Economic Development

This is the land exit from Point Roberts, the Canadian border crossing you go through to the rest of everything. Not much of a line-up on this day. Past this little building that looks like a strip mall start-up, lies all of Vancouver--greater metro and city center--and, with a hard right turn, the ROTUS (rest of the U.S.). Point Roberts is not about shopping; it may be the only place in America that is not about shopping, so it may be worthy of your attention on that ground alone. Here’s the total shopping possibility: grocery store (1), hardware store (1), liquor store (1), gasoline stations (5), arts/crafts gift stores (2), plant nursery (1), very small liquidation store (1), 2 bars, 3 small eating places, and a ship’s chandlery at the marina. That’s it, I think. You won’t starve or be deprived of an evening’s scotch and soda, or be unable to hang your curtains, or honor someone’s birthday or drive yet another mile. On the other hand, it’s not much of a basis for an economy.

Some of the locals worry a great deal about the lack of an economy and therefore regularly talk about economic development and how the Point really needs a lot more of it. Recently, someone was talking about how great it would be to have a row of shops on Gulf Drive, little antique-y stores and the like. Such shops, they imply, would result in an economy because we’d have more Canadians, especially, spending more money down here, and thus the Point will have more ‘good jobs,’ as the politicians say, although retail clerking is not famously one of those lines of work that I’d describe as a good job. When they start walking (and talking) down this road, I always think of George the President telling us, after 9/11, to go out and buy things, eat at a nice restaurant, go to a Broadway play. Maybe we could move Broadway to Point Roberts? There’s room, still--next to Lily Point. And parking is just not a problem.

My preferred plan is to make Point Roberts Washington’s first wireless community, although I have no particular idea about how that would result in economic development. Alternatively, maybe it would be a good economic development plan to ensure that everybody in Point Roberts has a visual skill that could be paraded for the Canadian tourists (sort of like Williamsburg, Virginia, but without the costumes, although costumes wouldn’t hurt: we could all dress like Icelandic farmers in 1908). On the weekends, all the people with horses could drive small carts along the road; all the quilters could quilt in their front yards; maybe I’ll dye wool in a big, steaming vat; somebody could operate an apple press to make good use of the Point’s multitudinous orphan apples; a forge in someone’s front yard with small ironwork pieces being constructed for home and garden; dozens of people could make jewelry; others could chop firewood into kindling; free-range chickens could wander around; children could ride bicycles! Everyone could participate; everyone knows how to do something. Such a lot of fun. At least once, but then we might grow tired of being on display. And once probably won’t work for economic development.

Tsawwassen (the small Canadian town immediately over the border, which Point Roberts would look just like if it ever got developed) was once described (unkindly, ungraciously, ungenerously) by the National Geographic as ‘strip mall hell.’ That’s economic development you can believe in, my friends.

Well, if not Williamsburg, what else? What have we got here? Ocean, sky, big trees, beaches, four parks (!), a lot of undeveloped land (still!), and a sort of temperate climate. Instead of selling things at all those places, maybe we could just invite folks up (or down) and charge them for a rest cure. For shopping? Well, there’s always Vancouver and ROTUS and the internet.