Common Wealth, Common Wisdom

Everybody is talking about the economy these days- it's a topic of instant distress for people of all ages across the US, but especially for teens. Something all of my friends are wondering is: how will I pay for college? It's not an easy question to answer. While college tuition is increasing, the job market is decreasing, as illustrated by this article in The New York Times, which notes that teen unemployment is at its highest point ever. The article says that over a quarter of teens looking for work were unsuccessful this summer. I can't say I'm surprised, knowing how hard it is to find work in the North Country. It's weird to think that teens, usually stereotyped as wanting to laze around and watch t.v. all day, are actually trying to get jobs, and aren't working through no fault of their own.

Jobs are getting harder and harder to get for people my age- it's a domino effect. College graduates, young and old, are having an impossible job of finding work that meets their qualifications, and they have to take the work usually reserved for people my age- restaurant jobs, fast food joints, working at gas stations, etc. And what's left for us? Nada, because what is left is grabbed by local colleges kids, and considering there are four colleges within a twenty minute radius of me, there are a whole lot of them to be hired. Moreover, a large portion of the jobs young people get in the North Country are acquired through knowing the owner or already having your best friend work there.

What does this mean for people my age?

It means we'll have an even more difficult a time paying for college. Universities are starting to turn people down because they just don't have the resources to provide students with sufficient financial aid. We need jobs in order to go into our first year without totally floundering. SATs, ACTs, and AP tests aren't cheap; AP tests are $86 each, and like a lot of people I know, I've got four or five to take in the spring. Colleges charge between fifty and seventy dollars to just apply. And we can't just rely on our parents to cover these costs, as they're having a hard enough time getting and keeping jobs.

Jobs are getting increasingly difficult to get after one graduates from college as well. And then what happens with that massive college debt? If a person can't get the high paying job they expected, because those jobs just aren't as readily available any more, that debt sits, grows, and becomes almost impossible to pay off.

Interviewing Ruth Garner this summer, I realized just how privileged my life is. During the Great Depression, kids were lucky if they had more than a few different outfits and usually just had one pair of shoes. A job for them was helping a neighbor garden or cleaning someone's house and earning ten cents. Though the work was sporadic and low-paying, purchases were few and far between. The majority of high school graduates didn't go to college and so didn't have to pay outrageous tuition. Furthermore, while my peers feel entitled to own the latest iPod and xbox, teens in the Great Depression didn't have those things to buy. And in our instant gratification society, it's not a matter of just wanting it anymore, owning those things has become the norm. But what happens when we can't afford them anymore?

Will the economy miraculously improve soon, and the job market open up?
Will those "gotta have it" items get less expensive?
Will we simply stop caring about owning absolutely everything?
Or will we continue without jobs?

It's impossible to predict the future, but with so few jobs available, I think we can predict a rise of teens who look at their skill set and create their own work- a rise in entrepreneurship. When people are down and out of luck, creativity is at its best.

Labels: Brenna, jobs, New York Times, North Country, Teens, Work

In addition to her feature piece about Ann and Roger Huntley, Jenn Sibert chose to profile local entrepreneur Maggie Wood, age 17. Jenn says: "Maggie's story and creative genius is unique and it was such a pleasure to interview her. At an early age she discovered her passion for crafting jewelry and clothes from recycled materials. She goes through great lengths to connect with her surrounding community despite living in a small town and taking online classes instead of attending the local high school." Listen as Maggie explains her sources of motivation, inspiration, and her life as a young entrepreneur.

Labels: audio features, Entrepreneurship, experience, geofeed, Jennifer, North Country

Labels: geofeed, interview, NCPR, Norfolk, North Country

Bingo numbers echo as senior citizens ranging from seventy into their late eighties gather at the Norfolk Community Center to play bingo and chat. The ice has melted from the arena to reveal a gray cement ground underneath lawn chairs and makeshift bingo stations. Even though my age and inexperience with bingo sets me apart, the atmosphere radiates a comforting sense of community between the elders and volunteers involved. Here I meet Louise Hardy, a petite woman with an enchanting smile. Her charm lies in her modest reluctance to share details of her life during the Great Depression. She prefers to give me a history lesson on FDR rather than share personal experiences. Her peers share the same modesty, refreshing compared to my teenage peers who commonly reveal the most personal of details, unprovoked. After my more persistent inquiries, she reveals details about her youth during the Great Depression.

Born in 1929 in Gouverneur, New York, Louise remembers happy times during the Great Depression. Somewhat isolated from more rural and devastated economies, she lived in town close to the Hardy's department store her father owned. She remembers the marble sidewalks (a product of a local marble quarry), hopscotch, "kick the can", rolly polly, and chalk drawings. She tells me children kept themselves occupied by spending time with each other instead of electronics.

However, Louise was not completely sheltered from the depression-impoverished farming community. "Gouverneur was the home of retired farmers...Farm people would come in on Saturday and the streets would be so crowded you couldn't hardly get through!" she says with a small laugh and a smile. The socially connected Gouverneur community during the 1930s enabled Louise to have more knowledge and compassion toward farmers. Louise says, "I felt for the farmers myself...Our system [didn't] seem to work just right economically."

Despite finding faults in the American economy, Louise speaks fondly of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stating, "He was a wonderful president for all the programs he devised." She remembers, for example, that "many of the local boys [were] employed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)". "During the Depression, if you made a dollar a day that was pretty good - for ordinary labor" says Louise. I find this recollection reiterated at each bingo table I visit.

Louise remembers Saturdays in Gouverneur filled with conversation and busy streets. I see her eyes lost in the memory of her childhood again, and the almost lost concept of a sociable town. The ladies around her agree that despite the Great Depression there was "less fear" between people, more interaction, and more community involvement than today. I left Louise wondering if our current recession could be resolved with a change in values. Perhaps individuality with cooperation would result in not only a healthier economy, but also a healthier society.

Labels: Civilian Conservation Corps, farming, geofeed, Great Depression, interview, Jennifer, NCPR, Norfolk, North Country, Northern New York, society

Gordon sat behind a desk surrounded by coolers, selling soda to the other seniors. He was extremely tan, as if he'd he'd spent a lot of time outdoors during his life. He looked down at the table, kind of drawn into himself; when I asked him to share his life story, he responded with a less-than-enthusiastic, "Sure, I guess." Gordon told me about his life modestly, as if he didn't feel what he was saying had much importance. But once he started talking, he kept talking. I never had to prod him with questions.

Born in Lowville in 1938, Gordon didn't have much money growing up, but felt a rich sense of community. He never felt terribly impoverished, as neighbors always took care of one another; they had what they needed. One Christmas his father gave him a ring-toss game crafted from the rubbers of canning jars. Gordon told me it's still one of his most memorable Christmas presents. Gordon worked odd jobs for several years and then raised the union fee necessary to get a job at Alcoa, an aluminum company in Massena. He worked there most of his life before retiring in 2000.

When he retired, Gordon and his wife started traveling. He told me about the places he visited: Of the beautiful string band he'd heard at a church in Hawaii; of the pickpocket in Spain whose attempt to steal Gordon's wallet left him with merely a pack of tissues; of the "candy-cane shaped roads" along the coast of California.

His wife had been sick for a long time with a heart condition, but she never wanted her life to slow down. Finally, last year, she became too sick to travel. Her kidneys failed and Gordon found himself going back and forth between the hospital. She passed away last year. "She lived for life," his soda-selling partner, Shirley, said. Hearing Gordon talk about her, knowing what she meant to him, I found myself wanting to know her, wishing I could have experienced this person who could spark such intense feeling in the man beside me.

Labels: Brenna, Community, geofeed, Lowville, Memories, Neighbors, North Country, Observation, Travel