{"id":17486,"date":"2016-07-16T18:12:28","date_gmt":"2016-07-16T22:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=17486"},"modified":"2020-03-26T03:57:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:57:14","slug":"nova-scotia-and-the-north-country-have-something-in-common","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2016\/07\/16\/nova-scotia-and-the-north-country-have-something-in-common\/","title":{"rendered":"Nova Scotia and the North Country have something in common"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Xavier<\/a>

Xavier Hall at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Colleges in small towns do more than give high school graduates a place to study and party for three or four years before becoming serious adults (whatever that means).\u00a0 They\u2019re major sources of economic development, and contribute to a lively base for local intellectual and cultural activity.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

I recently spent some time for both research and recreation in Antigonish, a town of 4,500 people in central Nova Scotia.\u00a0 Surrounded by small, forested mountains, rolling farmland, and the sublime shore of the Northumberland Strait, half of the town\u2019s populated territory is dominated by St. Francis Xavier University (usually just called St. FX), giving Antigonish an appearance and culture not too unlike Canton and Potsdam.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Cape George Lighthouse by the Northumberland Strait near Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Nova Scotia, has the oldest population in Canada by average at 43 years.\u00a0 The national average is 41.\u00a0 Young people aren\u2019t staying in the small towns.\u00a0 Most move to Halifax or other parts of Canada to work and study, either temporarily or for good.\u00a0 I have several cousins from Nova Scotia who followed that path.\u00a0 Antigonish slightly bucks this trend with an average age of 42.\u00a0 Could this be a result of over 5,000 students spending eight months of the year in town?\u00a0 Students from local families stay and study, and young professors move to town.\u00a0 Graduates who like the local lifestyle may stay and start families.\u00a0 Could colleges and their economic benefits be the reason for similar numbers in St. Lawrence County?\u00a0 According to some recent census figures, the average age of a New Yorker is 38 years.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t find averages but the median age is 37 in St. Lawrence County, 27 in Canton and 22 Potsdam.<\/p>\n

\"Ray<\/a>

Ray Hanley on the phone at Little Christo’s. Michael Hanley is in the background talking with a member of the serving staff. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Little Christo\u2019s Pizzeria and Mediterranean Eatery on Antigonish\u2019s Main Street is a good example of the economic and intellectual spinoff of St. FX.\u00a0 The meal I had at Little Christo\u2019s was one of the highlights of my trip.\u00a0This top-rated restaurant is owned by chef extraordinaire Ray Hanley and his son Michael, a student of philosophy and history at St. FX.\u00a0 Michael also tends to customer service with ease and lots of energy.\u00a0 I asked him why he was pursuing a liberal arts degree and not studying business.\u00a0 He said he wanted to learn about and understand the wider world and that after three years of co-owning a business, he feels like he\u2019s learned as much or more about entrepreneurship as business students do from textbooks.<\/p>\n

St. FX is a Roman Catholic university founded in 1853 but a big part of its legacy is in the social development Antigonish Movement, dating from the 1920s.\u00a0 It was an effort to strengthen communities and the economy in Canada\u2019s Maritime Provinces through the creation of co-operatives, credit unions, and community ownership of local business.\u00a0 Father Moses Coady and his cousin, fellow priest Father Jimmy Tompkins were its leaders.<\/p>\n

Today, the Coady International Institute at the university continues the work of the Antigonish Movement, bringing cooperative ownership and credit unions to developing countries.\u00a0 In my opinion, that same spirit of community ownership and cooperation exists in the North Country.\u00a0 It\u2019s evident through the strong support for NCPR.\u00a0 Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) helps local artisans and performers market their talent and so do weekly farmer\u2019s markets.\u00a0 Credit unions have branches throughout the region.\u00a0 It\u2019s this sort of social and economic development that intellectual nerve centers like colleges foster in a community.\u00a0 The demographic figures also show that these institutions help keep young people in\u2014or attract them to small towns.<\/p>\n

This conclusion may be counter-intuitive, given the loss of young people to urban communities. Nonetheless, colleges play a key role in attracting and retaining a younger population in small towns, across the North Country and Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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