What's the future of Ely?

[Lee Borgersen]

From the miscellaneous drawer - What's the future of Ely?

  by Anne Swenson

A few nights ago I spoke with one of my business neighbors. He asked how business was this winter for me.

"About the same everybody had," I told him. "We've been through as bad or worse in Ely."

"Is there a future here in Ely," he asked.

And I replied, "Yes. I believe so."

"But what about your son? He needs to make a living here.

"What about the younger generation of visitors who no longer fish or hunt. What about those people who shun nature?"

And there was no doubt he was worried, not so much about himself since he noted that like myself, he too is near the end of his business working career.

"What about the generation to come? Where and what will Ely be selling in the future," he asked.

He noted that many young people today won't even use their patios in big cities if a few mosquitoes appear. Would those people ever come to value the wilderness, the nature and natural surroundings Ely has to offer? And would they balance the value of beauty and serenity with the plague of sand flies?

And while I could not and can not perceive a balance of those horrible bugs in early summer with the possibilities and vistas here, it's ok. I tend to stay indoors during that awful buggy season.

We talked of the ups and downs of the economy of Ely. I remembered a year when it seemed every major business in town folded and crept away. Oftentimes, those business collapses were related to mining downturns.

We talked about the cycles of people's attitudes and lifestyles. About people who valued big cities and making money more than the closeness of family life and friends. People more likely to stay home, immersed in computer games and television than wanting to get wet while fishing.

Change does not always reflect the past closely. New reasons may emerge for people to seek out nature such as we offer here. It wouldn't be surprising if one future reason were one of necessity.

We're good at working with necessity.