the passageria comes to Youngstown, Ohio

the passageria comes to Youngstown, Ohio

fiction
edward w pritchard

Carole Munson was the new economic development director of Youngstown, Ohio, fresh out of an MBA program at Ohio State University and was ambitious and had a super achievement drive. She was going to turn around this declining rust bucket town and bring tourists to the down town area.

Six months later she was nearly defeated in her efforts by reality. Few people wanted to visit Youngstown, Ohio. They had a very good art museum and some interesting things around the State University but competition was fierce with the recession for tourist dollars and she needed to try a new approach.

Carole received permission from the Mayor to visit San Antonio, Texas. The river walk in San Antonio was the stock success story among economic development aficionados and Carole was excited to see what the secret was in San Antonio that attracted tourists.

Carole enjoyed the river walk and decided to try to duplicate it in Youngstown, As a model she choose the Passageria in the hill towns of Italy. Every evening after supper the people of the small towns in Italy dress up in their good and fashionable clothes and stroll and talk and shake hands and kiss their neighbors; sometimes until ten at night. Tourists love it and it is good for everyone. Exercise, comradeship and a chance to get to know your neighbors.

Carole couldn't get a trip to Italy past the budget director, but she read up on the passageria and tried to duplicate it in Youngstown, Ohio.--

-- That proved difficult. --

Because of the job losses and continuing twenty five year recession in that part of Ohio the locals were suspicious by nature. They mistrusted government and some times saw the world as sinister and dark.

To jump start the effort of a passageria down the main street of Youngstown Carole was able to get the municipal employees union to give their members a paid two hours off work for every half hour they walked in the passageria at night after 7PM. The municipal employees needed to wear a special shirt and badge if they were to get credit.

The passageria in Youngstown became a success. However, the locals continued to be suspicious and distrustful of the local government. The locals developed an elaborate system of hand signals and gestures to communicate with each other during the walk and would often pass on information about the whereabouts of government employees, visitors and tourists or the local police. In time the passageria was discontinued in Youngstown Ohio because rather than make the people happy and contented it was promoting xenophobia and fear.

In a newspaper article in the Youngstown newspaper on the story of the passageria, one Professor from the State College there, in Youngstown, noted that a similar thing had originally happened in the hill towns of Italy. When the towns were occupied for a while by German armies the Italian citizens developed an elaborate system of hand signals and gestures to communicate without German soldiers knowing what they were doing.

Carole Munson in Economic development in Youngstown Ohio is not discouraged. She is working on some alternative ideas beyond the passageria to promote economic development in Ohio.