[Winona Online Democracy]
I have some experience with this one and want to share it with you. My wife
(Connie Blackburn) and I moved to Rollingstone 7 years ago, with two kids
in school, and both of us are involved in work that includes many community
connections.
Despite the unfortunate tone of self-pity in Ms. McKenzie's letter, I found
that I had to agree with her general observations. Winona still feels to me
like a tough place to make new friends, at least in these middle years of
life. We've lived in two other small-to-middle-sized communities (Ellsworth
WI and Barre MA) for shorter periods of time and felt notably more welcomed
and appreciated as newcomers in both places.
Not that we haven't found plenty of activities and organizations in which
to become involved, or that either of us is moping around, waiting for the
phone to ring. But I've heard it from MANY other "transplants"
here--longtime Winonans (with many notable exceptions) seem pretty content
with the social connections they already have.
I can think of a couple of possible partial explanations. One would be the
community associated with WSU and St. Mary's. My experience has been that
people in "higher education" expect and accept a high degree of transience
and in general may not be looking for new connections with people who don't
tie in with their academic work and interests. Another factor could be the
high value placed on self-reliance and family in our regional Bluff Country
subculture.
This seems to me to be a general sentiment or perception that is abundant
enough to be of concern to those thinking about how to strengthen a healthy
sense of community in the area. I've heard many of the same people who have
shared this perception say that they will probably be looking at moving
away from Winona some time in the middle future, let's say when the kids
complete high school, or when they retire. That's a potential big loss for
the whole community.
Scott Lowery
461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969
home phone: (507)689-4532
school phone: (507)453-3888
home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." James Thurber
----------------
This message was posted to the Winona Online Democracy Project.
Please visit http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Please sign all messages posted to this list with your actual name.
Posting of commercial solicitations is not allowed on this list.
Report problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
