Walking Around:In The Heartland

Williamsport, Lycoming County, PA

Gertrude Stein once said of her native Oakland, "There's no there there." Oakland most likely didn't care. 

I suspect that Stein and her companion Alice Toklas would not have liked Williamsport, PA much either, but, having recently made two trips there, I don't care. WPort, as I call it, has got plenty of there; you just have to pay attention.

Once a thriving lumber town, Williamsport  has become better known in more recent years as the home of the Little League World Series. For a decade, it has been struggling to hold its population at around 30,000. But, that has not been an easy task despite a $300M  investment of tax and bond funds over the last ten years to enliven its downtown business district.

Williamsport is supposedly poised for a renaissance due to a projected boom from Marcellus Shale. No, Marcellus is not the newest Eagles' or Steelers' cornerback ; it is an area containing a huge natural gas deposit.  Lycoming County, according to the WPort Sun Gazette has already seen an influx of 75 new gas-related companies, and more are sure to follow offering new, mostly skilled jobs.

But, how many of those skilled jobs will go to current Williamsport residents, who sorely need good jobs? And, if they do, who will then work at the lower paying jobs they leave behind? I suppose that many cities would consider those to be very good issues to be facing given falling tax revenue, stingy state capitols, and more than enough deficits to go around. But, as they say, beware of what you wish for.

The Bullfrog Brewery sits between the newly-refurbished Genetti Hotel/Convention Center, which began life as The Lycoming, and the Arts Center. Bullfrog gathers a good crowd on Jazz Wednesdays, and serves its own brews as well as some  fine ribs.

The Bullfrog crowd is informal and mostly middle-aged. Except for a professor or two from Lycoming College, it looks like a native crowd.
But, don't think it's not sophisticated. The jazz combo played a very credible Coltrane arrangement of My Favorite Things, sans horn, and a nice Bye-Bye-Blackbird, at my request. Take that, Gertrude.

Glen Beck is "performing" at WPort Convention Center this week. I suppose he has a pretty good following here at the moment. He has an unusual capacity to make "just plain folks" think he's one of them; while pocketing millions and working for a huge corporation, News Corp. Somehow, I have a feeling that he would not like all that government spending downtown. But, appropriately, he's a guy who might know a great deal about gas.

Can Williamsport successfully jump all the way from the Little League to the majors by using water from its creeks and rivers to obtain the rich gas? Probably.

But, If the very capable folks who run Williamsport are smart, they'll invest any gas money in creating the best schools in the universe, therefore developing the best renewable natural resource any city has: young minds. The best minds will create the next generation of businesses and products, based on science,  technology, and imagination gained by studying the arts. And, they can build them in Williamsport.

As I headed south to home on Rte.15, a large road-sign near the town of White Deer read:
BUCKLE UP NEXT MILLION MILES. So true.

Ed Note: Rory Stewart did not walk a million miles across Afghanistan, but he certainly had to buckle up for every step he did take. We recommend his The Places In Between, Harcourt.