At the beginning of October, we completed the first step of community-engaged research: making contact. We traveled about an hour and a half, south to Fayette County to experience the place we have been familiarizing ourselves with since August. Prior to embarking, we investigated from the outside what assets Fayette County had. We talked about infrastructure, workforce, industry, culture, and community. On site, we observed some more concrete examples of those broad categories. Culture and community were on display at the Coal and Coke Heritage Center at the Penn State Fayette Campus. The creation of the center itself was a collaborative effort between the University and the community. Students were prompted to go out in their communities to collect stories of the region during the coal and coke era. Through this process, the community members would give certain artifacts to the students which later became part of the collection at the center. The Coal and Coke Heritage Center now holds over 10,000 artifacts from the community, but the future of the space and artifacts is now up in the air. Penn State made the decision to close several branch campuses, including the Fayette campus. The Center’s archivist had been in the midst of a rework of the exhibit when the news of the impending closure came. The Center offers a unique space for interpreting and sharing history that is known to few outside the region. During our visit, I think it is fair to say that all of us were moved by the archivist’s efforts to faithfully tell the stories of coal miners and hope that decision makers in the University will not let those efforts go to waste.
Moving on from our first stop, we headed for the Connellsville Canteen where we had lunch with community members, business owners, and leaders of the Fayette County Cultural Trust. The Canteen itself was the perfect backdrop for getting acquainted with the area. Nearly every inch of the walls in the Canteen are covered with memorabilia from World War II and other pieces of history unique to Fayette County. Michael and Dan, leaders of the Cultural Trust, pointed to some artifacts and shared stories about them that enriched our understanding of the County’s history. The Canteen is almost like a museum with its plethora of artifacts (and incredible model train set) and seems to be a great compliment to the work of the Cultural Trust by providing a comfortable space to meet and share ideas.
Michael and Dan of the Fayette County Cultural Trust are truly impressive. As transplants to the area, it is surprising to hear all that they have been able to accomplish in a short time. As a student trying to find my purpose in life, it is inspiring to see people doing such great work and doing it at a human scale. Particularly, I was impressed by the work of the redevelopment authority detailed in a presentation by Michael who also serves on the board of that authority. In Pittsburgh, we hear a lot about redevelopment, but our city has much more substantial resources than those in Fayette County so it was interesting to see their approach. Blighted buildings can create eyesores, drain community resources, and they have an especially acute impact in smaller towns. With enough vision, though, blighted and abandoned buildings can be given a second life and become assets to the community once more. Though the redevelopment authority’s work was mostly contained to Connellsville, I was still impressed by the impact that dedicated community members were able to achieve.
Building on the work that has already been done to promote economic development, perhaps there could be a focus on mitigating blight throughout the county to further economic development. While we saw what the redevelopment authority was able to achieve, supporting the capacity of other local governments in the area to do similar work could be an effective strategy for sustainable growth. On the topic of sustainable growth, more work could be done to ensure that the benefits of the regions eco-tourism sector can be enjoyed by residents just as much as tourists. Our discussions after the site visit led us to ponder who really benefits from the businesses and development supporting tourism. We noted the expensive restaurants and breweries that popped up along the GAP trail and the famous Nemacolin Resort in Farmington. While locals may receive some indirect benefits from these assets, they do not really get to enjoy them. More businesses dedicated to serving the interests and improving the quality of life of locals may be a worthwhile supplement to the tourism economy.
Having gathered a ton of information in Fayette County to bring back to Pittsburgh, the real work now starts. While the trip is still fresh in our minds, we will continue our research for our respective business owners. I had the lovely opportunity to have lunch with the business owner I am working with, Yvonica. She runs a notary business with her husband, traveling all over the county to meet with clients. Through this work, she has noticed a significant gap in some peoples’ knowledge regarding certain administrative matters of life. Thus, her new business idea is a life skills consulting where she aids families or individualized as they navigate the complicated waters of personal finance, healthcare, estate planning, and more. During our lunch, she expressed to me that she is worried the idea is too niche or something people will not want to pay for. My task then, is to drum up as much information as possible to help her answer these questions. I will be exploring the existence and operation of similar businesses, ideas for how to integrate this new venture with her existing notary business, and whether there is demand for these services around Fayette County.