UTAH PUMPS $750,000 INTO ITS NEW "HERITAGE HIGHWAY"
by Noelle Backer
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Another State Uses Craft in Economic Development Efforts
UTAH PUMPS $750,000 INTO ITS NEW "HERITAGE HIGHWAY" by Noelle Backer |
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Tourism and economic development offices in more and more states, such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kentucky and Maine, are using crafts as a major component of their marketing efforts. And the trend is continuing to spread.
This Memorial Day weekend, Utah will kick off its new Heritage Highway, a 230-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 89, featuring 300-some cultural and heritage businesses. The studios of rug weavers, saddle makers, woodturners, quilters and potters, historic bed and breakfasts, and "down-home" restaurants will be designated on a map for tourists. Road signs will be placed along the route as well, to attract the attention of the six million tourists who already travel the highway each year, on their way to tourist sites like Capital Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon National Park.
The Utah State Legislature has demonstrated its support by allocating $250,000 to the project. Utah's Department of Community and Economic Development has already allocated at least $300,000 to the effort, and has teamed up with other partners, such as the U.S. West Foundation, the Wal-Mart Foundation and the U.S. Department of Commerce, to contribute another $200,000.
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The project's origins
The idea to use Utah's craft and cultural heritage businesses as economic development resources was the brainchild of Tim Anderson, a lawyer and now vice chairman of the board of the Utah Division of Business and Economic Development. When Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was elected to office, he had appointed Anderson to the board and given the board the responsibility of finding a solution to the challenge of rural economic development.
It was then that a visit to his sister's house in Valley Forge, Pa., gave Anderson the idea; he was impressed by the region's cultural attractions -- Gettysburg, the Amish Country, the concentration of craft and heritage shops along Route 30. He thought, "Why don't we have this in Utah?"
Anderson quickly remembered an experience he had while traveling in Germany, where, he recalls, "You would leave one craft shop and the proprietor would lead you to the next shop or museum -- just pass you along. You were literally taken care of."
In Utah, Anderson explains, "you'll have the same opportunity. There's a 230-mile stretch of rural highway with a small town about every 14 miles. And as you drive, even the flora and the fauna change about every 40 miles; you go from high desert to Alpine trout fishing creeks. You pass through great areas like Bryce Canyon's red rock country, and towns like Circleville, where Butch Cassidy was born," he continues.
When Anderson returned from visiting his sister, he began to work out some of the details. He took photos of old buildings along the highway, thinking they would be easily converted into heritage businesses as part of the economic development program. "These buildings would eventually be torn down or burned if nothing happened to them," Anderson says. "And all you need for a heritage product type of shop is a hard floor space and electricity. The costs would be minimal to keep it running."
The factor that made the idea so compelling, however, says Anderson, "was the number of talented craftspeople here. This is really high-quality work by skilled craftspeople. You couldn't make this [program] work everywhere."
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
| Contact Ed Meyer, Division of Business and Economic Development, at (801) 538-8700. |
Once he had gathered enough photos and information, and with encouragement from his wife, a craft artist, Anderson pitched the idea to the board. "They endorsed the idea right away," he says.
With help from the state government staff, Anderson held scoping meetings in communities along the highway. Interest was not hard to generate.
Next, the State Division of Business and Economic Development sent staff member Ed Meyer to North Carolina to examine the Heritage Craft Trails of North Carolina. When he returned, the Division set up a nonprofit cooperative, the Utah Heritage Products Alliance, with pro bono services from Anderson's law firm. Meyer is currently serving as temporary director of the cooperative.
More than 300 community craft and heritage businesses have joined the alliance and will kick off the "Heritage Highway" on Memorial Day weekend.
With support from the governor, the state legislature and the Department of Community and Economic Development, the project is starting out with a strong foothold. "This is a new element for our state," says Anderson, referring to the fact that Utah's big economic contributor has been its booming skiing industry. But, he adds, it is something competitive that the state believes can draw people to Utah's more rural region.
Noelle Backer is senior editor of The Crafts Report.
MAY 2000: TABLE OF CONTENTS
