Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.bonus From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: bonus Thu, Jun 18 1992 Date: Thu, 18 Jun 92 05:09:16 EDT Message-ID: 06-18 0000 BONUS: Small towns scoff at recession USA TODAY Update June 18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Tom Aston knows the rest of the nation isn't in such great shape. But his neck of the woods - the lush, green Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas - is doing fine. "This is the best year we've had, no doubt about it," says Aston, manager of the Buffalo Outdoor Center along U.S. 65 in Silver Hill, Ark. He rents 100 canoes, five rafts and six cabins to anglers who fish the nearby Buffalo River or lakes in the mountains. DID THE OZARKS FEEL THE RECESSION AT ALL? "I'm a month-and-a-half ahead (in revenue) of where I was this time last year," says Aston, a quick-smiling, bearded man who winters as a chef in Dallas. As for the recession that gripped most of the nation the past two years, "I don't think we ever felt it," he says. "This area may have even gotten a boost from the recession," Aston says. Midwesterners and southerners "quit going on tours to other parts of the country and stayed closer to home." DO OTHERS FEEL THE SAME WAY? The story is much the same along the northern 60 miles or so of U.S. 65 in Arkansas, a mostly two-lane road that rolls up and down the mountains through towns such as Bee Branch, Clinton and St. Joe. It is one of the main routes from Little Rock to Branson, Mo., just across the state line. A few statistics drive home the good news. The unemployment rate in Boone County, along the Missouri border: 5.1% in April. The rate in adjacent Marion County that month: 5.2%. Statewide: 7.4%. April's rate nationwide was 7.2%. HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO CITIES NEARBY? Contrast those low jobless rates with the news from Pine Bluff, a city of 57,000 about 40 miles south of Little Rock. April's unemployment rate there: 10.9%. Pine Bluff, like many communities in the southern half of the state and in northeast Arkansas, has been struggling with the pains created by a dwindling need for workers in a farm-based economy. WHY ARE THE OZARKS DOING SO WELL? "I'm not sure there is one good answer," says Donald Market, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. "It's really been a confluence of some very fortunate events." A critical part of the story is Branson and its enormous effect on the region. A town of just 3,700, Branson became the site of mountain-music summer festivals in the '60s. The shows drew a steady but not spectacular following. WHAT HAPPENED IN BRANSON? In 1983, Hee Haw star and country-music performer Roy Clark built a theater in Branson, where he could perform for weeks at a stretch instead of having to spend time on the road. Other country stars followed. Now there are 30 music halls along a 4 1:2-mile stretch of two-lane 76 Country Boulevard, the main drag through Branson. Along it are Willie Nelson's theater, Johnny Cash and June Carter's, Ray Stevens' and others. Tickets typically cost $15 to $25 for adults, less for kids, depending on the show and the day of the week. HOW POPULAR IS BRANSON? Crowded between Branson's theaters are tourist attractions - miniature golf courses, go-cart tracks, T-shirt shops. Motels sport no-vacancy signs and notices such as "Welcome Peoria Chapter AARP Members." Last year, 4.3 million people visited Branson. On a summer morning, it can take an hour to drive two miles on Country Boulevard. Cadillacs carrying retirees crawl bumper to bumper with families from Texas in minivans and tour bus:boats. HOW HAVE OTHER AREAS BEEN AFFECTED? The ripple effects of Branson's explosive economy can be seen along Highway 65. South of town, "the customers start pulling in early in the morning, and they don't stop coming all day," says Chester Atra, owner of Maw and Paw's Gift Shop and motel. Twenty miles south of Branson, in Omaha, the steady stream of traffic persuaded Diane Bonds and Laverne Prichard to open adjacent shops along Highway 65. IS ANYTHING ELSE HELPING THE OZARKS? Tourism and its side effects isn't the whole story in the Ozarks. The region has gotten a big boost from a steady influx of retirees. "We can offer them a low cost of living," says Market, the university economist. Signs in Realtors' windows advertise three-bedroom homes in the mountains for $50,000 to $75,000. "And I also hear," Market says, "the retirees like the fact that we have mild climate changes here." HAS THE POPULATION GONE UP? The flow of retirees has resulted in strong population growth in the two counties in the state's northwest corner, just west of the Branson-Little Rock corridor. In Benton County, the population shot up 25% from 1980 through 1990, to 97,500. Washington County saw 13% growth, to 113,400. The rest of the state grew just 1.5% the same period. HAS THERE BEEN A RIPPLE EFFECT? Population growth - and economic growth, because people create demand for goods and services - also has been spurred by the success of some northwest Arkansas companies. Wal-Mart's headquarters is in Bentonville. Trucking company J.B. Hunt Transportation Services is in Lowell. Chicken processor Tyson Foods has its home in Springdale. None of those companies is the area's biggest employer. The university in Fayetteville, with about 3,000 employees, holds that title, Market says. But success stories help draw attention - and people - to the area. CAN THE OZARKS' GOOD FORTUNE CONTINUE? "I see nothing to indicate there will be any change," says Market. Branson should continue to pull in music fans, which in turn could spur further growth. Last week, Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft said Branson's traffic crunch is an economic emergency, and the state will speed up work on a planned 18-mile, $140 million highway around the town. Climate and low living costs also should continue to pull people into the region. For much of the Ozarks, says Market, "the next decade will be generally much like the last decade - good." Bonus Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM