The Story of the Storysigns

Jennifer Billingsley of Russell Library at her Storysign

Here’s something that frequently happens to me in Middletown:  someone tells me about an idea they have on how to improve our town.  

It might be an idea about a program for kids, a spot to make beautiful, a reason to get people together, or even a creative business idea.

These conversations are a big part of why I choose to live here.   There’s just something about this place that makes people want to work on making it better.  It’s thrilling to live in this mix, even though it’s not always easy to get things done.

My personal preference is for ideas that just aren’t that big — small things that can nudge our community in the direction that we want.  I learned this from a book called City Comforts that argues “Don’t be afraid to bunt!”  Planting some flowers and putting in a bench might do more to turn around the block than big redevelopment projects.

One of the directions I’d like to “nudge” Middletown is in understanding what’s so special about our downtown.  

That’s why I spent the past few years working on a project to install signs on 25 streetlight poles on Main Street.  The signs have a map that lists every storefront and civic resource.  Each one also has a story panel about a person who is part of our independent business community.

Here's something I learned on this project:  When you take a really close look at the nearly 200 entities in the 7 blocks of our Main Street, if you count every storefront, restaurant, service business and non-profit, you’ll find that about half have a woman at the helm, and a third are led by people of color.  And by just about every other measure - age, business experience and status - there’s an incredible range.  This is not really just a coincidence; our chamber has had a program called Side Street to Main Street for years, to help minority entrepreneurs develop their business potential, but even so, it seems like the true diversity of our business community can be invisible to ourselves.  In reality, our downtown is a place where people of different backgrounds put their passion out there - a special food, a product, a service - finding a niche on Main Street.  The diversity of our people and the range of our entrepreneurial spirit are part of what draws people here - and it’s something to preserve and celebrate.  But first it has to be seen.

I’m hoping that the stories on the signs encourage visitors and Middletown residents to explore a new business or at least get to know the people who make this place their own. 

So, before the summer is over, why not take a stroll all the way up and down Main Street - that’s about 1.5 miles of walking, not counting the detour you should probably make down to Vechhitto’s.

On the other hand, if you’re more of an armchair traveller, there’s now a website where you can read all 25 stories from the comfort of your own home (or phone).  It’s at www.MeetYourMainStreet.com.

If there is a constant among the stories of these 25 people, it is a kind of tenderness.  What comes through in these profiles is that people here love what they do — they are drawn to this place, and they are staying in the struggle. 

These signs are just a small thing.  You might not even notice them.  But hopefully, when the next time comes around to tackle the BIG things - like whether Route 9 traffic will get re-routed through downtown (2018), or whether developers get to influence our zoning rules for their own benefit (2012), or whether our downtown school is important to the community (2009 & 2016) - maybe these signs will have added in a small way to the understanding that what we have in Downtown Middletown is very special, and worth protecting!

The sign project was funded by the Downtown Business District, through a tax that some of our business properties pay to the DBD special services taxing district, and with the support of the Mayor and city departments, as well as creative input from Center for the Arts staff at Wesleyan and Kidcity Children's Museum.  The signs were constructed by Young’s Printing on Court Street, with graphic design by Maurer Designs and writing/photography by Bailey Wright.  Thank you to everyone who helped create the first round of this sign project, especially our first “class” of 25 people of downtown!