By Blaine Friedlander Jr.
Once in desperate straits, Penn Yan, N.Y., recently was named one of the best small towns in America, thanks in part to early advice from Cornell Cooperative Extension agents.
"Penn Yan, N.Y., pulled out of an economic depression by creating a thriving new county marketplace -- inspiring other towns to do the same," Norm Crampton wrote in a Dec. 1 USA Weekend magazine article. The article was based on his new book, The 100 Best Small Towns in America (Simon & Schuster, 1995), released in December. Penn Yan was ranked 60th, tied with Brewton, Ala.
The Windmill Farm & Craft Market, a cooperative and the foundation of Penn Yan's economic recovery, was but a twinkle in the eyes of the town leaders when they approached the Cooperative Enterprise Program at Cornell Cooperative Extension
(CCE) in 1987.
Then newly formed, the cooperative needed hard cash and raw land to get started. With the help of CCE, the cooperative of
fered an in-town commercial stock offering. Penn Yan residents bought 500 shares of preferred stock at $100 apiece. Thus, the cooperative had $50,000 to start building. First, one structure. Then, two. Soon, the town bank wanted to underwrite the loans for future construction. The bank now flourishes, too.
Before the market opened, the economic picture for Penn Yan was gloomy. Yates County had the lowest per capita income and lowest per capita wage level in New York. When major employers like Angler Boat and Walker-Bin let hundreds of work ers go, it hit the town of 5,690 hard.
"This new cooperative effort is being driven by the need for survival and to provide an alternative form of employment. There are fewer resources with which to work, and many mom-and-pop operations don't have heir apparents, so we are looking at ways to stimulate the economy," said Brian Henehan,
senior extension associate of Cornell's Cooperative Enterprise Program.
Local leaders were confident that if they built it, people would come. The core lead ership of the cooperative in Penn Yan determined that almost 1.5 million people live within a two-hour drive of the proposed market. So, after raising capital in 1987, they held an old-fashioned barn-raising and erected a 60-by-100-foot marketplace build ing. That was the small start to the Windmill Farm & Craft Market. Today, there are eight buildings at the marketplace complex.
"This market was destined to be, there's no other way to say it," said Ron Nissen, general manager of the market and one of the charter leaders. The market now re ceives more than $280,000 annually in rents from more than 230 vendors and as many as 10,000 shoppers in a day. That planning translates into $6.2 million of commercial
dollars flowing through Yates County. "A lot of things have changed in Yates County," Nissen said.
"Some people have to buy gasoline, others have to go to restaurants. The market helps other businesses. Essentially, we have a tourist draw."
Before the market, there was only one
business on the rural road on which it is located. Today, there are 15. "Now that is rural economic development," said Bruce Anderson, director of the Cooperative En terprise Program.
The market has also spawned related markets. Once a week there is a hay auction, and last year the facility provided for a
biweekly wholesale produce auction. By the end of the season, it had 128 registered buyers from throughout New York's Southern Tier. The Windmill Market is now the largest employer in Yates County, providing about 120 jobs.
"The cooperative not only provides an alternative source of employment, a
stimulator of local business activity, but more importantly it is an object of pride which the entire community can enjoy," Anderson said.
"The market was a real team effort, and we with Cornell Cooperative Exten sion are proud to have been a part of the team," he said.