Small Town Shrinking

Back when I was a child growing up in my small town, there seemed to be more life within its boundaries. There were more businesses, more families, more kids; you name it, there was more. That's not to say those conditions no longer exist, but it's far less vibrant than what it once was. I can recall back to the days when I rode the school bus to and from school. I mean my town practically had a bus route all its own! Now they merely drive through, dropping off/picking up kids here and there. One stop in particular on one of the local streets, I remember there being easily ten or more kids there. I'd be surprised if there's two or three there now. Yes, it's a far cry from what it used to be. But honestly, it's a sign of the times.

On the business front, several prominent businesses shut down over the years within the village boundaries. The village used to be home to two separate sawmill operations. One of them shut down in the early 1990's for reasons unknown to the general public. One can speculate that they ran into financial difficulties. Another rumor that I heard was their employees were older and within "retirement" range. They had no one to pass the torch onto, so to speak, so they shut down. Whatever the case, that stretch of property remains run-down and vacant. The majority of the buildings on the property have fallen into disrepair and need to be leveled. The land has been up for sale for quite some time; but I honestly wonder who would buy it? The site needs extensive clean-up, as there is plenty of rotting wood on that property as well. And what could be put on that piece of land? I'm sure someone has the potential to really fix that area of town up. But it would take someone with money and a grand vision. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

The other sawmill operation burned down in the early 1990's. I remember waking up one morning and driving to school. One of the first things I heard was that the sawmill had burned down. I honestly had no idea, and I lived probably a quarter-mile from the sawmill that burned! Needless to say, that sawmill was never rebuilt. That land also remains vacant except for one small building. It, too, is for sale and probably requires less amount of clean-up than the other former sawmill property. But who's to say this property won't sit for awhile just like the other sawmill property down the road.

Other businesses like an auto shop and an oil and gas distributor have shut down over the years, leaving some people needing to find work elsewhere. And I can tell you one thing, they surely couldn't find it in my small hometown. I would say that during the 1980's, the peak of the town's population was probably around 350 or so. You had families with three or more kids living in each home and that really drove up population. Nowadays, couples are having less kids or some people are occupying homes by themselves. You have less people living within the village, partly because there are no good paying jobs within the village limits. Most people that live there have to drive more than 20 miles to find good jobs, and even those are hard to come by these days. The Co-op store which has been in operation for many years has had its own struggles recently. There's no longer a gas station within the village like there had been for years. And there's less vehicular and pedestrian traffic within town. Most people are driving through, rather than stopping.

Needless to say, with our changing times, small towns are dealing with their own struggles in staying afloat in this economy. With less jobs and people facing an increasing cost of living, many people are having to move away to find work. And the sad part is for those that grew up within and around the small town where I lived, there's only a select few that still remain. Even I don't live there anymore; albeit I only moved 25 miles away so I still frequently visit the area. But there's hardly anything left there to hang onto. Yes, there are plenty of great memories, but the present and future of the area does not look promising. We need more jobs, for one thing. But I just don't see that happening for quite awhile. I don't see the town completely dying out, but it may never again be as vibrant as it was during the '80's.

When Will it End?

I guess it remains to be seen how high gas prices will rise. A few months back, predictions of $4.00 gallon gas were running amuck in the media; saying that during the peak of the summer, we'd more than likely see that watermark. Well we already surpassed that before Memorial Day. Now, media pundints are discussing the possibility of $5.00 gas. And if a major natural disaster or terrorist attack hits a particular location in our country this year, don't be surprised to see gas jump to as high as $7.00 or $8.00 a gallon. I just cannot fathom gas prices going that high and I am very much concerned for our ecomonic well being as a country if the prices jump up that much. It's hard to understand why the prices are as high as they are now - but $7.00 gas is absolutely mind blowing. As a result of the gas prices rising, so does the price of everything else including simple grocery items. As a way of bringing the price of gas, some are discussing the possibilities of suspending or even eliminating gas taxes. Well, that would be nice, but we would need to find some other way to bring in another source of income to supplement the lost gas tax. A major source of roads in our country is gasoline taxes. What happens to our roads if we eliminate gas taxes and find no other means of replacing it? We are pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The cost of living continues to rise each and every year and it's affecting both the lower and middle classes. In fact it's no surprise that the middle class is basically becoming extinct with a large majority of people simply qualifying for the lower class. Of course the rich are living fat and happy. They always seem to get the most protection while everyone else suffers. I wonder if they ever worry about the high price of gas or having to come up with enough money to feed their families? Obviously they don't but it would be nice to see what they would do in our situation. Back in the good old days, the father was always the one to go off to work to support the family while the mother stayed home and did housework. That is becoming increasingly more rare these days as the mother is also needed to bring home the bacon, so to speak. It's definitely not a simple thing to fix as it will take a lot of thought and many ideas. Then you include the whole gas price debate and that really throws a wrench into it all. Let's say both parents need vehicles to drive to work? That's added gas to go to two different places. They also live in a rural area where public transportation is not an option, so driving is an absolute must in order to get where they need to go. Quite possibly, the only option they have is to somehow carpool with each other or someone else they work with, or buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. Then if gas ever does rise to $7.00 a gallon, it just makes it that more difficult to make ends meet. I suspect that if we do reach that $7.00 benchmark, you will be seeing mostly four-cylinder engine cars on the roads like most people drive in Europe instead of SUV's and pick-up trucks. Just yesterday, GM announced the closure of four automotive plants that built trucks and SUV's. They are definitely taking notice of the future in America.

As I mentioned in my last paragraph, public transportation does not exist in rural areas of the country. You look at where I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The city where I live is the largest in the peninsula at roughly 20,000 people. We have taxi services and public buses, but that is it. Everyone else drives to where they need to go. The busing system here is not what it is in New York City, either. They follow a schedule, but they do not make as many stops in the city and surrounding areas. They make drop-offs in some of the smaller surrounding communities but those stops are limited to one or two locations. They do not go out of their way to drop you off at your doorstep, but maybe so if you provided a bit more money. Then the taxi fares up here are pretty astronomical. I just don't see how people would commute to work everyday in a taxi cab and continue to get by with what they make. So our options are limited in rural areas of the country. Sure, there are options but they are pretty slim. I just can't imagine those who work minimum wage jobs being able to support themselves as everyday costs continue to rise. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city where I live is $425! Even that seems pretty rediculous.

Nobody appears to be immune to the economic struggles that face our country. The state of Michigan is one of the worst states in the country as far as the economy and politicians are already speculating that further cuts in the state budget are coming. Additional cuts means less money for programs and services that people depend upon. We're getting down to bare bones in a lot of areas and then I ask, what next? When will it end? All that means is taxes rising and the cost of living continuing to climb. Hourly wages for many workers in the nation remain relatively flat year after year. Obviously we reach a breaking point and then where does the country go then? I just hope we are not headed towards another great depression because many people, possibly even the rich, will be suffering then.