said, 'Oh, we welcome everybody.' But there wasn't one of the new people who said 'You know, we felt comfortable the first day we came.' The people who have always been here didn't even realize anybody felt that way. One fellow's chin just dropped and he said - 'What do you mean?' Now, that wasn't why we were meeting, it just came up. People gave examples and the fellow said 'You know, I didn't realize, I had no idea.' For a couple people in the room, their attitude didn't change but what they do to go out of the way to welcome people has changed as a result. Now they are more aware."

"We do 'newcomer packets,' we've talked about creating a 'new people' group, but at the time we were so busy we saw that as something someone else should focus on," Staci said. "At one point we welcomed new people, we encourage them to come to things. There are plenty of organizations and projects they can get involved in.

The characteristics of West Point people? "First is visionary," Staci said. "Most see beyond their life, their business, their church. They see a much larger picture. And they put their money where their mouth is. For the new community building, for the schools, for the Dinklage Medical Clinic that opened debt-free - a brand new clinic - because people wanted it and they put their money where their mouth is."

They're visionary. They're generous. Anything else? "Their concern for each other. Sometimes it may be someone they didn't even know but something has come up - and they're concerned for that person."

"As far as doing business," Staci said, "the mentality here is 'check local.' For everyone in the community - if it's something you can purchase locally, you buy it here."

"One time the West Point News got a new machine, and a piece of it had broken," Staci recalled. "The fellow was coming to do training on the machine for them the next day, but they needed that piece. They contacted one of the local manufacturers who designed it and got it installed so they could run the machine the next morning. People will put in the extra time to get something done."

"Our movers and shakers are enthusiastic," Staci said. "They get people to come along with the vision."

"They are decisive," Staci said. "If we need to make something happen, the people here figure out what is needed and then martial the resources to make it happen. We needed a building for the workforce development, the old clinic building was available, I don't think Ron Briggs of the hospital thought about it more than five minutes before he said 'Let's do it.'"

"This is an easy sell - the West Point community," Staci said. "It's a very good community. Everyone is connected in some way. They connect with each other, they communicate with each other. If there is a vision, a good vision, there's support."

"It know it's one of Harry Knobbe's principles - 'The world is run by those who show up; belong to something bigger than yourself.' He's very quoted on that. We've gotten a lot of awards in the past three years, I get a lot of phone calls from other places that have heard something is going on here, but if I see something interesting in another Chamber's newsletter, I'll phone them to see if it's something we can adapt and use here. Being connected and using the networks you develop is key."

To be continued....

Comments

[Ross]

I can see West Point through the words of its people. Wonderfully captured, beautiful . . .

[Tom Montag]

Hi, Ross. Thanks for your good words. Oh that eveery community had the opportunity to speak....