Leave it to Beaver (PA)
I had a chance to visit the small community of Beaver, PA recently. I posted up for the day in their public library to get some remote work done. In between a few hours of work, I took some breaks to wander the streets to experience the community the best way that I know how, on foot.
Along the way, I snapped some photos that I later posted to Facebook with this quick blurb:
Nestled along the confluence of the Ohio and Beaver Rivers, Beaver, PA is a quintessential American small town, checking a lot of boxes of a quality Main Street community.
From its elegant yet functional wayfinding signage, visible adherence to the Borough's property maintenance code, attractive and maintained streetlights, enticing storefronts, numerous inviting public spaces, beautifully cared-for brick pavers, reverence for historical architecture, commitment to outdoor recreation, and excellent walkability between residential, retail, dining, and community services, Beaver is a town that has its priorities focused on people, place, and purpose.
I wasn’t lying when I said these things. Beaver is not only charming, but it is clearly a place with its priorities straight. I didn’t expect much from my post, but in just a few short days, it had been shared over 60 times with hundreds of comments from current and past residents expressing how much they adore their hometown. Some of the comments included:
“My hometown. Wonderful place to grow up! The town of many parks!”
“Thanks for showing our town some love! Glad it treated you well!”
“Home.”
“Great town, great people!!!”
“Love Beaver!”
“My wonderful hometown…very fortunate to grow up there.”
“Best hometown ever!”
“Thanks for the love of our amazing town! We are so glad you got to enjoy its beauty and the wonderful shops.”
But what was even more surprising is that of these hundreds of comments, not a single one focused on some negative aspect of the town. It is clear that this is a community filled with civic pride, and a community that is filled with such pride for its quality of place is one that people want to cherish and invest their time, energies, talents, and resources.
Now, I suppose that this is especially surprising given my past experiences as a Main Street Manager. In the community that I worked in, it was all too often that I posted some great aspect of the downtown, only to have people complain, point out the problems, and throw their own community under the bus. I even had to stop following certain Facebook groups because the persistent negativity was affecting my well-being and outlook on the town.
Were there problems? You bet! But, was it as bad as people online made it out to be? Hell no. I was (and still am) a firm believer that my community was often its own worst enemy. For some reason, the cultural identity of the town was that it was not deserving of nice things, and when nice things did come along, the common response was to not support it, and shun it. I believe that this response comes from deeply embedded trauma within the community, but I’ll leave that analysis to the mental health professionals.
When my wife and I were far enough along in our relationship and she made the decision to move across the state to live with me in my community, numerous people from within, asked her in some form or another, “why would you move here? This place sucks.” Despite all of this, she still moved. I must be that amazing of a guy, right!? But, the bigger question is, why would people loathe their community so much Like, seriously, who hurt you?
Recently, I had the chance to meet up with Jeff Siegler of Revitalize or Die (super cool guy, by the way!). I’ve long been a great admirer of his work, and I just finished reading his book, Your City is Sick (buy it now, seriously.), which has validated a lot of things that I have been thinking and feeling lately when it comes to community development. In his chapter “Your City is Self Loathing”, he writes:
“This issue of low self-esteem is why your town has such a tough time improving. Everyone is so negative towards your town, optimism is discouraged, and the good news is scoffed at. No one believes your city deserves to improve, so improvement becomes nearly impossible.”
Progress is incredibly challenging in a community that hates itself; but on the flip-side, progress is almost inevitable in a community that loves itself. And, not only is the community attractive for its residents, but it’s attractive for outsiders too. Almost instantly after reading these comments on my Facebook post, I began looking for a house to buy in Beaver.
Do you think people are eager to house shop in a community where the residents are eager to tell anyone and everyone just how crummy everything is? I think not.
I have a lot more to say on this topic, but I’ll leave it for another time, so, don’t just leave it to Beaver…you too can be proud of your community. Love where you live, y’all!
