Please excuse the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. Last weekend my family went to a wedding in Dahlonega (pronounced like harmonica, with the accent on the second syllable), Georgia. Prior to that we were caught up in preparations for the trip, and after getting back there was recovery time, catching up on things we didn’t get to do because of the trip, etc. Anyway, I didn’t write for a while, and let myself get out of the habit of writing. Time went by. So, today I decided I had to force myself to start writing again. This is the result.
But, let me tell you about Dahlonega. It is an interesting place that reminded me a great deal of Sag Hampton — if you overlook the fact that Dahlonega is landlocked. But aside from the lack of boats, there was much that was familiar in this small southern town, and I found that interesting indeed. One very obvious similarity was that like Sag Hampton, Dahlonega takes its history seriously.
(Digression: I would have liked to have some pictures to illustrate this post, but unfortunately, my camera broke while I was there, so I only have one, not very interesting, picture from Dahlonega. However, since this photo does reflect Dahlonega’s historic bent, I have published it in the sidebar.)
Dahlonega is principally famous as the location of the Georgia gold rush which, apparently, immediately preceded the better known California gold rush. Now I had never heard of the Georgia gold rush, so I’m taking their word for the fact that Dahlonega is, in fact, famous for it. But then again, I suppose not many Georgians would know that Sag Harbor was once a busier commercial seaport than New York City, so they’ll just have to take our word for that.
Another interesting similarity with Sag Hampton, is that today, Dahlonega is in the middle of Georgia wine country. Ok, once again, I have to admit my ignorance. I never would have guessed that they made wine in Georgia, moonshine maybe, but wine? However, given that the wedding we attended took place in a very lovely winery, surrounded by an impressively large vineyard, I don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. They do indeed make wine in Georgia, and it is pretty good wine, at that.
They also take historic preservation pretty seriously. There’s a square in the center of Dahlonega, and in the center of the square is a lovingly restored courthouse circa 1836, that’s now the Gold Rush Museum. All around the square, are many original period buildings, and, except for a really bad traffic problem (sound familiar?), the entire area is quite lovely to look at. It felt comfortably unhurried, and very welcoming. In short, it reminded me of being here, without the boats and beaches.
Dahlonega is also a center of tourism. Maybe not on the same scale as Sag Hampton, but it was clear that the area drew a lot of vacationers and day-trippers from Atlanta, which is only an hour and a half to the south. This is where our visit to Dahlonega grew instructional, for I couldn’t help noticing that, pretty as their little square was, it was not a living part of their town anymore. Every business along all four sides of the square was tourist oriented: gift shops, souvenir shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors, a tourist information center, bed and breakfasts, coffee shops, the museum in the center of the square, and, of course, a sprinkling of the ever-present real estate offices that grow like warts on the face of every tourist town. All the businesses that provide real services to residents, had been banished to the outskirts of town…out by the Walmart. So, Dahlonega proper had pretty much devolved into a sort of Disneyesque historic attraction which was probably avoided like the plague by actual Dahlonegans.
I saw this as the writing on the wall for Sag Hampton. We’re more than halfway there already. You know you’re in trouble when everyone’s in denial about the problem and cites the same examples of why it’s not true. “We still have the Variety Store,” we all say. “And we still have a grocery store on Main Street. What about the dry cleaner and the laundromat? See, we’re still a working village.” Yeah, right. It’s pretty sad when you can count the number of non-summer-people-related businesses on the fingers of one hand.
So, I had a great time in Dahlonega, GA. Saw the sites, almost bought some souvenirs I didn’t need, drank some really nice wine, and danced the night away at my niece’s wedding. But, underlying my happiness, was a touch of dread, as I looked around and saw the future of Sag Hampton.
I promise to write more regularly. Someone needs to wake this burg up, before it’s too late.
Great post. You saw a lot as you did the tourist thing. You might also mention that while not cheap, the tourist trap prices do not boggle the mind as in the subject of your blog. And once you leave the small tourist area, you are economically right back in North Georgia which is affordable to real people. You have to go pretty far from Sag Hampton to achieve the same result.
i keep wondering why change is always bad in people’s minds. seriously. because, let’s face it, 8 track tapes didn’t make it and cds have…the world can select the good and the bad over time. my fear is that by resisting change, we create a vacuum that is filled up by people who have more actively wrong agendas…but by embracing change and trying to evolve in decent ways, we only make the world better…i think you become more of a tourist trap by resisting change than by embracing it.
also, and this is a very different point and references the fact that i did not want to post this but sent it to you privately by email: we live in a Very Small Town. that has both its good and bad sides, because nothing is perfect. change may alter some of the good, but it can also alter what is not so good…such as worrying about saying something in a WRITTEN communication and having to take a different kind of responsibility for it than one takes in friendly chat….this raises tons of different questions, none coherently examined here but all worthy of consideration…
I’m not completely sure I understand your point regarding how resisting change creates a vacuum that will be filled by people with wrong agendas…but I do sense that you think that my dismay at the influx of stores and businesses proffering non-essential goods and services somehow indicates that I am opposed to change. In fact, what I think is that every change can be viewed as both good and bad, depending on the angle from which you view it. In an earlier post I lamented the trend toward remodeling and enlarging much of Sag Harbor’s stock of small period homes. Well, if your primary concerns are real estate values and the appearance of the streetscapes in Sag Harbor, then this could be viewed as a positive development. On the other hand if you see this as part of an ongoing loss of affordable housing stock, then it can be seen in a negative light. I’m sure that those with money to burn, and a love of good shopping view the changes to Sag Hamptons’ commercial mix as a boon. However, those of us who were attracted by the character of the area are somewhat less excited to see the people and businesses that gave the area its unique character driven out and replaced by cookie cutter boutiques and chain stores. It doesn’t mean we’re opposed to all change, just to the type of change that destroys that which makes it viable in the first place.
As to your second point, you’re probably annoyed that I pressured you into posting your e-mail in the blog. I can live with that. As I mentioned, I write this blog to enable a dialog about the issues facing Sag Hampton. I don’t write to hear myself pontificate, although I am certainly capable of doing so (pontificating, that is). But, again, I’m not sure I fully grasp your point. Are you saying that it’s irresponsible for some people to express their views in public, even anonymously (as you did)? Obviously, I disagree with that point of view, but I’m not really sure that’s what you’re saying. I hope you’ll clarify your point, but I’m not gong to hold my breath, given your dislike of written comments.
I will, however, direct my frustration more appropriately. Instead of venting privately at one or two people about the lack of comments on this blog, I’ll broach it directly and publicly with everyone who reads this blog in a separate post.
I’m not annoyed at all. It’s only that I think it’s difficult to have a free-wheeling conversation this way. I’ve never posted on any other blog, and I do read many of them, but I feel more personally connected to what you write about, and am motivated to respond. That said, I also find it uncomfortably revealing to be talking to you one on one, but in a public forum. Particularly because it wouldn’t take ten seconds for the people who know you, or me, to figure out who I am. So there’s much less blog privacy than there might appear to be, even as an anonymous….I simply raised this question because I know you are concerned about the lack of responses to your postings, when it is obvious that tons of people read them. That’s what I was incoherently trying to say….
You’re absolutely right about north Georgia being more affordable, even though it is a regional tourist destination. I hadn’t thought of that. I hope by publicizing that fact that we’re not inadvertantly encouraging even more Sag Hamptonites to leave this area and head for “them thar hills.”