Why Zeeland?

When my wife and I started looking for a place to live in West Michigan, we eliminated several communities we were sure we didn't want to call home. Among those I scratched off was the City of Zeeland.

Now, Zeeland has a great school district, good infrastructure and a long history -- founded in 1847. But for me, Zeeland has one of those intangibles I dislike -- a tradition of closed-mindedness based on an oppressive religious tradition. This is not unusual for West Michigan. Holland was founded not as a community to liberate the mind and soul, but as a place where a group of people could get away from the liberalizing world of the 19th century and keep those changes out.

For the City of Holland, this really changed after World War II when GE located a large factory in its borders and migrant workers came to area farms. Suddenly, there were non-Dutch, non-Reformed and, most importantly, non-White people in Holland.

In Zeeland, this change never really happened. The industries stayed local and thrived. The religion stayed Reformed and most of the people stayed white.

So, I crossed the City of Zeeland off my desired places to live. I don't want to live in that bubble.

Alcohol

Now, I watch Zeeland struggle with a dying downtown and big debate about whether or not to allow alcohol in the city. I've been reading about merchants who want more money that they think alcohol sales will bring and community members who say alcohol is evil and will destroy the community.

I offer my voice to the debate by saying that alcohol sales alone will not make a difference to Zeeland, and that there needs to be more substantial changes to the city if merchants are going to get my money.

First, Zeeland is hard to get to. Not for local folks, but the downtown doesn't just want local folks. They want people like me who will bring in cash from 15-20 miles away and not cost them anything else. The main routes to the city are hard to follow and the roads twist in confusing ways. No biggie, of course, but if I'm from out of town, I don't want to be challenged by city streets and traffic lights.

Answer: Straighten some roads. Put up some nice directional signs.

Second, there's nothing in downtown Zeeland that I can't get somewhere else. Yes, I've been to Zeeland and found no real reason to go back often. I've gone to the museum and cemetery for research and I've visited the bicycle shop (very nice owner and a pleasure to chat with) because I try to visit as many bike shops as possible. But take the family there? Why?

Answer: No restaurant, whether it serves beer or not, is going to pull me there consistently. I need a "destination" or a "gimmick," such as a children's museum, a fantastic clock collection from Herman Miller, a zoo, something. Saugatuck has a long tradition of the arts, shopping, food and partying to pull me in. Fennville has a straight main state highway through it making it easy to get to and it markets its farm and orchard traditions well and is even getting into the arts.

Third, Zeeland city is plain. It's not ugly, just unremarkable. I am not awed by anything in the city and have to go out of my way to pass the striking country scenery to make me end up in the city. Chicago Drive is one of the ugliest stretches of road I have ever seen.

Answer: Pull me in concentrically, that is, have outlying reasons to first come to the area, then I might go to the core.

Last, a conglomeration of the first three, is change the community's image. Elect a non-white female mayor who is under the age of 50, have some community parties (like Tulip Time in Holland or Glenn's Pancake Festival) that show you have fun. Selling alcohol might help but is not the answer alone. Most importantly, show me that I'm welcome even though I'm not a conservative Christian.

Thought: I act like I know everything.