Do it Ourselves!

Big Sandy, MT isn’t getting the network TV show that they had hoped for, but like a lot of towns that I visit that isn’t going to stop them. They are just going to do it on their own. And, in my opinion, will be better for it than if ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” had chosen them for a makeover.

Big Sandy applied over a year ago to the show, hoping to be remade as an Old West town. They never heard back from the show, but the application process galvanized the local citizens into action. Marlys Bitz, local Chamber of Commerce Beautification Coordinator said, “At the time this town of 800 had three businesses for sale. We knew that we had to do something or we were on the road to death. First go the stores, then the doctors, and finally, the gas station.”

Today, Big Sandy is doing just that. Their motto is “We’re not going to be another Verona,” a town 10 miles away that once thrived but died a slow, painful death. “Today it’s just a sign, two garbage cans and a picnic table. The problem with Verona was that people there didn’t want to see anything change. We’re not going to let that happen in Big Sandy.”

Bitz has brought in the Montana State University Community Design Center to help with the makeover. But, they aren’t going to make themselves into a Old West Town, rather sprucing up what they already have. Several of the businesses that were for sale have new owners; there are plans to slow traffic down in the downtown and giving people a reason to stop. The big grain elevators in town are going to be painted red, giving the town a unique look and identity.

I just love towns like Big Sandy. They never give up, keep plugging away and find ways to reinvent themselves.