James Fallows, distinguished author and writer for The Atlantic magazine has, for the past few years, traveled the country to tell the story of America from a different perspective — that of the small cities and towns that dominate our nation from coast to coast.
All too often, when people examine America the focus is on our major cities and what is happening there. But you could make a strong argument that the best measure of our country is taken from small towns and cities. Most Americans live in small towns and cities, after all. That’s what Fallows set out to do.
During his travels, Fallows somehow landed here in Columbus and he liked much of what he saw — Columbus is routinely cited in his magazine articles, blogs and radio interviews. In particular, the growth of our local industry and aspects of our educational institutions — specifically the success of the Mississippi School for Math & Science and East Mississippi Community College and its workforce training programs — caught his eye.
No doubt, he was also impressed by the friendly people he encountered here, which lends credence to the city’s nickname — The Friendly City.
After thinking about all the small towns and cities he visited, Fallows started thinking about what made many of those cities successful.
The result was a magazine piece published a year ago, titled “11 Signs a City Will Succeed.”
It is not clear from the piece whether a city must have all 11 signs if it expects to be successful or can have just most of them and still expect to prosper. Nor is there a clear hierarchy that suggests one sign in more important than another. So you have to read between the lines a bit.
I am pleased to note that Columbus exhibits many of these signs, to varying degrees, depending largely on how you interpret them.
There are some signs Columbus can check off without reservation.
We are close to an outstanding research university (No. 6) in Mississippi State and we have, and care about, a community college (No.7) in East Mississippi Community College. We also have a viable downtown (No. 5).
We meet the standards of No. 4 (People know the civic story). Columbus has done an outstanding job of preserving and honoring our history — from our historic homes, churches and businesses to Catfish Alley, which honors the legacy of the city’s black population, something badly neglected in many Southern towns.
The city’s claim to some of the other signs is a bit tenuous, though.
For example, there is No. 2 – You can pick out the local patriots. These are the people who naturally emerge and are recognized as leaders. In our case, we immediately think of Mother Goose and Marty Turner. One is a colorful, whimsical, never-ending source of amusement. The other, of course, is Mother Goose. I am not sure if just two people are enough to meet the standard, however.
Likewise, No. 9 – They make themselves open — may be a bit of a reach for Columbus. Now, admittedly, if you are a campaign manager, the world is your oyster in this town. Otherwise, I’m not so sure.
After watching this year’s presidential campaigns, I certainly hope No. 1 – Divisive national politics seems a distant concern — is something Columbus has embraced. Can I get an amen on that one, at least?
Finally, there is the weighty topic of Sign No. 11.
It is: “They have a craft brewery.”
“You may think I’m joking, but just try to find an exception,” Fallows writes.
That’s a sad story for Columbus. When California developer and preservationist Gayle Guynup bought the historic train depot on Main Street, she initially hoped it would become the home of our city’s first craft brewery. We would all be fat, rich and happy if that had happened.
Unfortunately, we must settle for just being fat. Those plans for a craft brewery were scuttled when it was clear that some people — and by “some people” we mean state representative Jeff Smith — threw up big roadblocks.
In this year’s legislative session, Smith killed a bill that would have allowed craft breweries to sell their products on site. Presently we’re the only state in the union that forbids this.
So we can forget about No. 11 for the time being.
That’s too bad.
While it’s clear that we do not perfectly qualify as having all of the “11 Signs That Make a City Successful,” we are at least making some progress on 10 of them.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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