A Community of Peers in a Big-Hearted Town

A Community of Peers in a Big-Hearted Town

Ask anyone why they choose to live in Elgin and you will hear the same reply over and over: "It's the people." A longtime Elgin resident says, "We're a big-hearted town." Present-day Elgin sits in a location once known to the Nez Perce as Lochow Lochow, "lovely little forest." Local tradition has it that once a year, neighboring tribes joined the Nez Perce to make summer camp and harvest camas roots, a peaceful hiatus during which people who might otherwise not be on friendly terms came together for congenial interaction. The legacy of getting along stands tall in Elgin, like the old-growth timbers that have provided shade, comfort and a livelihood to generations.

Yet, like many 21st century rural communities, Elgin _ population 1,600 _ seeks a firmer footing in changing times. Today, Elgin's main employers are the Boise Mill, the schools and the government. The agrarian industries that once supported Elgin citizens no longer offer a solid economic base. The void in employment has led many residents to seek professional training and work in far-off population centers. Most who remain work in nearby La Grande (population 12,000), where they also spend their hard-earned pay on such necessities as clothing, gas and groceries.

The prevalence of this commuting pattern siphons time, energy and dollars away from Elgin, weakening its economic base and depleting its pool of volunteer hours, as residents devote any spare time to cooking dinner and tending their families and homes. It is a cycle that makes it challenging for Elgin to get ahead.

Recognizing the need for new survival strategies, Elgin citizens have come together under various organizational umbrellas to navigate a new economy and keep the town a vibrant and healthy community for all. In the early 1990s, Oregon-based nonprofit Rural Development Initiatives (RDI) visited Elgin and invited several residents to attend their Rural Futures Forum. This inspiring experience led to the formation of Elgin 2010, a group that created a strategic plan with a 2010 target date for completion.

Looking to tourism as an alternative for tapping the area's natural resources, Elgin 2010 put the town on the map as a destination by creating the Hu-Na-ha RV Park and developing two new community parks. When the Boise Cascade Mill _ the town's main employer _ closed down in 1997, Elgin 2010 was the foundation for Elgin Edge, a growth endeavor that focuses on economic development.

In addition to these initiatives, Elgin citizens are engaged in an impressive array of volunteer civic organizations. The town is home to the largest food bank in the county, an active Lions Club, a Habitat for Humanity program, several youth-focused organizations, and numerous churches whose members engage in community activities, among others. To galvanize community energy and good will into a more solid infrastructure, community members readily participated in Horizons, a community leadership development program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation, as a way to diversify and strengthen Elgin's leadership base, and to build new opportunities for all of Elgin's citizens.

In the big picture, Elgin's population and economic base need to grow by 25 percent to 30 percent to sustain community resources. Understandably, some balk at the idea of growth, fearing that the town's congenial ambience could get lost in the quest for economic survival. It is a delicate balance. Proponents for growth know that thoughtful planning and action plans rooted in community life will restore Elgin's luster without sacrificing its small-town character.

While they are developing long-term, larger-scale plans, community members are also turning their energy toward on-the-ground solutions that will more immediately impact Elgin's quality of life and viability. In the process, they are learning the language of need as it is experienced day-to-day by neighbors and friends. Participants in the Horizons program have launched a Study Circle series in Elgin to carry their work into the future. The national Study Circles program offers five-week curricula focusing on particular issues, ultimately leading participants to action.

Elgin's three study circles concentrate on community needs and well-being, education and literacy, and the renewal of underutilized facilities around town. The groups work separately, but gather quarterly to share their progress and compare notes. Like ripples in a pool of hope, the study circles continually expand to incorporate new members and spread a vision for positive change.

The Safety Net Circle begins at home, providing residents with the resources they need to feel comfortable and safe where they live. This group put together kits that include weatherizing materials to conserve heat, flashlights and candles for power outages, and de-icers for outside walks. The kits are advertised over the local cable access television station and are available to anyone who needs them.

In its first year, the Safety Net Circle gave away 21 kits. The kits provide much-needed supplies to community members, but of equal importance, they let people know that their neighbors care about their well being. Next, the Safety Net Circle is turning its attention to a town scrap-metal drive and cleanup. Providing residents with vouchers for two trips to the dump per year is an idea that could help everyone remove unnecessary items from their yards.

The decline in Elgin's agricultural economy has left a hole in the skill and knowledge base that once supported the community. Previously, young people growing up in Elgin could look forward to a career in ranching, farming or timber. Today, fewer can rely on these industries for a livelihood. The Education and Literacy Study Circle has developed a three-pronged plan to give community members of all ages new tools with which to pursue alternative employment options.

Without a GED or high school diploma, people cannot find good jobs. A GED program in La Grande provides needed training, but the lack of a car, gas money or a baby sitter prevents many from taking these classes. Providing better access to this resource or bringing a GED program into Elgin will help people obtain the education they need to advance. Plans are also forming to tackle adult literacy and develop a program that pairs at-risk youth with older community members.

The Resources Study Circle is seeking ways to make better use of existing buildings. Previously a center of community entertainment, the Elgin Opera House (built in 1912) once hosted movies, concerts and plays _ its marvelous acoustics a delight for all to enjoy. This study circle is working to reopen this downtown jewel, which has been closed in recent years.

Elgin's community center building houses a gathering room, library and swimming pool, yet residents are not utilizing the building to capacity. The Resources Study Circle is developing plans to renovate the center, expand summer swimming pool hours, and enhance the building's potential as a focus for community activity. An after-school program for children whose parents work is one potential use of the center that would address several community issues simultaneously.

Another circle of Elgin residents is listening to community need. The Blue Mountain Quilters _ a group of women ranging in age from their 30s to 70s _ gather twice a month to conduct business meetings and work on projects. Long before they had the right to vote, women lent their voices and hands to community causes through quilting circles. Working in tandem with a local foster youth agency, the Elgin-based circle devotes its sewing talents to making emergency kits for foster children to take with them when they move to a new home, sometimes in the middle of the night. The Blue Mountain Quilters keep local police cars and fire trucks supplied with quilts for emergency situations and participate in disaster relief efforts beyond their community. Most recently, they sent tied quilts to Hurricane Katrina survivors.

In Elgin, participation in leadership training has broadened and deepened civic engagement, bringing new faces and energy into the circle of community action. One community member comments, "The more we work together, the better we know how to work together." Through trainings and collective work, individuals have realized their own untapped potential as community leaders and have found new ways to give voice and shape to their ideas.

Working together, people have learned their own and each other's strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly how the pieces fit together. Inevitably, as the town moves forward with development plans, not all community members will see eye to eye. Listening and negotiating differences have become mechanisms through which common goals can be identified and achieved. One resident likens these goals to seeds that need air, water and wind in order to take root and grow. Investment in leadership training and a community vision are catalysts for positive action, enriching Elgin's fertile ground and nurturing an abundant harvest of optimism and community pride for all residents to share.