Apparently, we’ve done it. After all the votes were counted in the Budget Travel contest, Grand Marais has been crowned America’s Coolest Small Town. Now when you click on the link to go vote, you see a map of the United States with a little celebratory banner declaring “Winner” on Minnesota’s Arrowhead.
Good job everyone, near and far who spread the word about the contest. It will be fun to check back to see just how Budget Travel highlights our little North Shore town.
In keeping with my Grand Marais “pep fest” theme last week, I’ll remind all the Cook County High School alumni of another cheer, “ S- U- C- C- E- S- S, that’s the way we spell success!”
I think something that helped us is the video shared with Budget Travel by our tourism entity, Visit Cook County, which was seasonally appropriate. The snowy scenes playing online looked not just cool, but cold. Snow and ice may make for miserable driving, but they equal amazing photos and video. The Cook County commercial was beautiful, enjoyable— and cold. That might have given us the edge.
But what put us over the top was that we worked together to garner the most votes. Just about everyone who voted shared the information with someone else, who shared it with someone else. People reminded one another to vote. It was a great example of cooperation—something we don’t always see in Cook County.
The whole effort reminded me a bit of the movie Funny Farm starring Chevy Chase. Do you remember the popular 1980s comedy about the city couple—Andy and Elizabeth Farmer—who move to the peaceful little town of “Rosebud” so Andy (Chevy) can write a novel? As they become familiar with the rural village they’ve moved to, they discover that all is not as idyllic as they had believed. The novel doesn’t get written, but Elizabeth finds success as a writer of children’s books based on her husband’s interactions with Rosebud’s quirky residents.
As the couple’s relationship with the community deteriorates, so does their marriage and they decide to divorce, but to do so they must sell their cozy farmhouse. And to sell their house, they realize they have to convince the townspeople to pretend that they are beloved community members and that the new residents would be just as welcome. The Farmers bribe citizens to act like the people they had imagined them to be.
Their plan works wonderfully with previously cantankerous neighbors creating a Norman Rockwell picture of a rural town. The prospective buyers are delighted and ready to take possession of the Farmers’ farmhouse when Andy and Elizabeth realize they don’t want to divorce and they don’t want to leave Rosebud.
If you remember the movie, you know that the citizens of Rosebud are not happy with the decision and although Andy soothes some ruffled feathers with a large donation to the town’s coffers, things quickly get back to “normal” with Andy feuding with half the village.
Am I the only one to see the parallel between Funny Farm and the America’s Coolest Small Town contest? In our effort to convince Budget Travel and the people who might come vacation here, we all displayed our friendliest attitudes and worked together to promote all that is appealing about our community. Now that we’ve found S-UC C-E-S-S, will things get back to “normal”?
Will we return to bickering about the myriad local political issues we find to argue over? Will we continue to fight for—or against—communication towers and chevron signs? Will we argue over biomass and bumps on the highway? Septic systems and school funding?
I’m sure we will. Because that is who we are. We’re not just a scenic spot on Minnesota’s North Shore, we’re a community of opinionated, involved, and sometimes obstinate people. But that’s okay. Just like the Farmers learned in Funny Farm, that’s part of the charm of living in America’s Coolest Small Town!
An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.
Thomas Jefferson
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