Friday Feature: Monowi, Nebraska

“After me, I suppose there will be nothing here. But I aim to be around for quite a few years yet.”

Elsie Eiler

Mayor of Monowi, Nebraska

“One is the loneliest number.” At least that’s how the song goes made famous by the Three Dog Night. But Elsie Eiler isn’t buying it. She’s the sole resident of Monowi, Nebraska—the only incorporated town in the United States with population 1—but she’s not lonely. She doesn’t have time to be.

Mrs. Eiler runs the Monowi Tavern, the last establishment standing in town (the general store closed during World War II when the owner left to work on the draft board and it’s not really standing today—more leaning). Her regulars come from 80 miles around to wet their whistle, eat her home cooking, and enjoy her company. And they come for the books. You see, Monowi isn’t just a one-woman town—it’s a one-woman town with a library. 

Out behind the tavern, Mrs. Eiler opened Rudy’s Library in memory of her husband of 49½ years who died in 2004. The library contains the treasure trove of books Mr. Eiler collected throughout his lifetime—5,000 of them in all. Mrs. Eiler says her husband read endlessly and was “forever buying something for a little bit of nothing.” The library is operated on the honor system: take out a book if you like it, and return it when you’re done.

These days Mrs. Eiler has an additional job—she’s kept busy holding court for reporters from around the country and across the pond. In 2005 the Los Angeles Times did a piece on her little library, and the national and international media ate it up. Among the many reporters beating a path to her door, the Today Show and London Times came calling, as did CBS Sunday Morning. Things were just settling down, when in March of this year Larry the Cable Guy announced on his radio show that he was holding a hot dog roast that very day in Monowi to raise money for the town. Within hours 1,200 folks turned up to eat a few hot dogs and show their support.

If you find yourself in the northern prairie of Nebraska, stop by Monowi. You can grab a cold beer and fried egg sandwich at the Monowi Tavern, browse the stacks in Rudy’s Library, and enjoy a bit of Americana history.

Sources:
Spirit of 5,000-book library enlivens ghostly hamlet of 1 [Original Los Angeles Times story (as retold in Chicago Tribune)]
Introducing the mayor of Monowi: (population: 1) [London Times]
Slide show of photos from Monowi
Monowi Wikepedia page

Friday Feature: Greensburg, Kansas

“What we have gained is not measured in physical buildings but in the character of the community.”

Bob Dixson, Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas

EF5 tornado nearly destroyed Greensburg, Kanas in 2007

May 4, 2007 is a date no one in Greensburg, Kansas (population 777) will ever forget. That’s the day an EF5 tornado, with winds 205 miles per hour, touched down more than 75 times, destroyed 95 percent of the town, and claimed the lives of 12 of its citizens. With the nearly total destruction, it would have been easy for townsfolk to throw up their hands and walk away—who could have blamed them?—but they didn't. That’s not the way people in this town operate. Instead, they stood among the rubble and, with a real “cup half full” vision, saw opportunity. They made the decision not only to rebuild, but to rebuild better and greener.

Rebirth: Greensburg’s 5.4.7 Arts Center

In 2007 the City Council voted to rebuild all city buildings in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum standards, making Greensburg the first town in the United States to do so. Extending that vision to the arts, the new 5.4.7 Arts Center is entirely solar and wind powered. Private companies got in on the act, too. A 10-turbine farm just outside of town produces enough energy to power 4,000 homes. The John Deere dealership has a new facility powered by wind and it has become a distributorship for small- to medium-sized turbines. And there’s a new a business incubator, which provides temporary office and retail space to businesses, funded by donations from Frito Lay and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio. 

On the homes front, 193 permits have been issued for single-family homes. There’s still a ways to go—more than 900 homes were lost—but how many towns, small or large, can claim such strong construction numbers in this tight economy? On top of that, the town is planning a chain of eco-homes to demonstrate cutting-edge technologies for sustainability. The first home is the Silo Eco-Home, which was inspired by the grain silos still standing after the tornado’s tear through town.

The road to recovery has been tough, but town leaders say the way to stay on course is not to look back but to go forward. And it seems to be working. The town was recently named a top 10 “Coolest Small Town in America” by Budget Travel for its tenacity and vision. The tornado may have nearly wiped out Greensburg, but it did nothing to wipe the resolve of its people to survive.

Sources:
Greensburg still growing four years later
Voted top 10 coolest small town in America
Greensburg, Kansas website

Friday Feature: Mount Morris, New York

“It kills me that the old guys in town meet to drink their coffee at McDonald’s.”

Greg O’Connell, Mount Morris, New York Redeveloper

  Main Street, Mount Morris, NY

 Greg O’Connell, a retired detective from New York City, arrived quietly in Mount Morris, New York (population 2,859). Just as quietly he went about buying up time-worn buildings along Main Street—20 of them in all. And now, not so quietly, he’s sprucing them up and bringing back a bit of luster to this old town in western New York. But why he’s doing it has had some locals scratching their heads. 

O’Connell says it’s simple: he wants to breathe life back into the town. He remembers it fondly from his college days at Geneseo, a few miles up the road. Back then, Mount Morris was a thriving village, with lots of farms and small factories. That was before manufacturing packed up and moved on, an expressway skirted the town, and Wal-Mart elbowed in. 

Lately, there’s been a buzz of activity as downtown comes back to life. Besides the renovations—O’Connell expects to spend about $1 million before it’s all done—high school students have been building and filling flower boxes along Main Street. Students from SUNY Geneseo are working on public relations and marketing strategies for the businesses. And Geneseo students staged a play in one of the empty storefronts.

Today, O’Connell’s buildings house more than 150 small businesses, among them an antiques store, barber shop, gourmet shop, Italian restaurant, deli, and coffee shop. O’Connell doesn’t charge an arm and leg for rent, but he does have a few requirements: businesses have to leave their lights on at night, stay open at least one evening a week, and change their window displays at least four times a year. O’Connell also fixed up and rents out the apartments above the shops. He says the way to keep downtown alive is to make it all about community.

O’Connell worries sometimes that the town won’t sustain its rebirth—that he hasn’t done enough to show his ideas will work. But the mayor of Mount Morris says what O’Connell is doing has lit a fire under the folks in town. Other businesses are spiffing up and going the extra mile, and the townspeople are putting a shine on their homes. O’Connell may have slipped quietly into Mount Morris, but his message is now echoing loud and clear.

Notable Folks from Mount Morris:

·        Early settler and namesake of the town was Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence and financier of the Revolution. Morris, considered the richest man in America in 1793, died penniless in 1806 in a debtors prison in Philadelphia.

·        Francis Bellamy, born in Mount Morris in 1855, wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. The Pledge was written and published in Youth’s Companion as part of a campaign to sell American flags to public schools. Originally, the Pledge was recited while doing the “Bellamy salute.” However, during World War II the salute was replaced—folks started placing their right hand over their heart when they saw that the salute resembled too closely Hitler’s Nazi salute.

·        Roscoe C. Barnes, born in Mount Morris in 1850, hit the first recorded home run in professional baseball. Not a surprise—he was also the first batting champion of the National League.

Sources:

Resurrecting a village by buying up Main Street

The Last Townie

Mount Morris Website

Mount Morris History

Mount Morris Wikipedia page

Friday Feature: Townsend, Massachusetts

Something Old, Something New
Most of the towns I cover in the Friday Feature have seen large leaps in population in recent years (statistically large, at least). But that’s not the case today. The Census says Townsend, Massachusetts (population 8,926) is shrinking. The Boston Globe says it’s “average.” But don’t tell that to the folks who live in Townsend. They’ll tell you the town is 279 years young and growing strong.

The Common

Here’s a little history: Townsend was first settled in 1676, 100 years before the birth of our nation. The town is centered around the Common, a town square complete with bandstand and statue of a fallen Civil War hero. When the British marched on Concord, Massachusetts in 1775, the cannon was fired on the Common calling the townsmen to arms. Decades later, Townsend was a safe haven to slaves taking the underground railroad north to freedom in Canada.
 

McNabb’s Pharmacy

Fast forward to today: The town is still filled with history. On Main Street there’s Cliff’s Cafe, built as a home in the 1880s and operating as restaurant since the 1920s. Next door is Pete’s Barber Shop, originally the town’s post office. And not far away is McNabb’s Pharmacy, a real showplace in the summer.  

Library, Senior Center, and Meeting Hall

But to see current development, all you have to do is stroll a little north of Main Street and there’s the new library, senior center, and meeting hall. Like most libraries, especially in small towns, this one is about a whole lot more than books. The staff say they know there isn’t a lot going on for teenagers in Townsend in the evenings, so the library offers yoga classes and workshops in Manga (Japanese cartoons, or “anime”). And the teens themselves teach some classes—from art to American Sign Language.

The Falls at The Cooperage in Townsend Harbor

Tying the whole package together is the Squannacook River. It winds its way through town and offers recreation, fishing, and a canoe race this weekend.

To top it all off—besides the history, and the recent development, and the beauty of the river—Townsend has plenty of friendly folks. If you eat at Cliff’s Cafe and come up a little short, someone will be glad to help you out. Walking along Main Street, you’ll be sure to get a wave and a hello, and don’t be surprised is someone stops to ask if you need a ride. In fact, there’s a well-known blind gentleman who has no problem getting around town. When he needs a ride, he simply stands on Main Street and before long someone takes him on his way. The Boston Globe calls Townsend “average.” Wouldn’t it be nice if this is what “average” means?
Sources:
Town of Townsend
Townsend is alive, well and anything but “average”
Library activities attracting teen visitors
Photos courtesy of Town of Townsend website

Friday Feature: Mount Washington & Alford, Massachusetts

“It’s a place of refuge for fresh air, solitude and renewal.”

Judy Isacoff, Resident of Mount Washington, Massachusetts

Small Berkshire towns booming

Two for the Price of One
Two towns are featured today—they’re both in Berkshire County, on the western edge of Massachusetts, and they both rank among the state’s six fastest growing towns. But for some, that’s hard to believe.

Tucked into the farthest southwest corner of Massachusetts, between Mt. Everett State Reservation to the east and Mt. Washington State Forest to the west, the tiny town of Mount Washington is a hidden treasure. With only 167 residents, it’s the second smallest town in Massachusetts, but its 28 percent bump in population over the last 10 years also ranks it among the state’s fastest growing towns. And nobody quite knows why. Some trace the growth back to the awful events of September 11, 2001, when folks who had vacation homes in Mount Washington decided to make the safe haven their permanent home. Others think it’s the expansion of the year-round Camp Hi-Rock run by the YMCA. But all agree that the fresh air, abundance of nature, and peaceful lifestyle make Mount Washington the perfect place to call home.

To the north, Alford, Massachusetts, saw a 24 percent spike in growth. But the town clerk doesn’t believe it. She did her own count, and came up with 388 residents, a far cry from the 494 Uncle Sam reported. She says the town’s low tax rate and picturesque setting have attracted a lot of construction in the last few years, but most of the houses going in are vacation homes. Still, she says it’s a quaint New England town that hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years, and that’s just the way she likes it.
Read the Article ® Small Berkshire towns booming

Friday Feature: Kaskaskia, Illinois

“We're kind of in our own world over here.”

Dave Gendron, Mayor of Kaskaskia, Illinois

Small town's comeback is a precarious distinction

Comeback Kid

If you look at statistics, Kaskaskia, Illinois is a happening place: an impressive 55 percent spike in population over the last 10 years. But statistics can be misleading. That’s not to say that Kaskaskia isn’t notable. Here are some facts:

·        The town is 300 years old.

·        It was the state’s first capital.

·        It’s the only Illinois town west of the Mississippi.

·        And until the latest Census, it was the smallest town in Illinois.

You see, in the 2000 Census Kaskaskia had only 9 residents, but after its boom in the last decade, it now has 14, passing up little Valley City, population 13. This may not seem like a big deal, except for one more fact: in 1993 the town disappeared completely under 15 feet of the Mississippi River. The folks in Kaskaskia say that’s no big deal; they’re used to being flooded. They figure it all goes back to the banished lover’s curse placed on the town early in its history. That, and being surrounded by the Mississippi River.

The people who did return to Kaskaskia after the 1993 floods say they were drawn by the peaceful atmosphere and the hunting and fishing—more deer than people populate the tiny island—and you never have to worry about cars and trucks rushing by.

To find out more about the legend of the banished lover’s curse, and the rest of the intriguing history of this tiny town, click on the link below.

Read the Article ® Small town's comeback is a precarious distinction

Friday Feature: Success Stories, March 25

“I tell people the shopping center is where

people go to shop. Downtown is the place

where people want to hang out and socialize.”

Michelle Bollhoefer, City Manager of Winter Garden, Florida

Winter Garden grew big by thinking small

Way to Grow

Four small towns lead the way to growth in North Carolina. All have pumped up their populations by more than 25 percent in the past 10 years—one has almost doubled in size—and all pin their growth on quality of life. The communities boast good school systems, and low tax rates to boot—a winning combination.

Read the Article ® Big growth comes to small towns

Centennial Town Growing Strong

Winter Garden, Florida celebrated its 100th birthday a few years back, but this old gal is growing strong. The town boasted an impressive 141 percent growth rate over the last 10 years, and residents say the key to growing forward is looking to the past. Read to see how the town welcomes newcomers by making them feel like they never left home.

Read the Article ® Winter Garden grew big by thinking small