Wanted: symbol of success

   My husband and I recently returned from northern Wisconsin where we spent a week with his brothers Jon and Kim and their wives. Our cabin was so far from civilization that even Garrison Keillor never heard of the place. No cell service. No Internet hook-up. No cable TV. I don’t even think our Global Positioning System knew where we were.

   But being that far away from it all wasn’t all that bad. As we reclined on the deck listening to the bears rummage through the garbage and drinking Leinenkugels –or “Leinies,” as the locals call them – we actually enjoyed just sitting there and talking to each other. And we were ever aware that we weren’t in Georgia anymore. I noted how in all these teeny tiny towns light years away from the rest of the world, the residents took great pride in their local industries. In Glenwood City, townspeople erected a cow statue, symbolizing the basis of their economy’s success. Residents of Hayward constructed a giant muskie, sort of like an outdoorsman’s version of the Statue of Liberty. Four stories high and half a city block long, it sits right in the middle of town where visitors can climb up into the mouth and look out at view, which mostly includes bait and tackle shops. But that’s what it’s all about. If it weren’t for fishing, there would be nothing in Hayward. This big fish is a constant reminder to locals and visitors alike the main reason why success lives in their community.

   Then my mind drifted back to Georgia. Are there any communities down here that have erected a monument to recognize the root of their livelihood? My husband mentioned the big peanut down in Ashburn, a tribute to the community’s main cash crop. Then Kim noted the bronze chicken statue in Gainesville, signifying the success the poultry industry brings to the town’s economy. Anything else? None of us could think of any.

   But I kept mulling over the gist of our discussion. These little towns not only boast of the success that lives there, but can identify what brought the success to them and what keeps it there. And what do we have in Gwinnett? Nothing but a water tower with the abstract slogan “Success Lives Here.” But what causes success to live here? Any ideas? Feel free to e-mail me at susanlarson4@yahoo.


082006

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