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DAZE WORK: 30 years later, the question is: Are we still an All-America City?
Thirty years ago this month, a small group of Greencastle community leaders descended upon San Antonio and came home with a bit more than sunburn.
There are several things I will never forget about that three-day visit deep in the heart of Texas.
The first came when one of our group asked our cab driver, “Is it always this hot?”
“Oh, you want hot,” he responded, “just wait until next week.” He followed that up with “So, you want girls?” All of us being married men, respectfully declined.
Making our way to the convention center, we ran smack into the Gadsden, Ala., marching band and other wild and crazy scenes as some of the 30 nominated cities tried to promote their hometowns and get the notice of any of the National League of Cities judges.
After dropping off our Greencastle frisbees and printed materials at our booth, we sullenly adjourned to the hotel bar to ponder our fate. Worried that our story of recovery from the loss of IBM was going to get lost amid the pomp and circumstance of others’ glory, we actually pondered changing our presentation. But it was Tim Clark, then-president of Central National Bank, who was the voice of reason. We have, he asserted, “The Story.”
And that’s what we focused on from that minute forward: How a small town refused to admit defeat and staved off economic disaster.
Equally memorable to me was a remark by committee chairman, George Gallup of Gallup poll fame. “Once an All-America City, always an All-America City,” he assured.
But is he right?
It has now been three decades since the City of Greencastle emerged from the gloom-and-doom of the IBM departure to share the spotlight as one of the 10 All-America Cities chosen for 1991. Thirty
years since President George Herbert Walker Bush hosted the winners in the White House Rose Garden.
Much of our All-America City status certainly remains. The new jobs created in the aftermath of the IBM departure. An improving downtown that began with the Main Street Greencastle project in the late 1980s. A renewed, can-do attitude throughout the community.
Remember, 30 years ago there were no cell phones. And certainly no Internet access to anything.
No Nature Park at DePauw University. No Big Walnut Sport Park. No People Pathways. No Greencastle Ivy Tech campus. Not even a First Friday.
That got me wondering. Are we, in the strictest sense, still worthy of being known as an All-America City?
Before we tackle that question, let’s set the wayback machine to 1991.
The Greencastle All-America City Committee focused its narrative on the post-IBM recovery (its departure announcement came 35 years ago this November) and how the community had helped turn 985 lost jobs into more than 2,000 new ones. Sidebar stories conveyed the successes of the Greencastle Main Street project and the new Opportunity Housing program.
And on a sultry Saturday night in San Antonio, Greencastle joined nine others deemed 1991 All-America Cities – Gadsden, Ala.; Baltimore; Gothenburg, Neb.; Newark, N.J.; Albany, N.Y.; Greensboro, N.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Austin, Texas, and Winchester, Va.
The All-America City Award remains an acknowledgment of a community determined to survive, led by a core of civic leaders but bolstered by many. Or as Dave Murray described it, “a small army of people that got sucked into the vortex of this economic dislocation.”
Those very people were immortalized by then-mayor Mike Harmless who repeatedly punctuated his remarks to the All-America City panel with the phrase: “People make the difference in my hometown.”
In passing judgment on Greencastle’s All-America City status after 30 years, it is important to recall the “community vision” portion of the 12-page written application that vaulted us into finalist status at San Antonio. It read: “Greencastle thinks of itself as a community that looks to the future, while treasuring the past and embracing its rural background.”
I think we’re safe in saying that is certainly still true.
Still an All-America City? Honestly, I think we’re better than we were in 1991. Much better actually.
Not only can we embrace all those things mentioned as unheard-of back in 1986 but even more recent developments.
For example, look at the recent successes of the Heritage Preservation Society in completing a vital restoration of the Civil War Monument at Forest Hill Cemetery as well as getting three Greencastle neighborhoods designated as historic districts proclaimed by street signs within.
New wayfinding signage has helped locals and visitors navigate their way around the city.
Certainly the blessings of the Stellar Communities Grant are the most visible of what has been happening in this community. Excitement via events like First Fridays and the annual Greencastle Music Fest has accompanied the downtown revival – thanks to an infusion of some $19 million into the community – and should be a catalyst for more good things over the next 30 years.
From all reports DePauw graduates on hand for alumni reunions in recent years have been amazed at the difference in Greencastle, especially the downtown area, and couldn’t stop talking about it as they visited Starbucks, Bridges, Music on the Square, Scoops, Eli’s Books, Wasser Brewing and other locales that have arrived since they last visited.
To some folks, community growth can only be quantified by the arrival of an Applebee’s or Home Depot or Target store. But growing as a community is much more than that.
So what do we have to show for the past 30 years?
Growing recreational opportunities embodied by Big Walnut Sports Park, the DePauw Nature Park and People Pathways trails and a renovated city pool with three new slides.
Expansions at virtually all of our major industries.
One of the best small-town airports anywhere in the Midwest.
We’ve even become a two-Mexican restaurant town (not bad when you remember that 30 years ago, local dining diversity meant a choice of burgers -- Whoppers, Big Macs or Double Deckers).
Unfortunately, despite each step forward, we often end up with an empty storefront or another fireworks store fill-in, which shows more work and effort still lies ahead in this All-America City.
After all, for years, the first thing often mentioned about Greencastle was essentially that “it’s a great place to raise a family.”
And yes, I’ll confess to having used my favorite “old shoe” analogy in describing our community in that lengthy All-America City application.
Greencastle was indeed like an old shoe – “easy to slip in and out of ... in need of a little polish, perhaps, but all in all, very comfortable.”
To say that we embody that comfortable old shoe isn’t quite right. And it’s far too trite to remind ourselves if the shoe fits ... yadda, yadda, yadda.
Like we suggested in this space five years ago, it’s time to lace up our running shoes, and just like we did 30 years ago, sprint out ahead of the pack.
That’s the way All-Americans perform.