|
|
On the verge of
extinction
Why does a town die?
By Tracy Bushman, Eric Solomon and
Pete Thompson
Most people have heard the lore of the
old west ghost towns.
Places that were once buzzing with the excitement of a
wagon
train or the railroad coming through town.
Theses towns that once thrived, exist
only as ghost towns today.
Their buildings are boarded up and their residents have
vanished.
For several towns in Iowa, such a future
is a possibility, if not already a
reality. A possibility that has frightened many towns into
inventing ways to
revive their "dying towns".
What is a dying town? The most obvious
examples are towns with only a
handful of residents and few businesses. Neil's Spur is one
example of a
railroad town that resembles little of what it did in it's
hay-day and now
supports a population of three.
It is not merely the number of people
that live in a town, but also the age of the
population. America is aging and Iowa is no
exception.
The largest percentage of the population
is over the age of 65. Many elderly
citizens are moving into retirement communities, more often
than not, leaving
their homes vacant when they go.
Large changes in population also signal a
dying town. According to US
Census Bureau numbers, Waterloo leads in populaation
decline, having lost 2
890 people from 1990 to 1996.
Waterloo has seen its industry shift from
predominantly manufacturing, to a
blend of service and financial industries. The town survived
the closing of
Rath Meat Packing Company in 1985 which resulted in the loss
of over four thousand jobs.
Fort Dodge and Clinton rank second and
third in population decline,
respectively. However, these numbers only represent a two to
four percent
change in population in these towns.
When percent change is analyzed from US
Census Bureau numbers,
Corning, Seymore, and Moneta rank as the top three dying
towns in Iowa.
Corning lost 400 people representing an
11.1% decrease in population.
Seymore lost 190 peopole, a 10.9% decrease. But
Monetaís 10.3% loss is
deceiving in that it is only 6 people.
Towns are trying anything to stay alive
using tourism, casino gambling boats
and shopping malls. Still, the main concern of these towns
is that they will
become defunct; a ghost town with only memories of the past
rolling in the
tumbleweed.