Sunday, March 21, 1999
Setbacks can’t keep good towns down
By ROY A. JONES II
Regional Editor
COLEMAN — If Coleman County can find a way to bottle and
sell its most abundant resource, its economic woes will be history.
Several times in the past decade the county has suffered major
economic setbacks, the devastating kind of losses that often send
thriving communities fading into ghost towns.
Twice the county’s hospital closed. In one year, Coleman
saw its two largest manufacturers leave town, taking hundreds
of jobs and leaving massive holes in the tax base.
 Meanwhile,
Santa Anna lost its largest employer. The smaller town also lost
its newspaper, its grocery store, its pharmacy and several other
businesses. The main street was lined with empty buildings.
Factor in the downturn in the oil industry and long droughts
that crippled agriculture, and the situation became even more
grim.
No one would have blamed shell-shocked residents for throwing
in the towel, cutting their losses and seeking greener pastures.
But that’s not how they do things in Coleman County. The
hardy residents cinched up their belts, bowed their necks, and
determined they would survive.
And they have.
They may not be quite back to where they were, but don’t
try to tell them they won’t be. “Quit” and “can’t”
are not in Coleman’s vocabulary.
That perseverance, if they could find some way to market it,
would break sales records.
How to survive
Surviving meant working together and keeping the faith. It
meant creating a hospital district and voting themselves more
taxes to reopen their hospital. Now it is one of the best hospitals
in the area.
It meant raising the sales tax and earmarking it for economic
development.
In the same year Coleman lost its two major manufacturers,
voters said yes to a bond issue — and even more taxes —
in order to expand their schools.
What’s their secret?
“It’s the people,” said Coleman schools Superintendent
Skip Casey, the first of many officials to give the same answer.
“Our community leaders are really positive folks who will
find a way to do whatever they put their mind to.”
At one time, he said, the Coleman school district was in the
lowest 10 percent in the state in wealth, but in the highest 10
percent in taxes.
“Ten years ago, before the state capped it at $1.50 (per
$100 valuation), our tax rate was $1.64 when a lot of other school
districts were at 20 cents or a quarter,” he said. “Then
when you lose two major employers and pass a $750,000 bond issue
the same year, that tells me we are blessed with a community of
folks with a high level of concern for public education.”
Biting the bullet
With exception of the hospital closures in the early 1990s,
Coleman faced its biggest losses in 1997 when Stemple Manufacturing
and Dal-Tile Corporation both moved. Each had operated in Coleman
for more than 30 years.
Stemple, which employed more than 300 and also had a plant
in Santa Anna, was lured to Amarillo by $4.35 million in tax-funded
incentives. But within 10 months the furniture manufacturer had
filed for bankruptcy. It subsequently sold, but the new owner
closed its doors last December.
Dal-Tile, which had grown from six to 50 local employees, moved
for economic reasons, consolidating its floor-tile manufacturing
operations in Kentucky.
Most people would see the huge buildings the two companies
left behind as empty. Not the Coleman folks. They see the vast
open space as potential.
“Building availability is definitely one of Coleman’s
biggest plusses,” said state Rep. Bob Turner, a Coleman County
native who doubles as the executive director, the hired point
man, for the Coleman Economic Development Corporation.
 |
| District 73 state Rep. Bob
Turner stands in the empty 60,000 square foot warehouse in Coleman
that used to house Stempel Manufacturing. Turner is also executive
director of the Coleman Economic Development Corporation, which
is seeking a new tenant for the building. Steve Hebert/Reporter-News |
“We probably have more existing buildings, ready for immediate
occupancy, than any town our size in the state,” he said.
“That’s a real plus because we can move them in for
a fraction of what it would cost them to build a new building.”
The buildings include what surely must be the largest available
building in the state, Turner said. One of the Stemple buildings,
now owned by a Brownwood bank, contains more than 100,000 square
feet of floor space.
Turner said Coleman was one of the first cities in this part
of the state to vote in the half-cent sales tax earmarked for
economic development. Using funds generated by that tax, Turner
and the EDC have been able to offset some of the Stemple and Dal-Tile
losses by attracting several new businesses, and helping others
to expand.
Small beats nothing
Compared with Stemple and Dal-Tile, the businesses are small,
he admitted. But all are growing and putting money back into the
county’s economy.
“We didn’t lose that many people when the big companies
left,” Turner said. “We lost a bunch of jobs, yes, but
not many of those employees went to Amarillo or Kentucky. The
vast majority of them stayed and got jobs here or in Brownwood
or Abilene or somewhere they don’t have to move.”
Mary Griffis, executive director of the Coleman Chamber of
Commerce, echoed Turner’s comments.
“They just regrouped and found another job,” she
said. “They tell me they want to stay here because of our
good schools and hospital and friendliness, even if they have
to drive somewhere else to work.”
Turner added, “It would have been real easy for us to
get down after we lost Stemple and Dal-Tile, but we’ve got
to remain positive. I think our folks believe in what I call ‘Operation
Bootstrap’ — you can’t expect somebody to put your
boots on for you; you’ve got to do some pulling yourself.”
Sometimes there are victories in just keeping what you have,
he said.
Dry Manufacturing, which employs about 100 persons at its Coleman
plant, is an example, he said. The company considered consolidating
all its operations at the Winters headquarters, but after CEDC
encouragement, it remained in place.
Coleman Mayor Woody Maddox said the loss of the big companies
hurt in terms of lost jobs and revenue.
“But on the positive side, working together to overcome
the challenges made us a better community,” he said. “It
also helped us focus on the small businesses that are really the
backbone of our community.”
He noted proudly that a grocery store, Shopping Baskit is doubling
its size, and work on a privately funded jail that will also benefit
several surrounding counties is progressing well.
County Judge Sherrill Ragsdale views the Stempel situation
from two perspectives. He moved the company from Plano in 1970
and was president for the six years before his retirement from
the company — several years before the bitter move.
He said the Stemple and Dal-Tile tax losses, as well as the
losses caused by declining mineral values, are being replaced.
“We are extremely fortunate that for the most part they
are being offset by new residential building out in the county,”
he said. “We have some extremely large homes and estates
under construction, and when that goes on the tax rolls as dwelling
instead of agricultural, that’s good news for the county.”
Griffis said the city of Coleman is also seeing an influx of
retirees, especially people from the Metroplex who grew up in
rural areas, and that several of them are building new homes.
Hospital gains
Mike Morris, who came from Plano two years ago to become administrator
of Coleman County Medical Center, agreed people are the key to
Coleman’s survival.
“In the face of adversity it takes a “can-do’
attitude to succeed, and I’ve certainly been impressed with
that attitude portrayed by the people of Coleman County,”
he said.
The point he’s tried to drive home to hospital employees
and trustees is, “During the tough economic times you do
the same things that make you successful in the good economic
times. You have to listen to your customers — the patients
and the doctors — and provide the very best primary care
we possibly can,” he said.
The can-do attitude has worked. When Morris arrived in Coleman,
most of the hospital was shut down, and it was averaging only
four-five patients a day. It had borrowed money for four years
to stay open and had $1,600 in the bank.
Today the hospital is debt-free, has $700,000 in the bank,
and averages 20 patients a day. All of the old services have been
restored, plus the hospital has added several new services, including
obstetrics, a fixed-base CAT-scan, a home health service, and
emergency medical service with new ambulances. From 70 employees
it has grown to 155.
Other plans are in the offing. Parts of the hospital complex
go back to 1923 and need to be updated. Morris’ own office
is in a 1936 building.
“We’ve put our money into patient care,” he
explained.
Vision 2000 launched
Business woman and school board member Amy Hinds said one of
the keys to remaining positive is to count your blessings.
With that in mind, more than a dozen community leaders formed
a group known as Vision 2000 earlier this year. The group set
itself a goal of using the strength of public opinion to accomplish
positive change through increased public awareness of both opportunities
and challenges, she said.
The group soon adopted a logo and a motto, “Coleman Proud,”
which it hopes to use in advertising. Vision 2000 member Steve
Hayes even created a web site to outline the committee’s
vision. It can be seen at www.colemantex.org/visions/index.html
“It’s amazing what we came up with when we sat down
and brainstormed and listed the positive things about the community.
We tend to take a lot for granted,” Hinds said.
She said such things as the high school basketball team’s
success, and the sweepstakes band’s success “unite the
community and show us we have something worth fighting for.”
Rick Marshall, 63, a retired businessman who helped lead the
Vision 2000 discussions, said another key to Coleman County’s
success amid adversity is the average age of its citizens.
“Probably half of us are over 65. Because of that we are
more stable. We are not quite so apt to panic. More than that,
we really love Coleman County. We have an optimism that we are
right in the middle of something wonderful happening,” he
said.
“We’re an ideal retirement community,’”
he added. “The house you pay $100,000 for in Coleman would
cost you $500,000 in Fort Worth.”
“Maybe,” he mused, “having the big companies
move out was to our advantage.”
Success stories
Smaller businesses the Coleman EDC has either helped to open
or expand in the past two years couldn’t be happier with
their acceptance.
Linda Hadden said she and her husband, Jerry, moved their Pioneer
General Leather Craft manufacturing company here from El Paso
because of the “great school system, friendly, rural flavor
and closer proximity to Dallas,” where they obtain their
raw materials. The company employs 15 and ships exercise accessories
and other leather goods all over the country.
“We looked all over Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico and
Texas, and we liked it best here,” she said. “We haven’t
been disappointed.”
Ronda Knox, who taught school here for seven years before she
and her husband, Bill, opened Cedar Furniture & More, said,
“”We drive 19½ hours to some shows, like a recent
one in Louisville, Ky. We don’t do that because we love to
drive. We do it because we wouldn’t think of not living in
Coleman. They helped us get started, and this is home.”
The company has six employees and makes cedar furniture of
all types. It’s owners hope to expand by adding a sawmill.
Terry Holmquest, who with his wife, Amy, owns BC Plastics Co.,
said he moved to Coleman because the EDC helped him find a building
with four times as much space as he had for the plastic fabrication
business.
“The overhead is lower, and we’ve doubled our business,”
he said.
Of the huge, empty Stemple building, he quipped, “I would
love to be able to need that much space!”
“When we need more hands we have no trouble getting them,”
said Rusty Coats, who with Charles Coats owns Diamond B Manufacturing
Co., which employs 10-13 persons in making heavy bumper guards
and other accessories for trucks and pickups.
Other new or expanded Coleman businesses are BoDoodle Co. Inc.,
owned by S. G. Christian, and By-U Archery, owned by J.L. McIlvain.
BoDoodle employs nine in making archery equipment marketed internationally,
while McIlvain runs a related pro shop.
Santa Anna fights back
Meanwhile, Santa Anna is experiencing a little boom of its
own, according to longtime city secretary Alys Pelton and Jean
Findley, a banker who serves as secretary-treasurer of the Santa
Anna Economic Development Corporation.
“We’ve been able to help some businesses. We’re
making tremendous strides in getting some businesses back downtown,
and we’re seeing people moving back, too,” Findley said.
“The community has a lot of pride. It’s not going to
die.”
Some people figured the Jan. 21 closing of the weekly Santa
Anna News might be the last nail in the coffin for the community
of 1,200. After all, the newspaper had weathered bad times and
good for 113 years, making it the oldest continuous business in
the community.
But Santa Anna is bouncing back, Findley said. Five new businesses
have opened in the past few weeks or are in the process of opening.
When Art and Judy Micron opened A&J Grocery on March 8,
it marked the first time since October that Santa Anna residents
didn’t have to drive elsewhere to buy groceries.
Other new businesses are Mesquite Woods of Texas, which makes
custom furniture in the old Ira Pump and Supply building; a gym
and tanning salon that will occupy the old drug store building;
Highway 67 Deli, in the former Holt’s General Store building;
and an oil field supply business owned by Richard Shields. Shields
completely refurbished a downtown building that had been part
of a car dealership and had been vacant for many years.
In addition, the county’s other newspaper, the Coleman
Chronicle & Democrat Voice helped ease the loss of the Santa
Anna newspaper by honoring the Santa Anna subscription list, employing
a Santa Anna correspondent and offering two to three pages of
Santa Anna news every week.
“In the newspaper business we compete to a certain extent,
but we also support each other as Coleman Countians,” said
Stan Brudney, co-publisher of the Coleman newspaper. “I know
it hurt them to lose their paper, but they’re not going to
sink. They’re all our friends, and we’re going to help
them anyway we can.”
(Correspondent Billie Mercer contributed to this story.)
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Copyright ©1999,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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