Your Hometown
- Transcript
<v Speaker>[Lollipop by the Chrodetts plays] <v Employee C>The whole thing has really added to help other people see that someone could make a <v Employee C>[unclear] and bring something into our small town. <v Jerry Hansen>It's it's good for their community. <v Connie Galey>When the girl says, Connie, those are so cute, you could sell those <v Connie Galey>and it just, a little light went on. <v Connie Galey>And I said, Do you really think so? Who would buy them? <v Employee A>So Connie called and asked if I wanted to work for her. <v Employee A>I said you bet. Needed the money for Christmas and for help supplement the <v Employee A>unemployment we're getting <v Employee C>It really is inspiring. <v Guest>This is a Midwest messenger, it's a farm magazine.
<v Guest>It comes out every two weeks. <v Guest>And here's the sales. <v Guest>There's fifty eight sales and two week period time is <v Guest>difficult. <v Mollie Anderson>It is as it is for them to leave their farm. <v Mollie Anderson>It is equally difficult for them to leave their small towns. <v Nancy Schwede>Some of them choose to remain on the farm. Some of them choose to go seek other kinds of <v Nancy Schwede>employment or retrain for another kind of employment. <v Nancy Schwede>What you gonna be doing is this is a work sample on personnel and labor relations. <v Nancy Schwede>It's going to give you some ideas of what those people do it in that type of work. <v Nancy Schwede>Now, you Last name. <v Lee Carter>I'm not really sure that these kids realize that this is really
<v Lee Carter>a nostalgia trip, because this railtoad is exactly the same as it was laid <v Lee Carter>out in 1877. <v Speaker F>The idea of tourism on Depo Street, I think is a real good one and heartwarming and <v Speaker F>I see more and more tourists coming into the area. <v Speaker F>I think it is building up to future. <v Joan Saliba>Hartwell is is fantastic. <v Host>Your hometown narrated by James Whitmore. <v Narrator>Fairview, Utah, Norfolk, Nebraska, <v Narrator>Hartwell, Georgia, small towns in rural America.
<v Narrator>America itself began as a small town, and that heritage has fostered a <v Narrator>romanticism concerning life in rural America. <v Narrator>Many of us were born in a raised in or would like to return to a small rural <v Narrator>town. Our notion is that life is somehow better. <v Narrator>They're more peaceful, more secure. <v Narrator>Rural America, after all, is a place where good people work, the land where success <v Narrator>grows from individual effort, where a community spirit overcomes any problem. <v Narrator>In rural America, where there's a will, there's a way. <v Narrator>Well, perhaps this was all true once, but rural America has changed <v Narrator>your hometown, the one you were born in, or the one you might like to go back to <v Narrator>is not what it used to be. <v Narrator>Rural America is no longer primarily agricultural, though <v Narrator>most of the rural landscape is in farms, most rural people don't depend <v Narrator>on farming for employment and income. <v Narrator>Today, the principal industries in rural America are services and manufacturing,
<v Narrator>and much of rural America is not growing. <v Narrator>A decline in manufacturing, mining and farming has meant fewer jobs <v Narrator>and lower incomes. <v Narrator>So while many of us think of rural areas as good places to live, many <v Narrator>others are moving from the country back to the city. <v Narrator>And rural America is not isolated anymore. <v Narrator>The rural, national and world economies are now so closely linked that world <v Narrator>events influence what goes on in rural America. <v Narrator>From 1945 to 1970, rural America declined in <v Narrator>jobs and population. <v Narrator>Agriculture had been dominant during those 25 years. <v Narrator>More than five million people quit the farm. <v Narrator>Then came the 1970s. <v Kenneth Deavers>During the 70s, you had three things come together, all at the same time. <v Kenneth Deavers>You had an unprecedented boom in farming, based in <v Kenneth Deavers>part on unique world conditions which haven't been repeated in the
<v Kenneth Deavers>80s, in which very few people think are likely to be replayed repeated anytime soon. <v Kenneth Deavers>You had an increase in the rate of manufacturing decentralization. <v Kenneth Deavers>What had started in the 60s and had led to manufacturing growth in rural areas <v Kenneth Deavers>expanded in the 70s. So there was rapid growth in that manufacturing certain sector. <v Kenneth Deavers>And because manufacturing was growing, a lot of services that are related to that, also <v Kenneth Deavers>we're growing rapidly. So the 70s saw for the first time <v Kenneth Deavers>in this century more people moving to rural areas from urban areas <v Kenneth Deavers>than the reverse first time that had ever happened. <v Kenneth Deavers>[music plays] <v Narrator>Industrial growth in rural America really began in the 1960s. <v Narrator>Rural areas offered manufacturers a haven from urban unrest and the high <v Narrator>cost of doing business in the city. <v Narrator>Most attractive was a skilled, nonunionized, low cost rural labor force <v Narrator>eager for the jobs. A new manufacturing plant would provide.
<v Narrator>During the 1970s, the rural South became the nation's manufacturing <v Narrator>center for textiles, apparel, wood products and shoes. <v Narrator>In the West, mining and gas and oil production were booming. <v Narrator>OPEC embargoes put a premium on domestic energy sources and prices soared. <v Narrator>But the decade of the 1970s now appears to have been a quirk in the history of rural <v Narrator>America. The tremendous growth and rising expectations of that time have <v Narrator>slipped away. For rural industry, the 1980s have been all <v Narrator>downhill. <v Kenneth Deavers>Low wage, low skill manufacturing, which grew in the 60s, grew <v Kenneth Deavers>rapidly in the 70s, has declined mainly because <v Kenneth Deavers>of problems in terms of international markets disappearing competition from third <v Kenneth Deavers>world countries and energy industries, which had a boom <v Kenneth Deavers>in the 70s because of the shortage of energy supplies and the run up of prices <v Kenneth Deavers>with the relative availability of energy being
<v Kenneth Deavers>greater in the 80s. Energy prices have come down and those industries again are <v Kenneth Deavers>in decline. So that job growth in rural areas in all <v Kenneth Deavers>of those industries is now very slow or in fact there's been <v Kenneth Deavers>net job loss. <v Narrator>So your hometown has changed. <v Narrator>Where there used to be a farm, there may now be a factory. <v Narrator>The factory isn't running at full speed. <v Narrator>People are out of work and available jobs may be only part time or beneath <v Narrator>a person's ability. <v Narrator>The average unemployment rate for rural America is now more than nine percent, well <v Narrator>above the national average. <v Narrator>And people are moving away. <v Narrator>Many of those that years ago traded the fast lane for a country road are now moving back <v Narrator>to the city. In 1986, nearly one million people left rural <v Narrator>America and moved to the urban areas. <v Narrator>Your hometown has other problems as land values drop and agricultural <v Narrator>areas as industries decline and unemployment rises, as people leave
<v Narrator>the small towns. The tax base shrinks. <v Narrator>That means local services, schools, fire departments, water treatment. <v Narrator>The police force all suffered across rural America. <v Narrator>Small towns are fighting problems of unemployment, inadequate services and financial <v Narrator>stress. Local communities are responsible for their own economic revitalization, <v Narrator>but they're not alone. Public institutions and state governments can share the <v Narrator>load. But not everyone will survive the hard times. <v Kenneth Deavers>To pretend that everybody who now lives in a small town <v Kenneth Deavers>that's under economic stress, whether it's a farming community or a mining community or <v Kenneth Deavers>manufacturing community, that everybody in that small town is going to have <v Kenneth Deavers>an opportunity to stay in that small town and be productively employed is wrong. <v Kenneth Deavers>What happened? So we have to do two things. <v Kenneth Deavers>I think with public policy, one is to the extent we can, <v Kenneth Deavers>we have to capitalize on the advantages, the comparative advantages, the
<v Kenneth Deavers>unique resources that rural communities have and try to use those effectively <v Kenneth Deavers>to generate jobs for people who want to stay in those communities. <v Kenneth Deavers>At the same time, we need to set up a set of policies that makes the transition for <v Kenneth Deavers>people who don't succeed in those communities who have to leave those communities. <v Kenneth Deavers>That makes that transition smooth and successful and productive for them. <v Narrator>Americans are proud of their pioneer spirit, the determination to overcome <v Narrator>tough times individually and collectively. <v Narrator>The people who still live in rural America are fighters. <v Narrator>Some are planners, some are organizers, some are risk takers. <v Narrator>But they all mean to capture that dream of a better life. <v Narrator>So take a good look around. <v Narrator>This is your hometown. <v Narrator>The enterprises that are going to create new jobs in that community
<v Narrator>are going to come from people who are currently within the community. <v Narrator>Connie Galey makes chocolate candy suckers in Fairview, Utah. <v Narrator>It's not something she'd planned to do. <v Narrator>In fact, not too long ago, Connie Galey didn't even know how to make chocolate candy <v Narrator>suckers, but she learned and her business. <v Narrator>The Suckertree now employs more than 20 people during peak season from <v Narrator>October through April each year. <v Narrator>Connie is an entrepreneur and the risks she took starting her own business <v Narrator>has paid off for her, her family and her neighbors in Fairview, <v Narrator>Utah. <v Narrator>Now, when you think of Utah, you probably think of Salt Lake City or the Mormon temple <v Narrator>or a beautiful, snowcapped mountains. <v Narrator>But in the center of the state is San Pete County, named for the Ute Indian <v Narrator>whose tribe once occupied this fertile valley lying at the base of the Wasatch <v Narrator>Mountain Range. If the name of a small town says something about life
<v Narrator>there, then no. That San Pete County is where you'll find Fontain Green <v Narrator>Freedom. Mount Pleasant and Fairview San Pete <v Narrator>County is agriculture. <v Narrator>Farmers raise cattle, sheep and turkeys or grow barley and corn. <v Narrator>San Pete County, Utah could be a great place for your hometown. <v Narrator>Except for one thing, in a nation where rural unemployment average is nine <v Narrator>percent, the unemployment rate in San Pete County is 22 percent. <v Jerry Hansen>A few years ago we had several plants in Ephraim <v Jerry Hansen>a trader Plant. We had a Spare UNIVAC plant for reasons unknown to us. <v Jerry Hansen>Of course, they've they've moved the coal mine industry. <v Jerry Hansen>A few years ago, back in 80, about 80. <v Jerry Hansen>The early 80s was was really a boom <v Jerry Hansen>that brought an influx of people into the county and the community. <v Jerry Hansen>Now they have they have gone back and many of them have closed
<v Jerry Hansen>down. The major ones are still in operation, but not doing near them. <v Jerry Hansen>The business they did up in eighty three plus the flooding <v Jerry Hansen>in 83 seemed like the highway was cut off <v Jerry Hansen>at Thistle. And since that time, things just haven't changed. <v Jerry Hansen>They've had to remain to be a depressed area. <v Narrator>Now the flooding Jerry Hansen mentioned followed a landslide in 1983 <v Narrator>which buried the highway and rail tracks and destroyed the little town of fissile. <v Narrator>It was almost a year before road travel into the county from the north was restored. <v Narrator>The rail spur from the main line was never rebuilt. <v Narrator>So San Pete County has seen hard times. <v Narrator>It's an agricultural county at a time when the farm economy is not doing very well. <v Narrator>When the Sperry plant and Ephraim's shut down, more than 300 jobs went <v Narrator>with it. The coal mines are running at half speed. <v Narrator>And then came the isolation forced by a landslide and flooding.
<v Narrator>Fairview is a small town in the northern part of San Pete County. <v Narrator>Fewer than 1000 people live in Fairview. <v Narrator>And once you see the bank, the ice cream parlor, <v Narrator>the motel, the grocery store and the restaurant <v Narrator>is what you get. <v Narrator>In 1982, Blair and Connie Galey opened a Chevron service station <v Narrator>on State Street. Blair had been laid off from the coal mine and Connie <v Narrator>was expecting their fourth child within a year. <v Narrator>The landslide shut down most of the traffic through Fairview, and business was tough. <v Narrator>Eventually, the Gael's had to sell out. <v Narrator>Blair went to work for a local car dealer while Connie tried to figure out how to make <v Narrator>ends meet at a church meeting in a nearby town. <v Narrator>Connie learned to make molded chocolate candy suckers. <v Narrator>Soon, the folks back in Fairview wanted a demonstration. <v Narrator>So one night, Connie taught a class at her church.
<v Connie Galey>I was preparing my displays and we have a little craft club that gets together <v Connie Galey>and we were meeting at my house at night so I can get all my stuff ready <v Connie Galey>for church. <v Connie Galey>And one of the girls says, Connie, those are so cute. <v Connie Galey>You could sell those. <v Connie Galey>And it just a little light went on and I said, Do you really think <v Connie Galey>so? Who would buy them? <v Connie Galey>And of course, we envisioned the price being really low, you know, because we didn't have <v Connie Galey>any overhead. <v Connie Galey>But I took one hundred suckers in to <v Connie Galey>this store down here, and before I could get them set on the counter, people were buying <v Connie Galey>them out of the bucket and they just went like hotcakes. <v Employee C>Well, it was exciting. And people coming in and look and they'd say, now, where did this <v Employee C>come from? And they were really cute ones. They were different designs and they were <v Employee C>really cute. And when people would say, you mean they're made here in, <v Employee C>you know, in our area, in our town. And we'd say yes. <v Employee C>Then there were more apt to buy one to try it to see because they wanted to see what it
<v Employee C>was really like. <v Connie Galey>I could see a way to become debt free. <v Connie Galey>And if, you know, that means a lot to my husband and I. <v Connie Galey>As to you know, we don't have a lot of debts per say in our we you know, no car payments <v Connie Galey>and things like that. But just things that have accumulated during this last three or <v Connie Galey>four years that's been so depressed. <v Connie Galey>And we decided that, OK, <v Connie Galey>we would go ahead and just go for it. <v Connie Galey>I figured we'd either do it all the way. We don't do it at all. <v Connie Galey>And so we moved it into the upstairs apartment and we had one girl up first, <v Connie Galey>and then we hired six more and then we hired six more. <v Connie Galey>And it just kept blossoming. <v Narrator>Connie Galey's business blossomed. <v Narrator>But it took a lot of hard work and a bit of good luck. <v Narrator>Within a few months, Connie's suckers could be found in most of the small grocery stores <v Narrator>in San Pete County with their sights on statewide distribution. <v Narrator>Connie set up an appointment with Hanson Brothers, Candy Distributors. <v Narrator>She put on her best dress, her best smile, and took a box of samples to
<v Narrator>the Hanson Brothers office in Provo, Utah. <v Connie Galey>And I had an appointment to talk to Frosti, who was a buyer there. <v Connie Galey>And he's not one of the Hanson boys . <v Connie Galey>But they all just happened to walk in the office when <v Connie Galey>I was there. <v Connie Galey>And everybody just stood around and said, oh, look at those. <v Connie Galey>It says, well, what kind of retail do they have? Oh, you're kidding. <v Connie Galey>We had somebody in here that had those there was twice the retail and they just kept <v Connie Galey>throwing out the ideas. I didn't have a chance to say anything for a long time. <v Narrator>Connie Galey is a classic example of an entrepreneur. <v Narrator>She had a marketable idea. <v Narrator>And equally important, she was willing to take a risk when she went to see <v Narrator>the Hansen's. The most sucker she had ever made in one week was 2000. <v Narrator>But she'd done some research and she knew that big companies need production up <v Narrator>around 10000 a week. <v Connie Galey>So I was ready for that. But Hanson said what happened actually, I said oh between ten <v Connie Galey>and fifteen thousand a week. <v Connie Galey>And it was scary because, you know, I was forging ahead in a territory.
<v Connie Galey>I had no idea that we can even do that. <v Connie Galey>And that first week, we made almost 10000. <v Connie Galey>And the next week we were right up to 15000. <v Narrator>Despite her later success, Connie says getting started was not easy. <v Narrator>Several state banks turned her ten thousand dollar loan application down, <v Narrator>claiming new businesses were not doing well in Utah. <v Narrator>Finally, Connie returned to the Fairview Credit Union, where she had gotten her first <v Narrator>loan. Ten thousand dollars was above the loan limit, so a special <v Narrator>meeting of the board was held. And by six o'clock that evening Connie had <v Narrator>her money, credit union president Rod Koch says the board felt <v Narrator>it was important to give a local person the opportunity to start a business. <v Rod Koch>It's important to me because anytime you can create a job or industry <v Rod Koch>here. That's money in the area. <v Rod Koch>And you just can't survive without it. <v Rod Koch>You know, you got to have some money
<v Rod Koch>turn in changing hands and her getting going, she was <v Rod Koch>hiring ten or eleven women, which helped <v Rod Koch>part of those women. Their husbands were out of work. <v Rod Koch>And so it gave them something, but it gave money to spend back in the <v Rod Koch>community. <v Narrator>Connie Galey started the secretary with no experience or <v Narrator>training in the retail candy business. <v Narrator>She attended a small business clinic offered by Utah State University's extension <v Narrator>service. Mostly, she says, she'd just ask questions. <v Narrator>Her marketing plan targets the gift, novelty and fundraising trades. <v Narrator>Her product line includes molded suckers in a variety of shapes specialty <v Narrator>items like chocolate rose in a vase. <v Narrator>perfect for Mother's Day and box candy, sweets like Cherry cordials and caramel turtles. <v Narrator>The sucker treat candies can be found throughout Utah, as well as Texas, Arkansas, <v Narrator>Oklahoma, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington and Southern California.
<v Narrator>Obviously, for Connie and the women that worked for her. <v Narrator>this is no idle time venture. <v Narrator>Her employees may not be the main breadwinners in their families, but the money they <v Narrator>take home is critical. <v Employee A>We needed it for Bills. We'd gotten behind in our electricity bill and a few of our other <v Employee A>bills that we couldn't catch up with. With our farm income, we needed the money for <v Employee A>Bills. <v Employee B>We've got a lot of bills that we've got behind on and so the income I get here <v Employee B>helps with what we're getting out of time to catch up <v Employee B>on what we got behind on. <v Narrator>The sucker tree is providing more than just jobs and income for families <v Narrator>in Fairview. It's an important source of pride. <v Connie Galey>It's been a boost in morale just to see that somebody can do something here. <v Connie Galey>And, you know, when somebody is willing to take it on. <v Employee B>To me, it means that I can do something else than just clean house and take <v Employee B>care, kids. <v Employee A>When we haven't had the money to pay the bills.
<v Employee A>I felt like, you know, I'm not contributing. <v Employee A>I'm not doing anything now. I feel like, well, I'm doing my share. <v Employee A>I'm doing all I can to help, help to meet the finances. <v Employee A>And it's helped. <v Employee C>The whole thing has really added to help other people see that someone could <v Employee C>make ?inaudible? and bring something into our small town. <v Rod Koch>Any time you see something moving forward, it builds everybody up. <v Rod Koch>It gets them excited and renewed vigor, even in the surrounding <v Rod Koch>businesses, because hey, you know, somebody else's got a little faith. <v Rod Koch>And we're going- maybe things will pick up a little and move forward. <v Narrator>Experts say that a base of local individuals operating small <v Narrator>businesses is better for your hometown than bringing in one large factory. <v Kenneth Deavers>There is much more of a commitment to trying to stay in the community to <v Kenneth Deavers>care about the environment and the community of which they are apart. <v Kenneth Deavers>There's a community spirit involved in entrepreneurship which carries over
<v Kenneth Deavers>to the school system, carries over to bond issues that support infrastructure <v Kenneth Deavers>for the community. <v Kenneth Deavers>To all of those things that undergird whether communities, in fact, <v Kenneth Deavers>have a viable, vital economic development capability. <v Narrator>Officials in small towns can do a lot to promote entrepreneurship. <v Narrator>They can stimulate ideas for new ventures by holding community discussions <v Narrator>or arranging visits from university experts. <v Narrator>They can provide an environment that supports business startups. <v Narrator>This may mean removing barriers like permits or excessive paperwork. <v Narrator>They can use community resources, for example, teach business skills in high <v Narrator>school, and then let the students actually start a business. <v Narrator>And they can help provide financing by offering loans directly or encouraging <v Narrator>the local bank to accept high risk applications. <v Narrator>Entrepreneurship is one way to deal with the unemployment problem in your hometown
<v Narrator>in Fairview, Utah. The Sucker Tree is a good beginning. <v Kenneth Deavers>It's been enormously successful beyond the imaginations of the people who originally <v Kenneth Deavers>started. <v Kenneth Deavers>And while it hasn't solved the unemployment problems of the community, <v Kenneth Deavers>it has certainly created new jobs, has met <v Kenneth Deavers>productive employment for the people who started it, as well as for others. <v Kenneth Deavers>In collectively, several enterprises like that can make a difference. <v Narrator>But, you know, you can't just grow entrepreneurs. <v Narrator>Experts will tell you that an entrepreneur is someone with a marketable idea <v Narrator>who's willing to take risks. <v Narrator>But just listen to Connie Galeyley. <v Narrator>You realize there's something more, a sense of determination, a vision <v Narrator>of how things might be. <v Narrator>A desire to make life a little better. <v Narrator>It's a certain spirit. <v Connie Galey>I just have always been under the impression that if all it takes is work. <v Connie Galey>I can do it.
<v Connie Galey>And let me tell you. 18 hours a day was worth. <v Connie Galey>It's me. And if the Sucker Tree fails, I feel like it's me that would fail. <v Connie Galey>I've had lots of personal success in my home with my children, but I've never had until <v Connie Galey>now any success that gave me self-confidence. <v Connie Galey>As Connie. Not as mom, not as the wife, but as <v Connie Galey>Connie. <v Connie Galey>And it's possible. It's just possible to make a dream come true. <v Kenneth Deavers>We haven't ever figured out whether we have obligations to the people <v Kenneth Deavers>who leave farming as well as to the people who stay in farming. <v Singer>The big boys they all got computers,Got INC.'d too. Me, I just
<v Singer>know how to raise things, that was allI ever knew. Now it all comes down to numbers. Now I'm glad that I have quit. Hopes these days don't do nothing. Searching for- <v Narrator>It's been said that a man is what a man does, <v Narrator>but if you're forced to leave the land, you've farmed all your life. <v Narrator>Then what are you and what do you do? <v Narrator>For many farmers, the 1980s have been severe. <v Narrator>Crop prices are low and land values are down. <v Narrator>Many farmers, after years of rising debt, have been forced to sell their land and quit <v Narrator>farming. Others faced foreclosure, losing virtually everything <v Narrator>they own. Through the first half of this decade. <v Narrator>America lost 220000 farms.
<v Narrator>Several things happened to your home town when a farmer quits farming. <v Narrator>When farmers are unemployed, they buy less. <v Narrator>So the hardware store, the grocery store and the barber shop do less business. <v Narrator>Many farm families leave the community, taking with them the energy, talent <v Narrator>and values a small town needs most. <v Narrator>Your home town really suffers when a man is forced to leave the land he's <v Narrator>farmed all his life. <v Kenneth Deavers>The personal trauma and distress associated <v Kenneth Deavers>with losing an enterprise which may have been in the family <v Kenneth Deavers>for generations causes more turmoil <v Kenneth Deavers>for the individual, more sense of loss of self-worth, <v Kenneth Deavers>more fundamental questioning about whether or not you're a good person <v Kenneth Deavers>than to lose a job in a factory or, you know, in a corner business <v Kenneth Deavers>or something. <v Kenneth Deavers>And so I think that you see a lot more.
<v Kenneth Deavers>A lot more community wide and family wide <v Kenneth Deavers>stress associated with unemployment in farm communities than you <v Kenneth Deavers>do in many other rural communities that are under stress. <v Narrator>Nebraska is a rural agricultural state. <v Narrator>Seventy nine Nebraska counties have a population less than twenty thousand. <v Narrator>There's sixty thousand farms in Nebraska and 64 of the 93 <v Narrator>Nebraska counties are farm dependent. <v Narrator>Through the mid 1980s, Nebraska has lost as many as thirty five <v Narrator>hundred farmers annually. <v Narrator>Officials in Nebraska realize that beyond the personal cost. <v Narrator>Farm failures have a very real cost to the state. <v Mollie Anderson>We are noticing as the ag. Crisis in Nebraska <v Mollie Anderson>has had its effect, that it has an impact upon increasing needs for social services, <v Mollie Anderson>for food stamps, for mental health counseling, for aging services, <v Mollie Anderson>and even on health itself, on the
<v Mollie Anderson>need for additional medical services. <v Mollie Anderson>So there is no question that it has a <v Mollie Anderson>cost factor for Nebraska in terms of of these farmers in need. <v Narrator>If an unemployed farmer can't find a job, eventually he'll pack up the family <v Narrator>and move away for a small town. <v Narrator>That's the worst thing that can happen, because farmers are the kind of people you want <v Narrator>to keep around. <v Mollie Anderson>There's no question our work ethic is is excellent, that they will put <v Mollie Anderson>in a good day's work, that they understand the difficulties of running a business <v Mollie Anderson>and they're extremely loyal individuals, hardworking, all those types of things <v Mollie Anderson>because they have been in farming and a business <v Mollie Anderson>person, they can manage themselves. <v Mollie Anderson>They don't necessarily need a supervisor. <v Mollie Anderson>And the mechanic can that jack of all trades as <v Mollie Anderson>a as a term often used for farmers.
<v Mollie Anderson>It's true. <v Micheal Nolan>Strong family ties spiritual values of hard work, <v Micheal Nolan>of people who are self-starters, who you know, who don't need to have someone to prod <v Micheal Nolan>them to be motivated to set goals themselves and who basically or <v Micheal Nolan>are self-made of honest people. <v Narrator>For Nebraska officials, the situation was pretty clear. <v Narrator>Each year, the farm crisis was forcing thousands of Nebraska farmers off <v Narrator>farm and into the unemployment line. <v Narrator>The impact on small communities was great. <v Narrator>And each time a farm family moved away, the health and future of a small town <v Narrator>suffered. But what to do? <v Narrator>There were no state or federal programs that dealt specifically with displaced farmers. <v Narrator>There was, however, the Job Training Partnership Act, a federal law designed <v Narrator>to help jobless persons regain employment through retraining. <v Narrator>Under the act, states can establish programs for displaced workers and <v Narrator>be funded by the federal government.
<v Narrator>Nebraska took the money and created an innovative program designed <v Narrator>for farmers. <v Mollie Anderson>We try to tell a farmer that our first goal is to keep them in farming. <v Mollie Anderson>And if we're not able to do that, at least to allow them the opportunity to explore some <v Mollie Anderson>other alternatives and hopefully keep them in Nebraska and keep them in their rural <v Mollie Anderson>communities. <v Nancy Schwede>The goal of the AG Action Center is to keep the farmer or the AG related person in the <v Nancy Schwede>place that they want to be, wherever that might be. <v Nancy Schwede>Some of them choose to remain on the farm. Some of them choose to go seek other kinds of <v Nancy Schwede>employment or retrain for another kind of employment. <v Narrator>The Nebraska Farmers Program, called Agriculture in Transition, is tailored <v Narrator>to those it is trying to help. <v Narrator>For example, counselors know farmers think entering a welfare office is an admission <v Narrator>of failure. So agriculture in transition establish six ag action <v Narrator>centers and community colleges across the state. <v Narrator>Program director Molly Anderson calls the center's places to explore options. <v Mollie Anderson>The first thing that happens is a financial evaluation of what their financial
<v Mollie Anderson>status is. And from that, they can determine whether they need to look at other <v Mollie Anderson>alternatives. And we try to again, see if there are ways that we can manage the situation <v Mollie Anderson>differently to maintain them on the farm. <v Mollie Anderson>If that's not possible, then we begin to do some career exploration programs. <v Mollie Anderson>And there we are. We tell them a little bit about what's available in Nebraska, but <v Mollie Anderson>training is required. <v Mollie Anderson>What kind of income they can expect. <v Mollie Anderson>We offer some support programs. <v Mollie Anderson>Sometimes they do need some social service help. <v Mollie Anderson>And then if they decide they want to get out of farming and they make the decision <v Mollie Anderson>themselves, then we start offering some programs to train them and other occupations. <v Mollie Anderson>We offer classroom training where we allow them to go to a community college and we pay <v Mollie Anderson>100 percent of the book's tuition and fees. <v Mollie Anderson>We pay a local employer, hopefully in their hometown area <v Mollie Anderson>that now allows them to work in a community and be trained on the job. <v Narrator>Nancy Schwede runs the AG Action Center in Norfolk, Nebraska, <v Narrator>on the campus of Northeast Technical Community College.
<v Narrator>She says a person leaving the farm carries a lot of emotional baggage <v Narrator>and at first can't focus on career planning. <v Nancy Schwede>Sometimes it takes us a couple, three visits before they're ready to start the job <v Nancy Schwede>seeking skills classes or the career process or whatever <v Nancy Schwede>they're going to go into because they're very emotional at that point and they're only <v Nancy Schwede>seeing seeing the negative aspects. <v Nancy Schwede>So I work on the individual. And what what are the positive aspects of this? <v Nancy Schwede>Know, maybe this is an opportunity rather than financial <v Nancy Schwede>disaster or whatever. <v Narrator>Nancy found out that when a farmer finally begins to think about another career, he <v Narrator>always says the same thing. <v Narrator>And that is all I can do is farm. <v Nancy Schwede>That is the statement I hear over and over and over. <v Nancy Schwede>All I can do is farm. <v Nancy Schwede>I might say, but it's not true. They have a tremendous number of skills <v Nancy Schwede>that they usually have not looked at. <v Gil>I don't know where I stand in this out in the world other than farming.
<v Nancy Schwede>And a farmer doesn't have other kinds of skills, Gil. <v Gil>Oh, I'm sure they do. <v Nancy Schwede>Can you name some of those skills. <v Gil>The skills of farming I guess. <v Nancy Schwede>Have you ever had a sick cow. <v Gil>Yes. <v Nancy Schwede>ever had [unclear] Calf. <v Gil>Yes. <v Nancy Schwede>You kind of think that maybe you have some kind of Vetenary skills to answer. <v Nancy Schwede>Do you call the vet in every time? <v Gil>No, not every time. I don't. <v Gil>I usually get one of my family out there to help. <v Nancy Schwede>So far, we've talked about the fact that you have some vet skills and some researching <v Nancy Schwede>skills. What are the kinds of things that you do? <v Gil>Well, I guess there's things you do around the place that you don't realize that you <v Gil>have. I've done some carpentry around. <v Gil>I remodeled the kitchen. <v Nancy Schwede>So now we have three skills, keep going. <v Gil>A little little electrical wiring in-. <v Nancy Schwede>Four skills. <v Gil>Repair my tractor once in a while-. <v Narrator>A big part of agriculture in transition is the on the job training program.
<v Narrator>After a farmer selects some possible new career. <v Narrator>The AG Action Center teams him up with a local business doing that kind of work. <v Narrator>The farmer learns his new skill on the job and the employer gets reimbursed for <v Narrator>half the employee's wages during the training period. <v Arlen Lutz>And they also screen the people and everything to determine whether <v Arlen Lutz>they're suitable for your type of business. <v Arlen Lutz>And that's pretty valuable because we're not a large enough <v Arlen Lutz>company to have a personnel office or anything of that type. <v Arlen Lutz>And so that just helps us in screening <v Arlen Lutz>people that might be employable in our business. <v Narrator>Frank Kielar is learning tractor repair on the job at the Lutts John <v Narrator>Deere dealership. <v Narrator>He thinks the on the job training program is a good deal. <v Frank Kielar>I think it is. <v Frank Kielar>People can after they get older now. <v Frank Kielar>They don't know what they want to really want to do. They can get into this and find out
<v Frank Kielar>if they really like it and they don't really like it. <v Frank Kielar>After a week or two, they can change over and go into something else. <v Frank Kielar>I was pretty sure I want to work here now, but they had other programs that you could go <v Frank Kielar>into. This was kind of right here. <v Frank Kielar>And I was born and raised on a farm, so I was kind of in my blood a little bit. <v Narrator>Mollie Anderson says Nebraska's agriculture and transition program is <v Narrator>undeniably a success. <v Mollie Anderson>I consider a statistical success, I guess, in that most of <v Mollie Anderson>the farmers who see us stay in farming and that those who have <v Mollie Anderson>to get out of farming are placed. <v Mollie Anderson>About 80 percent of those are placed in jobs so <v Mollie Anderson>that they're not a burden on the tax system, not having to draw a lot of assistance <v Mollie Anderson>type of of programs, but that they're able to work in our small towns, <v Mollie Anderson>earning our wage and putting money back into the community. <v Narrator>Placements, statistics, employment figures and wage scales can be dry stuff, <v Narrator>but they don't speak to the very real success in human terms taking place
<v Narrator>in Nebraska. On a rainy afternoon in Stanton, Nebraska. <v Narrator>Five farmers gathered at a local tavern to talk about being forced off the farm <v Narrator>and to talk about the people in the program that literally saved their lives. <v Speaker A>My thoughts were suicide. <v Speaker A>I didn't know where else to go. That was all my husband's family and I had done for the <v Speaker A>last 14 years. <v Speaker A>We had no other alternative route to take at that time. <v Speaker A>The only training my husband had was being on the farm myself. <v Speaker A>I had worked in nursing homes and as a waitress. <v Speaker A>But that isn't what I had wanted to do the rest of my life. <v Speaker A>So we contacted a friend of mine was going through the same situation in their families <v Speaker A>in bankruptcy also. <v Speaker A>She told me about the AG Action Center and the farmers in transition program and <v Speaker A>after speaking with people there, I had a more positive outlook on things. <v Speaker A>And I started to care about myself and my family again and not <v Speaker A>feel so down. <v Speaker B>When I went in there, I broke down when I talked to Nancy.
<v Speaker B>I mean, I cried is like I didn't have no control, <v Speaker B>Nancy. said now what's your trouble? <v Speaker B>Well, I got depression. <v Speaker B>And that's the first thing she sent me to the doctor. <v Speaker B>And the doctor said physically I was all right. <v Speaker B>It's just your mind is playing tricks. <v Speaker B>She says, now take your problem <v Speaker B>whatever problem. It's the Depression, throw it in the sack. <v Speaker B>So I threw it in. She said, What else is it? <v Speaker B>Well, my friend on the road, he's going down and I can't help it. <v Speaker B>Throw it in there. All these problems, these farm problems, she threw in to sack, <v Speaker B>you know, put every one of them in there. <v Speaker B>You know. She says here there's <v Speaker B>all the problems, I got all the problems you haven't got any. <v Speaker B>So she took my depression away. <v Speaker C>I had the feeling that, gee what would have my <v Speaker C>brothers and sisters think of me, you know, losing the farm. <v Speaker C>It.
<v Speaker C>But at the present time, I have no intentions of leaving the area anymore. <v Speaker C>But I did think of that in my mind. <v Speaker C>But my son is presently going to the Northeast Tech. <v Speaker C>You're taking up Industrial Maintenance. <v Speaker C>And he and I went to this Northeast Tech this career planning <v Speaker C>together. <v Speaker C>And they made me feel as though say I'm OK. <v Speaker C>There's nothing wrong with me, you know? It just made me a different outlook <v Speaker C>on life. It made me feel like I was worth something. <v Speaker D>They've shown me a new direction, a <v Speaker D>way to fit back into society. <v Speaker D>And that way I can get <v Speaker D>an education and go back into another field or <v Speaker D>into a more advanced agricultural field and <v Speaker D>be a credit to society again.
<v Speaker E>They turned me clear around. Sometimes it breaks me up. <v Speaker E>But that crisis center has turned me clear around. <v Speaker E>That I hold them. <v Speaker E>I guess in the palm of my hand, they aren't <v Speaker E>just teachers. There's somebody to be respected and loved. <v Speaker E>This is that important to me. <v Nancy Schwede>And the line that seems to bring more people to <v Nancy Schwede>wanting to partake in our services is you don't understand <v Nancy Schwede>the peace that's going to come. <v Nancy Schwede>After, you know, where you're going to go with the rest of your life. <v Nancy Schwede>And I'm usually on that line. I get tears and they'll say, <v Nancy Schwede>you really think there's going to be peace because they're not having peace doing <v Nancy Schwede>what they're doing or they wouldn't be in here to see me in the first place. <v Nancy Schwede>You know, they're having a lot of nightmares and wake lost nights and sleepless nights.
<v Nancy Schwede>Not wakeless nights, sleepless nights from their concerns and <v Nancy Schwede>so on, teaching people that they can do anything in the world. <v Nancy Schwede>If they only get out of their own way. <v Mollie Anderson>There's a lot of that information that's come out nationally about farmers crying <v Mollie Anderson>and horrible sales and the kid losing his favorite pet and <v Mollie Anderson>etc, etc., and small towns blowing away. <v Mollie Anderson>And I think the alternative message is not told enough that many <v Mollie Anderson>of these people find a solution and they find a way to remain in the farm in a way <v Mollie Anderson>to remain in their community. <v Kenneth Deavers>Probably the first and most important thing the community has to do if it's going to have <v Kenneth Deavers>a sensible strategy for the future is to figure out what assets
<v Kenneth Deavers>they have and how to use those for future development. <v Narrator>If you come to Hartwell, Georgia. Plan to ride the train. <v Narrator>Of course of the residents have anything to do with it. <v Narrator>That's probably why you came to Hartwell in the first place. <v Narrator>A short ride on the railway is a key part. <v Narrator>This small Georgia town's revitalization program, that wasn't the plan <v Narrator>in the beginning. <v Narrator>At first, Hartwell started down a completely different track, trying to recruit new <v Narrator>industry. <v Narrator>But some innovative thinking has created new jobs, refurbishing <v Narrator>a dying part of town and turned Hartwell into a budding tourist attraction. <v Narrator>When Nancy Hart, in the early years of the American Revolution, shot two Tories and <v Narrator>hung three others, she wasn't looking to get a Georgia county named after. <v Narrator>But that's what happened.
<v Narrator>Actually, a county, a city, a lake, a state park and a highway <v Narrator>are all named for this legendary heroine of the American Revolution. <v Narrator>The Tories had forced their way into Nancy's home looking for food and whiskey. <v Narrator>Well, Nancy kept their cups full until she could grab a rifle and then she killed one <v Narrator>and wounded another. And when help arrived, they hung the rest. <v Narrator>And Nancy Hart became a legend. <v Narrator>Today, the people of Hart County seem to carry with them that same grit <v Narrator>and courage she represents. <v Narrator>Hart County, population less than 19000, is a small rural <v Narrator>county in northeast Georgia. <v Narrator>The county seat is Hartwell, a town of 5000, sitting about 10 miles <v Narrator>from the Savannah River and the South Carolina state line. <v Narrator>In the old days, Cotton was king in Hart county and for more than 50 years, <v Narrator>beginning in the late eighteen hundreds, Hartwell's economy depended entirely on
<v Narrator>cotton. Cotton related businesses flourished along Depo Street <v Narrator>and the Hartwell railroad, carried cotton and other farm goods north to Bowersville in <v Narrator>the main rail line. <v Narrator>But in the early nineteen hundreds, things turned sour. <v Narrator>The boll weevil. The invention of rayon and nylon. <v Narrator>The introduction of irrigated cotton in Western states led to the collapse <v Narrator>of the cotton market. <v Narrator>By 1950, many Hartwell businesses had failed and buildings were simply abandoned. <v Narrator>Over the years, Hartwell rebuilt primarily by recruiting small industry <v Narrator>today an auto equipment manufacture, a sporting goods company and a clothing company <v Narrator>provide jobs for area workers. <v Narrator>But recently, the mayor and other community leaders decided Hartwell needed a shot <v Narrator>in the arm. Downtown businesses were not doing well. <v Narrator>Depo Street was an eyesore of abandoned cotton warehouses. <v Narrator>The rail line was losing money and about to go under.
<v Narrator>Young people were growing up in Hartwell, but moving away in search of jobs <v Narrator>and a future. What was needed was economic development, and community <v Narrator>officials hoped that what had worked in the past would work again. <v Paul DeLargy>The basic theme of there with most of the people <v Paul DeLargy>was to get more industries. <v Paul DeLargy>So generally, I would say that the community <v Paul DeLargy>was more interested in industrial development than they were tourism. <v Narrator>But industrial recruitment isn't as easy as it used to be. <v Joan Saliba>Industries wanted to be near the big metropolitan <v Joan Saliba>areas, so it was very difficult to entice new <v Joan Saliba>industries into our location. <v Kenneth Deavers>The Knee-Jerk reaction at the community level, <v Kenneth Deavers>certainly in the south, where manufacturing has been the principal engine <v Kenneth Deavers>of economic growth during the 60s and 70s. <v Kenneth Deavers>Knee-Jerk, reaction is industrial development is the solution in industrial development <v Kenneth Deavers>means branch plants.
<v Kenneth Deavers>Well, we're not locating lots of new branch plants any place in this country at this <v Kenneth Deavers>point in time. Manufacturing sector is a declining <v Kenneth Deavers>share of U.S. employment. <v Kenneth Deavers>That's not new. It has been for 20 some years. <v Kenneth Deavers>So if you hang your star on industrial promotion, <v Kenneth Deavers>you are competing in a shrinking market. <v Narrator>Experts say self development is the best strategy for small towns <v Narrator>rather than building facilities. The focus should be on educating people and building <v Narrator>leaders instead of looking outside the community for new employers. <v Narrator>Towns should identify their own resources and exploit them in a positive way. <v Narrator>There are several advantages to self development. <v Narrator>The businesses created are owned and controlled by local people. <v Narrator>Building from within becomes a continuous process and doesn't stop. <v Narrator>One branch plant shuts down and self development is more than just <v Narrator>providing jobs. It expands the skills and capabilities of workers
<v Narrator>and businesses. <v Narrator>Hartwell, Georgia, was ideally suited for self development. <v Narrator>One major resource not being fully exploited was Hartwell Lake, just <v Narrator>minutes from the town Hartwell Lake was created by the completion of the Hartwell Dam. <v Narrator>In 1963, the lake borders, Georgia and South Carolina <v Narrator>were the shoreline of nine hundred and sixty two miles. <v Narrator>Eleven million people visit the lake each year. <v Narrator>But Hartwell Mayor John Saliba realized few of these people were coming <v Narrator>into Hartwell. <v Joan Saliba>So I figured if eleven million visitors were coming into the area <v Joan Saliba>each year, if you could tap one million of those visitors <v Joan Saliba>and bring them in and each one spent one dollar, can you imagine <v Joan Saliba>the economic impact that you would have? <v Narrator>The mayor met with experts from the University of Georgia and tourism became the <v Narrator>number one goal for Hartwell.
<v Paul DeLargy>We convened meetings with the mayor and we brought people. <v Paul DeLargy>We had breakfasts and we talked about the possibilities of <v Paul DeLargy>tourism and how you go about that and an outgrowth of that, where we've got enough people <v Paul DeLargy>aboard that we're interested in doing it. <v Paul DeLargy>And we started to look at tourism as a number one goal. <v Narrator>Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Hartwell railway was running out of steam. <v Narrator>The owners of the one hundred and eight year old railway were about to retire, and it <v Narrator>looked as if the rail line would be abandoned. <v Lee Carter>It happened that at the same time, the people from the university was here <v Lee Carter>investigating the possibilities of the tourist <v Lee Carter>industry. So the two coincided <v Lee Carter>and we managed to get several people from the community interested <v Lee Carter>in purchasing control of the railroad to see if we could <v Lee Carter>not develop a tourist industry through that.
<v Narrator>The Hart County Scenic Railway had a bumpy ride at first. <v Narrator>Special licenses were required for passenger service. <v Narrator>Steam engine parts were hard to find, and the first superintendent died unexpectedly. <v Narrator>But the historic spirit of Nancy Hart prevailed. <v Narrator>And the railroad has become the one attraction that regularly brings people to Hartwell <v Narrator>during the school year, youngsters from all over Georgia come to ride the train and <v Narrator>picnic by the water. <v Narrator>The Hartwell train pulled by the steam engine has even been featured in local Georgia <v Narrator>television commercials. <v PayAnyDay Loans>Major purchases are easier with our PayAnyDay Loans. <v PayAnyDay Loans>PayAnyDay. Simple interest at the Georgia Railroad Bank
<v PayAnyDay Loans>for your auto dealer. <v PayAnyDay Loans>I hear It'll do 25 miles an hour. <v Narrator>Hartwell began with a good self development strategy. <v Narrator>But something else was needed. <v Narrator>Visitors to the lake would be attracted to Hartwell by the train. <v Narrator>But how could these tourist dollars be turned into jobs for Hartwell workers? <v Narrator>After several town meetings, it was decided to renovate the street adjacent <v Narrator>to the train depot. The old abandoned warehouses would be perfect for small <v Narrator>shops and restaurants, natural tourist attractions. <v Narrator>Today, you can shop for a locally made crafts and wood carvings, strum a <v Narrator>handmade dulcimer, try on slippers made on the premises, enjoy <v Narrator>a little theater production, get a home cooked meal by one of the last remaining <v Narrator>American made umbrellas, or listen to a bluegrass band. <v Narrator>Here's a sampler of depo Street in Hartwell, Georgia. <v Guest>[music plays] Let's go back to Act 1
<v Band>[Singing] We're glad to see all you new people with us here tonight. <v Band>A lot of faces we have been seeing here on Saturday night. <v Band>We're glad that you've come to be with us here at the Bluegrass Express on Depo Street <v Band>in good old Hartwell [singing] <v Narrator>The future of Hartwell is bright, like its train traveling through the Georgia
<v Narrator>countryside. The town has put itself on the straight track of self development. <v Narrator>Hartwell will never be a north Georgia Disneyland, but it doesn't want to be stately. <v Narrator>Civil war era mansions. <v Narrator>A pleasant country in a beautiful like a tourist railroad. <v Narrator>A street of quaint shops. Hartwell is cozy. <v Narrator>Just the way it wants to be. <v Narrator>But the people aren't complacent. <v Narrator>They still look forward to the future and they're happy in <v Narrator>their hometown. <v Lee Carter>Well, I've always been proud of my community. <v Lee Carter>I like to see the best for it. <v Lee Carter>The fact that we were able to say salvage the railroad and keep it operating. <v Lee Carter>Everybody realized that it would be a bad thing if we lost the one hundred <v Lee Carter>and eight year old industry. <v Lee Carter>That, to me, has been the most rewarding part of it.
<v Speaker F>Hartwell is beginning to come around some as a tourist spot because of the lake and <v Speaker F>the train So hopefully before too long, I'll be able to move into <v Speaker F>the shop on a full time basis and support my family <v Speaker F>and earn a living doing things that I really enjoy. <v Paul DeLargy>I know they have a core leadership that's capable. <v Paul DeLargy>I know they have people that are are willing and able to give time and and <v Paul DeLargy>have made a commitment. And you can tell it by just looking at some of the activities <v Paul DeLargy>they're doing in each year there. <v Paul DeLargy>They seem to be becoming more involved and more involved. <v Joan Saliba>I think the future of Hartwell is is fantastic. <v Joan Saliba>I don't want you to misunderstand by saying that we're going to grow by leaps <v Joan Saliba>and bounds because nobody wants that. <v Joan Saliba>But we're going to have a charming town. <v Narrator>Fairview, Utah, Norfolk, Nebraska, Hartwell, <v Narrator>Georgia. Small towns in rural American towns
<v Narrator>not much different from your hometown. <v Narrator>What they represent each in its own way is success and what they say <v Narrator>best to the rest of rural America is that the essence of small town life <v Narrator>lies within the community. <v Narrator>So the development of solutions to problems must also come from within. <v Narrator>But the future will not be easy. <v Kenneth Deavers>If there's one word to summarize what's going on, <v Kenneth Deavers>it is very difficult economic adjustment <v Kenneth Deavers>because it requires a diverse set of strategies <v Kenneth Deavers>and a different set of strategies and the strategies that community real communities have <v Kenneth Deavers>tried in the past. That makes it much harder because <v Kenneth Deavers>you can't use what you did in the 60s as a model for what you're going to do in the 80s. <v Kenneth Deavers>It's true at the local level is true at the state level. <v Kenneth Deavers>It's true at the federal level. So therefore, I think that <v Kenneth Deavers>the rural economic adjustment to the new set of realities,
<v Kenneth Deavers>both domestically and internationally, is going to be very difficult. <v Narrator>Difficult? Yes. Impossible. <v Narrator>No. If the buildings on Main Street are vacant now with a little luck, <v Narrator>they won't be for long because in small towns all across America, <v Narrator>the problems of unemployment and economic distress are being met with determination, <v Narrator>innovative thinking and teamwork, because in some small way, <v Narrator>life is better there. <v Narrator>So take a good look around. <v Narrator>This is your hometown. <v Host>This program was produced by the Economic Research Service, which is solely
<v Host>responsible for its content.
- Program
- Your Hometown
- Producing Organization
- United States. Agricultural Research Service. Economic Research Service
- KRMA-TV (Television station : Denver, Colo.)
- Contributing Organization
- The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-526-445h990c22
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-526-445h990c22).
- Description
- Program Description
- "Narrated by actor James Whitmore, YOUR HOMETOWN is an entertaining, informative, and educational look at small-town rural America. "Americans hold a certain affinity for small towns. Many of us were born in, or raised in, or would like to return to a small town. But 'your hometown' is not what it used to be. Most of us think of rural America as a growing agricultural area pretty much isolated from the rest of the nation. In reality, much of rural America is not growing, not agricultural, and not isolated. In fact, rural America is facing a very difficult time of economic adjustment, as small towns search for ways to create employment opportunities and revitalize their economies. "YOUR HOMETOWN is a look at some truly remarkable people in small-town rural America. Each serves as an example of how innovative thinking and teamwork help put small towns on the road to economic recovery. "Visit a Utah woman whose talent for making candy has blossomed into a business employing 25 local women -- in a county with a 22% unemployment rate! "Next meet some dedicated professional counselors who are helping Nebraska farmers find other careers after they are forced to leave the farm. "Then take a train ride through the Georgia countryside. The train, a nearby lake, and a street of quaint shops are helping the people of Hartwell, Georgia turn their economically troubled town into a budding tourist attraction. "Woven throughout the program are comments from rural developments economist which elucidate the material, as well as actualities from the people in each location, and some spunky, thoughtful, and downright entertaining music."--1987 Peabody Awards entry form.
- Broadcast Date
- 1987-12-30
- Asset type
- Program
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:58:07.918
- Credits
-
-
Producing Organization: United States. Agricultural Research Service. Economic Research Service
Producing Organization: KRMA-TV (Television station : Denver, Colo.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the
University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-63123b15ac4 (Filename)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 0:58:57
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “Your Hometown,” 1987-12-30, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 22, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990c22.
- MLA: “Your Hometown.” 1987-12-30. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990c22>.
- APA: Your Hometown. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990c22