Friday, 21 Mar 2003
CAMBRIA, Wis.
The "Yes ethanol," "No ethanol" sign contest is escalating. Over the last two days, huge green signs proclaiming "vote yes ethanol" have popped up on all the roads into Cambria. There are also at least four or five right in the town. Next to these mammoth billboards, our little "No Ethanol Plant in this Town!" signs look puny. But maybe that sends a good message in itself?
This battle over ethanol has taken its toll on many relationships in town. I try very hard to keep the issue in the realm of a public policy and not take it personally. Sometimes this is very difficult, such as when people who have always been friendly stand up in public meetings to call me a liar and say they feel sorry for the people who believe me. But many people are able to rise above it.
I got a fun call the other day from a woman who lives a couple of miles outside of Cambria. She and her husband are dairy farmers and are definitely in favor of ethanol. They also raise llamas and I think they may have some sheep. She has a small business doing custom carding of wool and fiber products. She called me because I can type. I have talked to her several times in the past about her business, so her call was not totally out of the blue. She is putting together a proposal for some low-interest small business development loans to expand her business into a larger woolen mill. The opportunity has arisen to buy an industrial carding machine built in the late 1800s, and she wants to seize it but needs some help getting her thoughts together. I was happy to type up her ideas on the computer and we worked them into an introductory proposal.
She has big, exciting plans, and hopes that her business expansion will offer opportunities for farmers to raise sheep and get a good price for their wool. There is a resurgence of interest in working with natural fibers and spinning wool. The big-picture plan includes establishing Cambria as a center for wool and woolen goods. This would bring craft tourists to the area for weekend seminars and to her planned retail outlet. A couple of years ago, she and two other women hosted the annual Wisconsin "Spin-In," which brought 600 people (mostly women) to the high school gym for the event.
We talked about ethanol a bit while she was here. It was very interesting to hear her perspective. We tried hard to stay off the subject since it was quite clear that we did not see eye to eye. But even if we don't agree on ethanol in Cambria, we do agree on how exciting it would be to make Cambria a woolen hotspot. As an ethanol opponent, I have been called anti-progress and anti-development. Oh, and don't forget "tree-hugger." (Good to know that that epitaph is still alive and well.) I guess I just pick and choose the kind of "progress" I want.
One interesting and truly positive outcome of this whole battle and the formation of the Cambrians for Thoughtful Development is the birth of new friendships and relationships. I now know at least 20 new people in Cambria that I probably never would have met otherwise. I bicycled into town last Saturday, the first spring-like day of the year, and spent more than an hour just stopping and visiting with people in their yards and popping in for a cup of tea. When this ethanol question is resolved, I hope we can harness all the energy and do something positive for Cambria. There has been some talk of trying to set up a cooperative grocery store, and there are lots of other good ideas. But for now, we'll continue to concentrate on ethanol. We'll need every ounce of energy we have.
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