There are a lot of people who do not have medical degrees that would love to declare Ellenville, New York, D.O.A. For those who have never watched a single television show that deals with the medical profession, D.O.A. stands for "Dead On Arrival." There are those who will say that this town has seen its best days, that it will never again be a place people would visit — that Ellenville should just be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up. There are those who would claim that Ellenville is on life support and we should just pull the plug; a mercy killing if you will.

Don't believe it.

Sure, it's true that we have lost businesses. Schrade, V.A.W., and Hydro were all factories that provided hundreds of blue-collar Ellenville workers with a decent living wage and benefits. Twenty years ago, a kid could graduate from Ellenville High School, step right into a job with one of the local factories, and earn an honest living. We've all learned over the past decade or so that factory jobs are no longer a guarantee. Bruce Springsteen could have had Ellenville in mind when he sang,

"Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores,
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown."

A kid could even get out of E.H.S. and get a job in corrections. Constantly rising crime rates and the non-stop building of new prisons meant there were careers for those locals interested. But even crime has a recession now and again and the New York State Department of Corrections is cutting back.

Many feel that these situations can only spell the end for Ellenville.

But there are signs of life.

One local businesswoman told me the other day that we are going to have to get back to our roots in Ellenville, and that means tourism. True enough. The antique store on Canal Street has brought visitors and the proximity of the antique store has meant a slight increase in traffic for Top Shelf Jewelry. Like it or not, that is the direction we are going to have to head in if we want Ellenville to "come back."

"It's going to take time, but we will get there," said Michael Siegel, Director of the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corporation. Siegel moved to the Ellenville area a few years back because he and his wife were taken in by the natural beauty of the area.

Maybe we have trouble with clarity. Maybe living right here in Ellenville we "can't see the forest for the trees." Maybe we need to step back, take a moment and realize exactly what we have here. Maybe we need to take a page from Michael Siegel's outlook on our area and appreciate what we have. The glass is half full. The patient is recovering.

Want more proof that there is a pulse here in Ellenville?

Last Sunday I drove down to Berme Road. It was twilight. As I turned onto Berme Road I was greeted by dozens of people scurrying about in their efforts to build a community playground. Not that long ago, the same people who want to declare Ellenville officially deceased were talking about how the Ellenville Playground Project would never be completed. Fawn Morosky didn't share their pessimism, and with the help of Irene and Elaine Morosky, the Playground Project started with $250 in seed money and a level of persistence that people simply do not display for a town that is supposedly on its deathbed. It has taken several years. After all, raising over a hundred thousand dollars in money, materials, and labor in this economy is not easy. But in short order, Ellenville will soon have a state of the art, absolutely beautiful family playground that should become a focal point for young people and families in our community. You can rest assured that the project will be completed in the next few weeks because you can see that commitment in the eyes of Karri Scott-DiFazio, who has become the project manager, handling the daily affairs of this project for much of the last two years. The recent deluge of rain only temporarily slowed the project and Scott-DiFazio is intent on driving the final nail and painting the final post in the near future. Community efforts like this are only evident in towns that have a future.

This past year, three of our Ellenville High School athletic teams hung championship banners. After the last ten years of athletic futility, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. It's too early to declare an athletic "renaissance," but the tide appears to be turning. In a small community, the success of high school athletic teams, community support of school plays and musicals, and obvious signs of pride in our school system are evidence of a community that is getting healthy.

Last Sunday afternoon I was walking down Canal Street when I noticed two couples who were waiting for the matinee show at the Shadowland Theater. The couples were slowly walking up the street toward Route 209 and it was obvious they were looking for something to do, some place to spend money until the show began.

Admittedly, there is not a heck of a lot to do on Canal Street in Ellenville, New York, on an early Sunday afternoon. The couples walked about a block and then did that "circular shuffle" thing you do when you can't make up your mind exactly which way you want to go. After a minute or so the group headed back toward the Shadowland. If they were lucky, they decided to eat at the Aroma Thyme Bistro, only a couple of doors down from the Shadowland, and one of the best restaurants in Ulster County.

The whole scene stuck with me. Currently, there might not be a lot of reasons to come to Ellenville. But the ones that do make the trip to Ellenville worthwhile are outstanding. We just need to develop a few more.

And for those of you looking to pull the plug on this little town, well maybe you need to just hold on for a little longer — because we're not dead yet.

COMMENTS about this article (483)