COLUMNIST W.R. VALENTINE: A Jolly Roger?s City?
The nautical theme was the subject of a meeting at the Rogers City Council Chambers Monday evening. A group of interested citizens joined some city officials to review, revise and revitalize the municipal countenance of this town. Will the nautical theme produce more anchor tenants and to help our economy sail out of troubled waters? If we could ?pier? into the future we might be able to ?sea? the answer. Coming up with a theme for small towns that can help stimulate economic development, attract more visitors, and improve community spirit is a form of public sector ?branding? that has been applied to various localities with varying levels of success. The idea may come from a Madison Avenue style marketing consultant or it may be a home-grown variety.
There are many ways of ?branding? a community. It can be a Disney-style fantasy solution that turns your hometown into a non-stop Hollywood picture show or it can be a link to the past. When it works well, as in the case of Frankenmuth?s Bavarian motif, it can be a real boost to the community. Sometimes the thematic makeover can be so bad it is almost camp, as in: ?If you can?t say something nice, don?t say anything at all.?
Any ordinance must propose, not impose the nautical theme. It should invite creative and tasteful solutions. It should not dictate sterile, institutional and or cookie-cutter caricatures of our heritage. Nailing up some planks of driftwood or putting a port hole on a door does not necessarily convey the message. Just because you smear lipstick on a caterpillar doesn?t make it a butterfly. Some people at the meeting wanted to have a specific definition of the word ?nautical? spelled out in the ordinance. Other people took a more flexible approach. Sometimes, it can be very hard to pin down the exact meaning of a word. For example, in a landmark Supreme Court decision about the First Amendment Michigan-born Justice Potter Stewart pondered over the definition of the word, ?pornography.? ?I don?t know how to define it but I know it when I see it,? he said.
Rogers City Chamber of Commerce director Tonya Skuse brought a paper to the meeting composed by Eric Pietsch on the topic. He started with a standard definition of the term: Nautical: Of, relating to, or characteristic of ships, shipping, sailors, or navigation on a body of water. Some synonyms are seagoing, marine, and maritime. These key words were helpful in guiding and shaping the discussion. Pietsch added some tongue-in cheek comments of his own.
?The Nautical City is the city?s adopted moniker, but can residents come up with some slogans that reflect the character of the community?? He wrote and then added a few for starters. ?Rogers City: Our ship has come in! Rogers City: Knots and knots of water!? And my favorite, ?Isn?t it maritime you visit downtown Rogers City?? Some themes revolve around a by-gone era. This is the Mackinaw City approach where scores of motel rooms are clustered around the resurrection of the ?Old Fort? and the ferry docks. In the case of Rogers City that could be like taking the Vogelheim property on the harbor and re-building the ?Old Wharf? that once was the lifeblood of this town.
In all seriousness, the reason we have the ?Nautical City? in our county is because of our long maritime heritage. For the first few years of its existence, this place could only be supplied and accessed by a ferry from Marine City, anothe
Two sub-groups were organized. One sub-group will look at art, beauty, history, names, culture and preservation. The second group will explore architecture, materials, stone, remodeling and contemporary buildings. The next meeting will be on March 12. Whatever comes out of the process should be aesthetically pleasing, historically accurate and culturally significant.