The Gameplan, Part 1: Exposition
Dear Boss,
My main goal is the rejuvenation of Hillsdale, MI. Hillsdale is the home of Hillsdale College, my alma mater and the institution where I met my wife. We recently moved to Hillsdale and are building a house, buying a few grave plots, and starting our family (baby number one is due this February).
To an outsider, Hillsdale may not appear to be an obvious choice to establish one’s family. The town is quite poor, social outlets are relatively few, and there are several social disorders plaguing the fine people of Hillsdale. Despite these flaws, Hillsdale is populated by well-intentioned folk who want to work hard, support their families, and attend church on Sunday. Additionally, a number of our friends have decided to make a go of it here as well, as they find that the presence of good friends and a good church are truly the things that should recommend a town to a potential immigrant. Because of these qualities, Hillsdale is the place that my wife and I have come to love. It is on account of this love that I am attempting to rejuvenate the town. However, my project also benefits from the potential of producing great wealth for me and my progeny.
Hillsdale used to be a regional economic hub. Initially settled due to the western access provided by the Erie Canal, Hillsdale became the end of the railroad line for people heading west out of New York. The railroad was initially planned to go beyond Hillsdale, but the government ran out of money. This being the 1800s, the state government could not secure free money from the federal government (at that venerable time, the feds were unable to print more cash on a lark). Hillsdale remained the end of the line for several years, and this situation was a great boon to the small town. Because of this, two of Hillsdale’s first large industries were the creation of wagon wheels and barrels. People flowed west from Hillsdale, and goods from the Frontier flowed east. The rail industry in Hillsdale experienced ups and downs until rail service ceased in 1976. Local rail activity in Hillsdale has experienced a recent resurgence, but that’s a topic for a later post.
Today, Hillsdale suffers from economic malaise. The deindustrialization of the American Heartland has hollowed out Hillsdale, along with many other small Midwestern towns. Hillsdale was once home to a dozen or more factories, but now it is only home to two. The average salary hovers around $37k. Its leading economic resource is the College, which happens to be one of the most excellent and distinctive institutions of education in America.
Hillsdale College has carved out a distinct position for itself in higher education. It is one of the few colleges that refuse government dollars in any form. This fierce commitment to independence has allowed it a great degree of educational freedom. It has encouraged an industrious personality in itself and its students. This stance has granted Hillsdale College great notoriety. People across the country look to Hillsdale College as one of the last great bastions of true liberal arts education. Most of these people are of a conservative bent, but fair-minded folk across the ideological spectrum also look to Hillsdale College for inspiration. The College is truly a wonderful place, and I’m proud to have it as my alma mater.
Hillsdale College is wonderful, but one college cannot keep an entire town ensconced in velvet. The College is not large enough to employ the entire town with cushy, overvalued administrative positions. It is to the College’s credit that it has not embraced the administrative bloat that is plaguing the nation’s other institutions of “higher” education, but this does have the side effect of fewer people being employed, and for less money.
Because of the lack of unique natural resources, the lack of easy access via planes, trains, and automobiles, and the hollowing out of local industry, the town of Hillsdale needs to capitalize on its main unnatural resource: its prominence in the conservative mind. The city, via the College, already produces some of the best education in America. To grow, it should become a hub for the best of everything: music, arts, craftsmanship, and politics can all thrive in Hillsdale. It just needs a boost to get there. Future memos will detail a plan for the way forward.
This is really interesting and important. Yes, a renaissance. At one point Hillsdale was a fairly prosperous little town, with machining and auto parts industries. It's greatest problem was a failure to adapt and compete to changes in these markets, and active opposition to new business opportunities. I think that hostile climate has changed and there's real opportunity here. One of my local friends ("yeah, I'm a 'Townie,'" he laughs) thinks one of the harder things is breaking a local culture of resignation that has developed, something he's trying to find ways to reverse.
I have no big point to make, just observing that your approach is promising and I look forward to seeing more.