Columnists
Us and them revisited
Following up on my previous column, I flashback to the Good Ol’ Days, when ‘Us’—those of us who were long-time locals—were troubled with the arrival of ‘Them’—people from away, who would surely ruin our way of life.
This was back in the 1980s, when the County was discovered. Since then the ‘them’ turned out to be good people who wanted to love and protect the very same things we did all of our lives. After 40 years, the County has changed. The ‘them’ became us. And we grew up together. The ‘them’ didn’t become an enclave of rich people buying into some rural property. They joined us, and became major donors to our Hospital, Hospice, the Regent, County FM and dozens of other County institutions we adore, which were always in danger for lack of funds. We are certainly now ‘us’. Working together.
Peace and harmony. Until now. More on this later.
WATCHING THE COUNTY GROW
As you know, I’ve been involved in County life since I spoke my first words, which were: “Make sure we keep the County safe.” Okay, it was probably “goo goo”, but I’m the one who gets to write my history, so lay off.
I go back to when the County was ‘discovered’. As a printer, I worked on many of the projects, following the lead of the many crazy people who had a plan. I didn’t always agree with the plan but, as I’ve said before, the one who pays the bill gets to call the shots.
It was good at first. Tourism started to blossom, then grew into a flower. It later grew into the man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Promotion is good. It works. One major problem: Cart before the horse. Even before the fiasco of Covid—in which ‘promotion’ told everyone to come to the County, when every storefront, restaurant and washroom were closed—we were totally unprepared for our sudden success.
The blame for this goes back on previous Councils. “Yay! Our plan is working! People are coming!” With no infrastructure to support them. No public washrooms, no available parking, no proper signage to send visitors where they wanted to go. Woodstock was a better organized fiasco than this!
The County has always been different. Read the big ads in Food & Drink and CAA Magazine: Haliburton, Elliot Lake … Come on down! Don’t care who you are or where you came from, just invest in us. We are not like that. We want people who know us, and want to be here. Not just a dart throw on some unknown community to move to.
WE CONTINUE TO PROMOTE
But do we? Since the County is now hip and happening, the focus is on websites, because who gives a damn about people who can read? I scroll these websites, especially when I’m gathering events for our Breakaway magazine. I encounter information from 2020, with no updates. Screen after screen, I get nothing but the last posting: Pix from our 2018 social gathering.
Trouble is, most of the people who hold events, spend a lot of time planning their events. There is usually one person in the group who has the knowledge to update the website. But they don’t. I get this, because updating websites is like magic to me. I am totally bewildered because I’m a print guy.
BUT, HERE ON THE STAG E . . .
Metro newspaper writers kill me. They write, over and over again, about the same damn places which are fantastic ‘must-visit’ places. I was once a journalist, before I became a proper writer, with integrity. But C’mon! Every time you come to the County you
go to the same places, and write about your fantastic experience?
Clearly you have not visited the County. You just went to your old haunts and produced another amazing review. Like you did before. Likely with perks on the side, wink, wink.
Here on the stage. Sure big money operations deserve credit for the investments they put into their businesses. I don’t fault that. But that’s not County.
Now there are new players on the scene. Base31 is the new darling, and rightfully so. They have created a stunning set of music performances by top artists and everything they do is golden. They grow and grow, and I have no problem with that.
HERE’S MY PROBLEM
Base31 is not only the golden boy because they seem to be upright and trustable. I believe that too. I’ve worked with the previous Camp Picton crew, who approached Council to bring services up the Hill, so they could have water and possibly sewer facilities, and the deal look good. As I heard it from the source, it fell through. Not enough clout I wager.
Now, it seems, there’s lots of clout, and I guess that makes the difference. I’ve always said: A suitcase full of money always changes the game.
A NEW US & THEM
Picking up at the beginning, County people are unified. Our new ‘them’ are the people who are heading off in a direction we may not want to take.
What we want is not what we will get. Two directions. Council is trying to solve a problem it cannot solve. Affordable housing? Only if you can set up a shanty town, like other communities have done. Council is stuck in the mindset of developers, who have no interest in lowincome and homeless people. Council deals with people we don’t deal with. But all they see is what’s on their table. Presented by developers and consultants and a flurry of people who want to get what they want. They were drawn into that world, and their focus is on that world. Not what’s right.
HERE’S THE WEIRD PART
There’s always a weird part. Here it is: You’re being analysed by a therapist, and he asks you this: “Would you kill your spouse with poison, a knife or a gun?” You have been given three choices, and are under duress to choose one. You want to choose one, but you can’t. The correct answer is: “I would never kill my spouse.”
This is the conundrum Council is faced with. Choices. Everywhere. All the time. Pressure from different directions. Never have they said, “Is this what we really want? Maybe the answer is No. None of these choices work.”
That’s because they are not us anymore. They are the Corporation of the County of Prince Edward. They are the Walmart of the County; the Loblaw’s of the County. Way up there, deciding what they do. Not what we do. What they do.
This is a new Us & Them. The divisions we had years ago are gone. Dead. The divisions we have now are very much alive.
HOPE?
As much as the County has run off with its various mistresses, we remain what we are. We help each other, and volunteer work and contributions will keep our community alive. God knows we’ll pay for someone else’s vision. Only time will tell.
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