Conclusion
As with the creation of nations, the creation of Tri-Valley became necessary because of the decline of older economic and governmental systems that were no longer viable in a changing world. However, this re-imagining could have easily been dictated to the town from an unchecked and directive state government unconcerned with local sentiment and ideas. Just as it was when nations were first created, the success of imagining The Tri-Valley Area in a way that embraced change, while at the same time gaining legitimacy from residents and their collective memory was dependent on several factors. First, the horizontal alignment of an expanded electorate allowed the town the opportunity to resist the more vertical institutions of the New York State Education Department with a coordinated populist sentiment manifesting itself in votes. But, this coordination was only possible due to links between the isolated hamlets within the community. These links included physical connections such as roads and agreed on meeting areas for business, recreation and political events. But far more important were the collection of ideas and the vision for the town formed in The Tri-Valley Townsman. Community leaders were ineffectively fighting the change being forced on them from 1945-1947. It was not until ideas, votes and popular will could be focused and coordinated through the creation of The Tri-Valley Townsman in 1947 that the fight to imagine a unified, progressive, successful and independent community was possible. The community newspaper embodied the will of the collective population to seize independence from the state and form the community in the image that its citizens agreed upon. This image is essential to the emotional identities of the citizens of Tri-Valley even today who still support a small local newspaper covering The Tri-Valley Area and all it represents. Inez Gridley was correct when she recalled how: The Townsman has helped give identification to a lot of small places in this big geographic area. Everyone speaks of ‘Tri-Valley’ now and the name carries weight. Without a paper, this unification might never have taken place. Here in Tri-Valley… folks know a community newspaper is a necessity and believe any small place with a determined group can start one.[1]
Citations:
1. Gridley, 37.
Daniel Curry
George Mason University
Last Updated 14 May 2014
copyright May 2014