Rooster Digest: Main Street - where it all began.
Stories of Grit and Gratitude for Building Local Economies
Main Street. That’s where it all began for me. How fitting that this week Oklahoma hosted the national Main Street conference in Tulsa where I was able to get reacquainted with my roots. There is something about economic development through historic preservation related to the revitalization of our downtowns and commercial centers across America that still stirs my heart. As part of the conference, I participated in two mobile workshops in order to take a deeper dive into two northeast Oklahoma communities.
First stop: Miami. And you’d better pronounce it My-am-uh, or you’ll get corrected. The Coleman Theatre is the town’s pride and joy. As it should be. Located on Route 66, this 1929 vaudeville theater has never gone dark. Almost as old as the road it sits on (which celebrates its centennial this year), the Coleman has welcomed performers through the decades including Will Rogers, Bing Crosby and even a singing troupe from Europe that went on to star in the Wizard of Oz.
The stories are endless, and they are so much more fun to tell when you are still able to stand smack dab in the middle of a gilded Louis XIV style auditorium beneath a once-lost, now-found, refurbished chandelier that would rival anything in Buckingham Palace. Sitting stage right, the Mighty Wurlitzer organ that was installed two months before the theater’s opening day of April 18, 1929, still delights patrons, whether by solo performances or accompaniments to the occasional silent film screening. A visit to the Coleman is a memorable experience - one I won’t soon forget.
Second stop: Vinita. Here’s a town named for a woman who never lived there. But Vinnie Ream’s Oklahoma admirer thought so highly of her that he gave the town her name in the hopes it would one day entice her to leave her high society world in Washington, D.C. where she was an accomplished sculptor. Her most famous work stands in the U.S. Capitol rotunda - the statue of Abraham Lincoln. What an interesting and peculiar web of historical drama.
We started our day, as one should, at the Cherokee Nation Anna Mitchell Cultural Center. Anna Mitchell is known for resurrecting the art of traditional Cherokee pottery. Her work is reflected in the many artists who now create vessels in the same way she did, digging the clay, forming the pot and firing it on an open wood fire - a process that takes months from start to finish. I know this because our tour guide is one such artist, and she shared her story of exactly how this centuries’ old art form still offers her the connection to her past and a creative outlet to express her present experience. We met other Cherokee artists including a father and son whose work adorns both the inside and the outside of this exquisite visitor center.
In Vinita, a visit to the Center Theater offered an introduction to owner and proprietor Kathy Sooter. Kathy, in her polka dot skirt and friendly smile, shared her love of the community through the work she has been doing to preserve this key attraction to the city’s downtown. Built in 1922 it offers residents a place to gather and socialize. But while running an historic movie theater looks like fun to the outsider, the inside story is one of a long-term labor of love that takes every dollar and every bit of grit to maintain. But sometimes there’s a silver lining when you buy an old silver screen - in this case it’s an entire upper balcony full of vintage and retro movie posters still rolled up in their tubes. I see a fundraising opportunity already!!
These communities are all-in for the hundred-year celebration of Route 66. They understand the incredible tourism opportunity that this represents when a nationwide survey by AAA suggests that 41% of adults plan to visit a stretch of the Mother Road this year. Miami and Vinita are ready. From the grocery stores to the cafes, the BBQ joints to the renovated motor court hotels, small business owners everywhere are capitalizing on nostalgia and heritage tourism.
My Main Street journey started on Highway 6 between Waco and College Station in a town of 6,500 people. In the summer of 1995, I rolled into Marlin, TX as the city’s new Main Street Manager. Fast forward to this past Sunday, just two days before heading to Tulsa to convene for the conference, I unpacked a box of old memories. In one yellowed file folder I found a collection of newsletters from 1995 - 1997 that I had published for the purpose of coordinating the community’s revitalization of the historic downtown. I believe I was meant to open that box that day to ready myself for a trip back to my roots. I was meant to visit Miami and Vinita this week to remind me of how much people care for their hometowns and how hard they work to preserve them for future generations.
I’m so glad I got my start on Main Street. It taught me what dedication looks like witnessing small business owners and entrepreneurs pouring their hearts and souls (and money) into their dreams and passions. It taught me about creativity - how to take bits of history and make something for others to delight in. It taught me humility with a side of confidence, learning how to play bold even when you’re small. For more information on how to chart your own adventure along Route 66, visit the Route 66 Centennial website and start your own journey on America’s best loved Main Street!