"Empty House On The Prairie"

[eleny]

After reading this editorial, I visited the Crosby, ND town web site. Their town guest book even had inquiries from New York and New Jersey.

New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/opinion/02greene.html

"IF you and your family would like to move to Crosby, N.D., not only will the town give you a free plot of land on which to build your house, they'll also throw in a free membership to the Crosby Country Club. ...

The tiny towns in the Great Plains and upper Midwest don't want to die. They are trying to keep their young people from departing, to beckon home those who have left, and - more and more - to think of ways to entice outsiders to come and build and stay. Thus, proposed tax breaks in Iowa; loans in Nebraska; land giveaways in Kansas and elsewhere."

[Qanisqineq]

1. I grew up in a tiny ND town that is slowly dying

Sometimes I think that the only thing saving it is that the even smaller towns around it are dying faster and people go to my hometown to buy groceries and the kids get shipped to the school there. Farmers giving up and abandoning their farms, schools closing, businesses closing, etc.

Just today I was reading in my hometown newspaper an article from the district legislators (whatever she and he are called, I get lost with state politics). They were each talking about the "majority party" (the repubs) killing rural North Dakota with bills that have either recently passed or been shot down. (From those statements I am assuming at least two of the three are dems -- Pam Gulleson and Joel Heitkamp and Bill Amerman)

I think it is very sad, I've lived in small towns and big cities and small towns will always hold a special place in my heart.

[sd_UDO]

2. Why towns in the Dakotas die

I live in South Dakota, in a small town of less than 900 people

It is not legislation that will resurrect or kill small towns.

I have always had to commute 30 miles or 60 miles to work here.
I've never been hired in this town.

Small towns are not united, they are divided into small groups.

Big towns at least have money and jobs sloshing around.

There is a political orgy going on in South Dakota--both Democrats and Republicans are participating in it--it is to kill the prairie dogs!

Buffaloes were exterminated from around 100 million down to less than 1,000 by the end of the 19th century.

There used to be 5 billion, yes, 5,000,000,000 prairie dogs in the great plains, 98% of the acres (and thus the p-dogs) have been wiped out, so there are probably only 100,000,000 prairie dogs left.

Yes, 98% of the prairie dogs have been killed from North Dakota down to Texas over the last 80 years, for what---- hamburgers? ground rounds, sirloin?

I am so ashamed of the Democratic party and the Republican party BOTH
caving in to the ranchers whining about the prairie dogs--Daschle even called p-dogs rodents (agreeing with Thune) and he still lost.

I probably will register Independent or join another party.

Democratic Party? Republican Party? Kill MORE than 98% of the prairie dogs ????

I agree with Jefferson--"life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness"--I disagree with the Dem and Rep parties. They DO NOT have the answers.

[sd_UDO]

3. Also about Kerry

If Kerry had any brilliant ideas about creating jobs or booming the economy, he would have won Ohio and the election!

[sd_UDO]

4. Legislation won't save small towns

It takes imagination and ideas to create businesses that
create jobs that brings people to cities or towns.

Most of the people with imagination and drive and ideas
locate in bigger towns, who accept big thinking people
more readily.

Small town thinking won't create jobs.

Imaginative thinking will.

[Ford8N]

5. Part of the reason

I have noticed that the reason small towns are dying is that they are not welcoming of outsiders. Unless you are of some blood relation, you are shunned. Small towns need to work on the problem of xenophobia. Trust me, it's alive and well in rural ND.

[Qanisqineq]

6. I'm sorry to hear that

That has not been my experience at all. Actually, quite the opposite. The newcomers are interesting and new and everyone wants to get to know them. There has been a recent influx of people from the east coast in my hometown and surrounding towns (in rural ND, all with populations less than 2,000) and they have actually suggested to family members and friends that they move to the area from places like NY and CT and such.

[CatholicEdHead]

7. That is only part of it

If you are new, sure they will be nice to you, but it is very hard to TRULEY become part of the community. I am mostly talking about the very tight small town cliques where everyone knows what everyone else is doing and what you did at 27 years ago.

[Qanisqineq]

8. .

Of course there are small town cliques, just like there are high school cliques and cliques at work, in your neighborhood, etc. It doesn't involve the entire town. I know there are people that never feel like they are part of the community... but they are also the people that never TRY. People will only come and try to be friendly and try to include you for so long before you have to try on your own. Honestly, the reason so many of us pretend to be nice to the motherfuckers is because they are the same ones that do NOTHING but BITCH ABOUT SMALL TOWNS. Bitch and whine and bitch and bitch some more about it all. Our thoughts? Get the fuck out then. Just like people that move to ND and BITCH day after day about living in ND. Guess what, if you don't want to be here then we sure as fuck don't want you here.

I lived in a town of <1,000 people with a COAST GUARD STATION. We saw plenty of new people come and go. Some people loved it and stayed. Others never tried and hated it. It is what you make of it. I've lived in cities of >3 million people, towns of <1,000 and everything in between. It is all in the attitude you bring. Come in with a stereotype about small towns - or a stereotype about the people any place you move to - and no, you are not going to have good experiences.

[markus]

16. When I lived in DL before coming to Fargo

I made friends with a local democratic activist who was also active at Holy Rosary. One day, after he did a reading, I heard two older women say one to the other: "Who was that reading?" "Oh, that was Ted F., they're new in town." He'd been there about fifteen years.

I really like D.L., and I am a big city person. But I lucked into a job there, and my wife could never find a job. She kept losing out to people with local connections. If you have that "grandparent in the graveyard" syndrome, you're never going to attract development.

Even Fargo is proving to be too small. There's not enough professional opportunity if you need to change jobs, so we're looking to leave. Too bad. It hasn't been a bad place to live at all, but even if Fargo, if you don't have a network going back to NDSU or UND, or even to South or North, you're always a second class citizen.

Small town habits die hard.

[Ford8N]

17. I know

That's what I noticed. Everyone is crying the blues that ND can't attract any jobs or money. But they shun anyone who isn't from there. It's really bad in small towns. Try buying some land. Those old farmers won't sell to an outsider and would rather have the bank foreclose than sell. Xenophobia is a bad thing.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi Ford8N!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Ford8N]

10. hi

Howdy.B-)

[Odin2005]

11. The problem is...

...How do you bring jobs to small towns. I grew up in the little town of Ulen, MN, population 532. Most working people there work outside of town, and the jobs that are there don't pay very well. There is no reason for us young people to stay there. :-(

[LeFleur1]

18. Jobs

People leave North Dakota because there are no jobs, mainly. And the jobs there don't pay enough to live on. We left ND a long time ago, after college graduation, for those very reasons. At one point, when we were moving from Arizona to Washington we inquired about a civil engineering job in ND, thinking maybe things had changed and we'd go back. The salary of the job offered was unbelievably low. Needless to say, we didn't take it.

I've often wondered who is in charge of getting jobs to come to the state? Has anyone ever contacted Bill Gates? At Microsoft people work inside, so the winters wouldn't be a problem for natives. The wages would probably be above the going rate, the people are smart enough, they speak English. Locating in a small town would be such a boone to it and to the state.

There are other companies that could locate branches in ND too. Granted it's not like outsourcing to places where they pay the people ten cents an hour, but these companies should feel some responsibility to provide jobs in the USA. We're the ones who made them rich in the first place.

[Qanisqineq]

12. Small town humor

I received this email today and thought I'd share it since it fit the subject of the thread. I added my own comments, too.

Growing up in a small town
Those who grew up in small towns will laugh when they read this.

1) You can name everyone you graduated with. --yep

2) You know what 4-H means. --yep, was a member, too

3) You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday you could always tell who was at the party because of the scratches on their legs from running through the woods when the party was busted. (See #6.) --gravel pit, all the time

4) You used to "drag" Main. --why we did, I’ll never know

5) You said the "F" word and your parents knew within the hour. --not quite that bad, but close

6) You scheduled parties around the schedules of different police officers, because you knew which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't. --Yep!

7) You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough, they'd tell your parents anyhow). --yes

8) When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out into the country and drive on back roads to smoke them. --haha! true

9) You knew which section of the ditch you would find the beer your buyer dropped off. --yeah

10) It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town. --definitely

11) The whole school went to the same party after graduation. --for the most part, yes

12) You didn't give directions by street names but rather by references:
Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks to Anderson's, and it's 4 houses left of the track field.
--I still don’t know the street names in my hometown

13) The golf course had only 9 holes. --well, no. it had 18

14) You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. --had to be an ex for a while

15) Your car stayed filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a dark vehicle for this reason. --I lived in the country and it was all highway to town and paved in town

16) The town next to you was considered "trashy" or "snooty," but was actually just like your town. --yeah, until you were dating someone from that town!

17) You referred to anyone with a house newer then 1965 as the "rich people". --for the most part

19) Anyone you wanted could be found at the local gas station or the town bar. --or you could stay at one of those places and they would probably show up sooner or later

20) The gym teacher suggested you haul hay for the summer to get stronger. --no, pick rocks out of fields

21) Directions were given using THE stop light as a reference. --STOP LIGHT?

22) When you decided to walk somewhere for exercise, 5 people would pull over and ask if you wanted a ride. --oh yeah

23) you can walk from one side of town to the other in about 5 minutes or less --um, no. But drive in about 5 minutes, yes.

24) Your teachers called you by your older siblings' names. --I’m the oldest but I was called my mom’s name and my sisters were called my name

25) Your teachers remembered when they taught your parents. --yeah, see #24

26) You could charge at any local store or write checks without any ID. --yep! I wouldn’t be surprised if I still owe money at one place

27) The closest McDonalds was 25 miles away (or more). --or more

28) The closest mall was over an hour away. --hey, we had a mall… with about 5 stores

29) Most people went by a nickname. --yeah, but we didn’t all like them

30) You laughed your butt off reading this because you know it is true

[Odin2005]

13. LOL

Sounds like Ulen.

[Qanisqineq]

14. Welcome to DU!

I don't know if I said that to you earlier or not. I'm forgetfull.
:hi:

I noticed you are a biology major in Moorhead. I went to NDSU and got my BS in zoology. That was in the mid-90's when NDSU still had a zoology department (now combined with the botany dept. & biology dept. into Biological Sciences) and when your school was Moorhead State University. :D Good luck!

[Odin2005]

15. Thanks :-)