Inspiring Change

The lecture we had on Monday discussed the revitalization going on in Mart, Texas, and the techniques for change that have been employed. Previously, we watched a video with Jason Roberts about some of the Better Block activities going on in Oak Cliff. 

What struck me most about the discussion we had in class on Monday was the simple and blunt question that Paula herself answered..."What makes Mart special?....Nothing." 

There is this level of disintegration and decay in numerous small towns across the country, and nothing specifically identifies Mart as a target except for the people who initiate the change. It got me thinking, and if you've read any of my previous blog posts about my home town of Vernon, you'd know that I've been thinking about how to revitalize the once booming now ghost town that I grew up in, and talking about it with some hometown friends. 

Theres a lot to do in making these places that hold so much value and meaning to generations of people that is overlooked by the current generation. From my observations growing up in Vernon, there is a desire for change, and a constant buzz of complaint about how things are, but there is little spark for these desired changes to come to fruition. It's almost as if the improvements that are initiated are dismissed by many people because they think that they will not work or will not last. Take the movie theater in Vernon for example. 

Back in the old days (or so my previous coffee shop customers would tell me) there were 3 or 4 movie theaters all in and around downtown, and going to the movies was THE event of the weekend for everyone. The Vernon Plaza Theater is the only remaining theater in town, and it has been opened and closed and reopened and closed more times than I can count. Most of the time that I was growing up in Vernon, my friends and I had to drive to either Wichita Falls, TX (55 miles) or Altus, OK (35 miles) to go to the movies. Yes, I said I went to Oklahoma voluntarily. That was before I was enlightened. 

Vernon in the 1910s

 

With the most recent reopening of the theater though, the people that reopened it really committed to improving the existing conditions and turning it into somewhere people actually wanted to be. This has probably been the biggest community improvement for Vernon in my lifetime. People are increasingly supportive as they see that the theater management is committed to lasting, but I imagine that the only reason it remains open is the financial backing of the management and their determination not to give up on the project. In a town like Vernon, there is no possible way that the theater is packed every night, so I'm skeptical of the monetary profit gained. However, the social profit and the ability to offer the kids of the community something PG (haha) to do is priceless for a lot of people.  

Vernon Plaza Theater

Not that this is the Better Block Vernon getting started, or the Vernon Community Project imitating Mart, but it's the people like this that instigate change, however small or large it is, that inspire more change to follow.