Surveying the Locals

Katie and I had the opportunity to become acquainted with Bamberg and some of its residents yesterday. To my surprise, Bamberg was quite a beautiful bedroom community. Most of the people I interviewed have lived most or all of their lives within the community. The elderly loved their community and thought it was perfect, while the middle-aged, working folk were often disgruntled with the lack of jobs and the fact that they have to commute out of town to support their families. Needless to say, they still live in Bamberg, and I can understand why. Nearly everyone we passed in the car or on the street waved to us like we knew them. Strangers had no problem rolling by in their golf carts and striking up conversation. It makes me wonder if all small towns are this friendly. And it made me realize what my hometown, Charleston, has lost as more people have moved in.

So one of my concerns of bringing 'industry' to Bamberg is that it may lose its sense of community if it grows too much. I agree with Harry that the community needs basic services like soda shops, barber shops, retailers, etc...from the standpoint of an interviewee in her 80s, downtown Bamberg should become what it once was, a small town, not just a bedroom community. So how do you get small business to stay in business when there are only 3,500 people in your town? All I can think is to bring back necessities and make people want to frequent the downtown. Make it a public space. Unfortunately, SCDOT really crucified the downtown- ironically, the SCDOT maintenance office is right outside of the city limits. Makes me wonder if someone there came up with the brillant idea to 'revitalize' the downtown through poor engineering.

As another interviewee said, "Planning doesn't work;" well, for Bamberg's sake and the future of my career, I certainly hope it can.