As posted on BlueIndiana.net by finfinito (my Friend)

This is the second installment in a series from Elkhart resident Jennifer Holderread. Jennifer is the wife and daughter of family members who work in that city's decimated RV industry.

Okay, so I've always been a strong woman. I've never wanted to depend on anyone to give me what I can earn for myself. This is how I was raised.

OurSide: A Survivor's Story (+)
by: finifinito
Wed May 27, 2009 at 22:06:23 PM EDT

As a followup to the first installment of OurSide: The Truth About Elkhart I wanted to conduct an interview with the author Jennifer Holderread. Jennifer is a long time resident of Elkhart and her family, both immediate and extended, are victims of the sour economy that has devastated the local RV industry. Jennifer contacted me on Facebook in order to get the word out about the reality of life in Elkhart and sent me her first installment which ran this past Sunday here on Blue Indiana. Below the fold is an interview I conducted via Facebook with Jennifer.
Photo: Danny and Jennifer Holderread

Joh Padgett: Thank you so much for doing this interview. I think you're an incredibly brave woman to speak out like you are doing. I am honored to work with you on this story. Could you start by telling me specifically what kind of an impact has the recession had on you and your immediate family? What are you doing to cope with your family's situation?

Jennifer Holderread: Ok. well as I said in the article. I come from a long linge of RV workers. Most of them had tried other things. My brother learned to read blueprints so he could get off the line, my husband went into a carpet and remodling business with a friend, my father in law even started his own aquarium business.

They all ended back in the RV or trailor factories. Your mind and body really become accustomed to it. You think you can not live without $25-30 dollars an hour. I blame that on the business themselves. If they would have had a more even scale payroll system, many of them would have had a fighting chance.

My brother just purchased his first home last year, right before things started going bad. He also got engaged right at that same time. His fiance is a CNA so at least she has a job. Her dad actually works for the same rv company that Danny, Reed and Big Dan work at. His son was fired last year, his wife about six months before that. Danny is my husband, Reed is my brother and Big Dan is my father in law.

I had started a garden last summer to try and cut some of the costs of going to the store. I love strawberries and I can't afford to buy those now. So I grow them. I have had to pull my son from full time daycare to help cut costs. He now only goes two - three times a week. And he was enrolled in the VERY BEST preschool around. That was the worst decision I have had to make in all of this.

As far as the impact on my family goes, it really hasn't hit us too hard financially yet. This is because we never lived outside of our means. We used to go to Tenneessee for our anniversary every year. Now this being our tenth annivesary, we will not be going. Can't afford it. I am just trying to be supportive with my husband and all of the guys that are now out of work and are being supported by their wives. It can not be an easy place to be put in. As it is not easy to be thrown into the breadwinner role either.

JP: In your article you discuss a report done by some high school seniors in 1979 that warned city elders that the dependence on the RV industry might come back to haunt them in an economic downturn. Where are those students now, and what can the city do at this late date to effect some sort of long term solution to diversify the local economy?

JH: As far as the students go, I do not know where they might be. That was from a post by another Facebook user. What I think the city should be doing is taking that airport money and giving it to Habitat for Humanity. Maybe then that organization can hire some of the local builders that are laid off to refurb these pitiful houses that some people still live in or have abandoned. That could help with our overcrowded shelters. And if the family helps, well that's just all good. That would help with one situation.

Northern Indiana needs to get back to its farming and produce roots. We are losing far too many of our farms to companies building outragously lavish homes that are empty because they were built for CEO's and executives of all the RV companies. I'll bet Warren Buffet still has a mansion around here somewhere though.

We need to get back to the old days. I remember riding my bike around from dawn till dusk and never having to worry. I watch my five year old with the eyes in the back of my head and would never think of letting him go on his own. We need to start giving back to our kids. I don't want him to have better than what I did 'cause what I had was pretty good. I wish people would stop needing the bigger and the better. And just get back to what they already know.

JP: I agree a return to our roots is one path to restoring our economy in Indiana, but I also think some modern technology improvements might help in that return to our agrarian roots.

Out of curiosity have any technology improvements been made in the area such as high speed internet, fiber optic connections or 3G wireless broadband upgrades to the cell phone networks? Using modern communications to help business be conducted at the speed of the Internet would be a real boon to the economy don't you think?

There is a growing Local Food movement that has recently been gaining followers who like to buy fresh produce, meats and other products right off the farm. Farmers and local grocers and roadside markets could benefit from using the Internet to promote their wares, take orders and ship items fresh to your doorstep worldwide overnight or in a few days. Has there been any signs of life with small farms, markets and grocers in Elkhart?

JH: My local grocery store is great! They recently organized for fresh produce to be sold, wthout limit for reduced pricing, just so people could afford to eat healthy. They also sponsor several other local organizations. Each one in the county is involved with their local schools.

We also have the local farmers market. I wish that this were open more often. Maybe that way more people could take advantage of it. Both on the buyer and the seller side. I've been there a couple of times and it is wonderful.
As I go from Ft. Wayne to Elkhart I've seen some wind technology going up. That is encouraging. I think the farmers could benefit from the companies wanting to put a wind machine,(is windmill the correct term anymore?), on their land. Let them use the power generated to cut costs. Help each other out.

Other than that, wireless is available, but for a price indeed. We haven't seen many road improvements since the toll road, that runs the entire length of Elkhart county and surrounding areas, was sold.

JP: That leads me to my next couple of questions. The sale of the Indiana Toll Road happened just before the economy began to tank. Has that had an impact on the local economy as well? Have the promises made before the sale been lived up to? Has there been some seller's remorse on the part of local officials?

JH: I don't see it as having as much an impact on the economy as much as the people who live near it and built it. Plus, the roads around it aren't much better. We have finally started on some road projects that have been needed for years. It's just now they are doing them all at the same time so nobody can get around town. And it looks like a war zone coming in from that same toll road.

As far as the feelings of the officials go, I should hope they have some remorse, but you'd have to ask them. We continue to sell our state off to the highest bidder and they are making their money and running. I wish someone would stop and stay around.

JP: A comment was posted on Blue Indiana criticizing your article for not elaborating more about what kind of opportunities you advocate need to be offered to help Elkhart pull itself out of the hole that has been dug. Would you care to answer that question? What kind of opportunities do you hope might materialize? What would be an ideal project to revive the local economy?

JH: As I stated before, I would love to see some of the airport money go to Habitat for Humanity so we can get some of these people back into homes that they can be a part of building. I would love to see Elkhart take resposablility for itself.

The company hoepfully coming to Wakarusa to build the hybrids, and the other to build engines...can't come soon enough. I'd like to see us get back to our agricultural roots. We have the manpower and the land. If construction companies could stop building huge overpriced housing on it.

When I was a kid I would go to Sesame Street productions at the theatre, I don't think my son even knows what that is. I want to start giving back to the kids of our community before it gets worse. I see kids sort of kicked out of their homes in the morning and told not to come home until dark. I want a place for those kids top go to learn art, dance, music, reading and writing. So maybe they can do something for their own future.

People have got to stop living on handouts and start lending a hand! We each have something to offer our neighbor. I am planting tons of tomatoes in my garden this year, not because I eat them, because my neighbor who is dying of cancer loves fresh tomatoes out of the garden. He also loves fresh citrus, so this year, I am planting a few trees for him to pick from. It's little stuff like that that helps people make it through a bad day. If Jerry is feeling horrible, all I have to do is take him a basket of tomatoes and it brightens his whole day!

JP: If you had the opportunity to give a 30 second promo for Elkhart and Northern Indiana, what would you say to the world?

JH: Give us a chance to show you what we are made of. What we can do for you, and how to really live a good life. Indiana isn't called the Crossroads of America for nothing! Stop in and see what it's about! And the corn is good too!