Posted Mon October 03, 2005
If you want something done in Union, Oregon, just ask for volunteers. Like rural towns everywhere, Union depends on volunteers to plug the gaps in services the government can't provide. Tune in Wednesday, October 5 at 8pm for a new OREGON STORY that explores how conflict in the volunteer ranks may turn out to provide the key to the survival of this town of 2,000 in northeastern Oregon.
Built by Oregon Trail pioneers, Union boomed during the late 1800's. Imposing red brick buildings dot Union's downtown and residential streets are graced with stately Victorian homes. From the start, the town saw itself as a small but impressive inland city. More than a century later, that Utopian dream remains unfulfilled. Like towns all over rural America, Union today is coping with a changing economy and struggling to survive.
Volunteers in Union put out fires and answer emergency calls, help kids read and shelve books at the library, serve seniors lunch every week, tend the local cemetery, stock the food pantry, raise money for kids' scholarships and staff the museum. Volunteers built a football stadium, a running track, a sports clubhouse and a gazebo in City Park. And every summer, hundreds of volunteers put on the 98-year-old Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.
But in 2004, trouble erupted in Union. The police chief and city administrator resigned. Residents voted to recall two city councilors. Tempers flared, neighbor turned against neighbor and volunteer groups fractured.
Along the way, Union got some unexpected new volunteers -- folks who brainstormed ways to revitalize Union's economy, restore the historic old Hot Lake Sanatorium and crack a 21-year-old murder case. And two new volunteer groups dueled over who should run the town.
Turns out volunteerism all over America is crashing -- part of the national decline in civic engagement tracked by Harvard University's Robert Putnam in "Bowling Alone." But there may be an Oregon exception. And Union's conflict may turn out to be its salvation. Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring people together.
THE OREGON STORY series explores Oregon’s ever-changing social, cultural and economic relationships with the land. Each story is supplemented by an online site that provides additional facts, educational tools and a starting point for further discovery. Visit opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ for more information.
Funding for THE OREGON STORY is provided through the Education Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development.
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Last Modified Thu July 20 2006 13:55PM
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