Bulletin article on tourism,

Bulletin had an article about the love/hate relationship Bend has with tourism. Basically, the thrust of the article was, "Tourists: can't live with them, can't live without them." As you will see from the following, I've always been somewhat ambivalent about the subject.

Actually, the article was even more contradictory. The people quoted kept saying, "Well, we don't really need tourists. And then, in the next paragraph, "Boy, do we really need tourists!"

Which really sums it up, doesn't it?

I've always been torn by this issue. I come down on the side of, "Welcome to Bend,..now behave yourself."  Which, of course, isn't going to happen. I think the first waves of growth, the people did try to absorb the Bend ethos, but the later ones just overwhelmed it. I mean, it was very annoying to me when Trader Joes came to town and a bunch of people said, "Finally. We've hit the bigtime!' Really? So what you really want to do is have the town you just left?

I always remember seeing people dressing up for a visit downtown for the first time and being impressed. Because downtown was a blue jeans and t-shirt kind of place. Then again, I didn't make a whole lot of money when it was that way. 

I always said, that for the first half of our existence, I could shoot a cannon down Minnesota Ave and not hit anyone. 

Anyway, Bend has always been "poverty with a view," and that has gotten only worse. I always used to say that there is a thin veneer of sophistication in Bend, surrounded by the redneck majority.

I have also always commented on how isolated we are and how dependent on minimum wage jobs, retirement and tourism. The town was designed that way. That's the gamble we made, and for what it is, it was very successful. 

Do we really want to be Klamath Falls?

So growth was necessary just to keep the town alive, Well, now that we've succeeded, I do think we need to take our feet off the accelerator. As those who have read this blog know, I've been saying this about downtown events for years. They are no longer necessary to promote downtown and have become a hindrance instead. For example, the weekend after the recent Fall Fest, we did twice the business without any event at all. 

I recently moved to Redmond, while keeping my business in Bend. For years, I would defend Bend's growth by saying, "Well, the basic outlines are still here. I can ignore Northwest Crossing if I want to."  Linda and I recently moved to Redmond, and I have to take it all back. It is definitely a slower pace of life. It's nice.

It used to be busy or slow downtown, and there is still probably more a swing in seasons than most places, but I'm wondering if we've finally gotten big enough that the slow seasons are ameliorated. 

If you're a restaurant or business downtown, tourism is what keeps you alive. Everyone where else? I don't know, but I doubt it's quite as significant. Of course, we pay high rents downtown for the privilege.

Bottomline, if I could get the old Bend of the slow pace, the uncrowded forests, the fishing on Mirror Pond, the deserted Smith Rocks, and also have the kind of business I'm currently having--well, that would be great. But I'm afraid one crowds out the other.

So I have to come down on the side of growth. People need to make a living, and the lumber mills aren't going to do it.

Finally, it's all moot. You can't stop progress.