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

MSNBC has been running a series of reports about the impact the recession is having on the city of Elkhart, IN. Elkhart has been hit particularly hard by the loss of jobs in the RV industry which had become the lifeblood of the local economy for decades. Now, with gas prices at record levels and fewer people investing in the gas guzzling RVs produced in Elkhart, the city has been struggling.

Jennifer Holderread is a resident of Elkhart who has been dismayed by how the city and its people are being portrayed on the Project Elkhart series on MSNBC. She contacted me on Facebook in an effort to get the word out about what is really going on in the city. The following story below the fold is the first of what I hope to be regular dispatches from the front lines of the recession in Indiana.

I'm going to be conducting an interview with Jennifer which I will post here on Tuesday. If anyone has any questions you would like me to ask her about Elkhart and the recession please leave them in comments here and I will include them in my interview.

by Jennifer Holderread
By now many people across the nation have heard of a small Midwestern town named Elkhart, Indiana. If you haven't, well let me tell ya a little story.

This is your average everyday modest Midwestern town. No, really. Not like the kind you see on TV. It is a town that has had its share of good and bad, beautiful and ugly. We are not without our projects or our high-rises. We have farm life and inner city life. We have a great theatre right down town.

There is an awesome children's center just around the corner form just about everyone. There are the best steak houses and coffee houses! And most of what I've described is locally owned and operated. Or at least it used to be.

See, all of these places I've told you about are either gone now or are going out of business shortly. This seemingly prosperous town is in danger of becoming nothing more than a media plaything. The people are leaving and the farms are drying up. The theatre is falling apart, and the restaurants aren't even grilling anymore.

This is my town! I don't want to leave. When I was growing up, sure, but who doesn't want to go somewhere more glamorous when you are a kid. But when you are put in a dangerous position you do what you must to protect yours, right?

Not any more I say. Elkhart has been put in the media spotlight recently. And it started out with good intentions. I will not name the media agency, because I do not work for them nor do I have their permission. Feel free to look it up online though, it is there.

Recently I viewed a post on the popular social networking site Facebook. This article is not intended to downplay anything you may have read on this site. The site is wonderful and is a great tool for many reasons.

What I saw was quite disturbing. It wasn't blood and guts...not people being murdered or robbed. It was of "responsible journalism". Elkhart Indiana is a town that has definitely been hit with more than its fair share of economic woes.

We were the RV capitol of the world. We thought we had something to be proud of. A title if you will. Turns out the ones working were the only ones that were proud.

I come from a line of RV workers. Most of them had no other option but to work in this field. Once you get sucked in to something that supports a lifestyle of comfort, it is extremely difficult to find the way out. Elkhart has long been the average Joe's town. Not to beat a dead horse. But it has. And the people who live here were happy to be content. Sure we all want the big house and the nice fast car and the vacations. But the majority of Elkhart has never and will never see those things. Most drive a used car and live (or at least used to) in small modest homes.

We have never been a boastful city. And now, we are all over the media. The last time we were in the media, it was because of Hurricane Katrina. Remember how the people of this area busted butt and got thousands of homes to displaced people in the south? Oh, and then got sued for it. The people who built those homes did not know that the material they were given could harm anyone. And would never put people in danger like that.

Well, it seems that all of that hard work blew up in our faces. And now it is my fear that this current media coverage will blow up in our faces as well if the people of this city do not take back the control of their own!

I was excited to hear that the media was coming to my town. I thought "Finally! Maybe people will realize we are a great place to live and start looking to us." They are looking to us. But not the way WE need them to be.

The story I saw was of a reporter who was supposedly in Elkhart at the time. I couldn't tell with the Seattle skyline behind him. He was telling the story of how we are a city on the comeback that our unemployjment rate just dropped under 18% and how happy the citizens are to be getting $4.4 mill for the resurfacing of the runways at an airport here.

I have had friends that have worked at this airport and it is a great place. But other than the air shows that they put on, I have never seen a plane land there. And who's getting the contract? Will it be any local company? Most likely not. They can't afford to even bid on the project I'll go ahead and bet. And if it does deserve the money, please just tell us why. What are the plans? Is there big business coming in via the private airport? You have got to make this public knowledge or the public will suspect the worst. We are not an ignorant town. We can handle the truth!

This story just out and out, well outraged me. So I decided to use the social network that so many people find useless, and tell the real story. Below you will find some comments and emails that I received posted directly form people who do live or have lived in Elkhart!

This is OurSide! The real story of Elkhart!

"Elkhart needs direction, not a temporary band aid." Elkhart Resident...

"Well, Elkhart, no one's going to come and save us. Guess we'll have to do that ourselves (as always)." Elkhart Resident...

"You have GOT to be friggin kidding Me???!!! Medicaid medical insurance for LOW income people????? My family is a NO income family right now with the exceptions of unemployment and what little child support my wife gets. We are IN THE MIDDLE of the poverty category and I CANT GET MEDICAL INSURANCE!!!!!!! So where IS this money that is SUPPOSED to be going to fund my medical issues that I have been DENIED!?!?!" Elkhart Resident...
Oh yeah I forgot to mention, the story I saw about Elkhart also spoke of how the city is putting a greatest chunk of money into the Medicaid system. But our hospital staff just took a 4 - 6 and 8% pay cut across the board to help pay for unpaid claims and people who don't even qaulify for help because they haven't quite lost everything yet. As explained by the gentleman above.

"Cargo Trailers, Horse Trailers, Mobile Homes, Mobile Construction Offices, Truck Caps, Truck Campers, Class A, B, C RVs, Towable RVs, Ultra Lite RVs, Commercail Buses, Commercial Trucks (Panel Vans).....(the media) is missing the big picture entirely for the sake of expediency. ALL manufacturing in and around Elkhart is way down as well as the vast number of suppliers that are essential and number even higher than the manufacturers. The people in the networks cable and otherwise view the Midwest as fly-over country at best and cannot be trusted to view their stories with our best interests at heart...only their own." Elkhart Resident...

"Ooops, maybe now they will stop with our golden runways and all! :)" ME...

"The Elkhart Airport is not busy and re-paving won't change that. The idea that infrastructure re-investment will spawn growth is a patently false one. It's only a band-aid that will yield minimal, short term results and beholden the airport even more to the Federal Government. As for increasing Medicaid...who do the smart a**es think pays to support it now? Wake Up!" Elkhart Resident...

"4.2 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE AIRPORT???? This is an outrage! That whole airport isn't worth 4.2 mil....it's not even for commercial jets. Only private airplanes and lessons. This is insane...what a waste!" Elkhart Resident...

"Also, it is Indiana that proudly proclaims on its new license plates "in God we trust", not "in Government we trust"."
Elkhart Resident...

"I am sick and tired of hearing all the explanations of how to bring back the RV industry. The RV industry is GONE people . This is REALITY. It will NEVER flourish as it once did...NEVER. Elkhart and its surrounding towns NEED to find another avenue to establish . There are WAY too many people whining, and flapping their jaws about RVs and the RV businesses and NO ONE is working towards ANOTHER solution. Elkhart (and the midwest as a whole) needs to reinvent themselves with a new approach,industry,and train of thought. QUIT GIVING US THE BAND AID TO TRY AND COVER THE DEAD BODY!!!!!!!!!!! It's time to move on, and up. " Elkhart Resident...
But it was our only option for a long time. People tried to tell the city before.

"A 1978 study by three Elkhart high school seniors--Matthew Rueff and Doug Cogan of Central, and Melinda Carper of Memorial--said Elkhart was becoming too dependent on the RV industry (Truth, March 7, 1978, p1).
The Elkhart Truth and the Chamber of Commerce essentially dismissed the study, saying that Elkhart's economy was diversified (Truth, March 13, 1978, p4). At the time, Miles/Bayer was still going strong here, so the editorial had some credibility at the time. Thirty-one years later, it appears the students were right." Elkhart Resident...

"I lived in Elkhart, Indiana, for 15 years. I just moved away last summer. I returned last weekend to visit friends. From the news reports I expected to return to a town where half the business sat empty and children stood begging on the streets. However, Elkhart looks pretty much the same today as it did one year ago before I moved. I understand that many factories have closed outside the city limits and that many people are facing very difficult times, but I do think the picture that has been painted of Elkhart is far from accurate and is excessively gloomy. The people in Elkhart that I spoke with verified that things are challenging but they are viewing it as a positive. They feel that it is forcing people to run their business "lean and mean" in order to survive. They said you can't coast along and expect to survive. You have to be scrappy and creative. Those aren't necessarily bad things. " Former Elkhart Resident...
Wow! Scrappy and creative are too perfectly descriptive words to fit the bill. If nothing else, Elkhart IS creative. And we have some of the scrappiest folks you will ever meet her. We are willing to do the job asked of us. All we need is the opportunity. Not the bailout, not the handout.

We need to be recognized for what we all are here. Hard working people who have helped, quite literally, to build this country. It is not my intention to harm anyone with what I am writing about. Hence, no names. It is ONLY my intention, to bring to attention, our ambitions....

Thank you to all of the current and past residents who helped me put this together. We will make it happen!

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.

Jennifer is living on the front lines of the economic crisis and the impact all the political posturing is having has a very real effect in her city. This diary is a reminder that pain can be caused by both sides of the aisle when we stray from the common good.

OurSide: Dems vs Reps

by Jennifer Holderread
When I registered to vote in high school, I was all about the little people vs. the big money. Democrat vs. Republican. As you can probably guess, I registered Democrat. Who isn't for the people? But what I've learned over my years, is it all changes. And what you thought you knew was never real at all. My high school sociology teacher always taught fairly and tried to inspire his students. He always challenged your thoughts, no matter what side he was on. Now looking back, I really wish we would have debated the Dem. vs. Rep. issue harder. I may have turned out differently.

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. As a matter of fact, this is how most all of the people in my life were raised.Our parents worked hard for us and tried to instill this value in us. Now my son is going to start school soon and I don't know what values I am sending him off with.

Have I taught him not to judge people, to work hard or to earn what he wants. I'd like to think so. But he is growing up in very trying times. And it is hard to keep the everyday worries from showing.

It's been a very long nine months or so since my husband has had any steady employment now. Time and money are running out. I have more than alot of people in this country have right now. And for this I am grateful. But I feel like I am running out of strength as well.

As a strong independent woman I was always hoping for the opportunity to become the head of the household. I guess it goes back to "be careful what you ask for", because I have gotten it. I see my husband struggle with this everyday. I keep most of our financial issues from him because I don't want to add to his pressure.

In today's world, I don't know what is right from wrong anymore. I pay my bills every month only to see my tax dollars go towards giving out big bonuses. Where is my big bonus? Can't I start paying myself? Where is the motivation to continue to be a good person. I am half tempted to stop paying my bills and send out letters of regret to all of the companies I owe money to.

Dear CitiBank,
I regret to inform you that due to the recent payout of corporate bonuses, I will be unable to make my next mortgage payment. Please feel free to contact your immediate supervisor for details. He/She got my money this month."
Do you think they would go for it. NO! I am "expected" to do certain things at certain times. Why aren't they held to that same standard?

While I'm at it I should send a letter to my health care provider as well. Asking them if I could skip paying them $450.00 dollars this month. It's not like I use their services every month. But, because I have a small child, I feel this is something we can not live without. I don't understand how anyone can.

I guess what I am trying to get at here is that I am sick of everybody but the people of this country being bailed out! Work for what you need or want! Just like the rest of us are expected to.

I would also like to send a shout out to all of those celebrities, athletes and richy rich folks out there. Why don't you try living on 30k or less a year? Give all the rest of your earnings back to the people who put you in your position. Brand and Angelina do. What's stopping you. Do you really think you NEED $40 million per episode? The show isn't even that good. And what happens when we the people can no longer afford to go and see your concerts or movies? Where will that leave you. Probably retired on a private island somewhere I suppose. C'mon...adopt an American family and help them. I promise to give back! That's 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!