Boonville is Dieing (Columbia, Moberly, Macon: how much, houses, to buy)

[brushrunner]

Went to Boonville, lived there for years, many family members there, I retired from the Bakery. I the past I've always told people if they wanted medium size town with Good Wages Boonville was the place to go.

Ok I start through town everything looks good. Took a closer look. So many businesses closed, drive just outside main part of town, so many houses empty.

Only Good Jobs Casino and Prison.

Sign of the times I know but just so sad

brushrunner

[attrapereves]

Boonville is a very small town, so good jobs there are few and far between.

[GraniteStater]

It isn't that far from Columbia, though.

[brushrunner]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

Boonville is a very small town, so good jobs there are few and far between.

Me and my wife worked there 20+ years never had a problem finding Good Jobs with Benefits. When I first moved there in '70 my pay check went into savings, hers went on Bills. Didn't take long to buy our own place with Large acreage.

As I understand Nordine is shutting down too

brushrunner

[STLviaMSP]

Fifty years ago, you may have had 500 large farm families growing crops in and around Booneville, and today due to ag consolidation that simply isn't the case. That ripples into the town's economy, as there is less need for all the services that would have been required to support a much larger population, so the town isn't a commercial center anymore. The steady resulting reduction in local opportunities also drives away the children of those that remain and can afford education to larger cities, where they will most likely stay as they become accustomed to the benefits and opportunities of living in STL, KC, and Columbia. Especially as those benefits are thrown into relief by the declines of their hometowns.

Unless there is a big change in ag, or a town has a distinct tourism or resource advantage, most of our smaller towns are going to continue to wither.

[attrapereves]

In my experience living in a small town, there were on a few types of jobs available: teaching for the local schools, medical, or blue collar jobs. Technology, sales, and just about everything else besides medical, education, or blue collar usually operates out of cities with more than 50,000 residents.

[brushrunner]

Back then they had the Bakery, Toastmaster, Nordine, Fuqua Homes, Boys Training School, Hospital, the Heel Factory, Hubert Fiberboard, Stave Mill and Bells Orchard. just to name a few, plenty of Jobs and most are gone.

brushrunner

[attrapereves]

Interestingly enough, it looks like Boonville's population actually increased between 2000 and 2010, but only by a little over 100 people.

[northbound74]

Think of all the stuff made oversees these days, nearly everything it seems. All that used to be made here. Clothing, electronics, housewares, etc. Everything. We made it here. We made it in small towns like Booneville. We often associate factories with big cities, but sometimes forget about the small towns that had them.

[cyrano]

That's the way of things in rural America-- factories can't compete with Mexican and Chinese (and American robotic) competition. It's sad to say that the town is, in a way, fortunate to have the casino, but it is-- compare Boonville with Macon, for instance, where the main(?) Toastmaster factory in the area was located. Macon is shrinking and is destined to shrink some more.

I wonder how much business the Boonville casino is doing-- it's unscientific, but none of my friends go there any more, and while I love playing blackjack, it wasn't a very attractive place to play. so I haven't been in five years. The other advantage they have over a place like Macon is its proximity to the river, which means they can get some tourist trade from the Katy Trail.

And when governments get involved trying to place businesses in small towns, they too often blow up, as the Mamtek thing in Moberly did. It should never have been allowed to start, because someone (in the Department of Economic Development) should have done their due diligence and found out that the promoter was a California crook.

America is a country of cities now. This disturbs a lot of people, but folks have to go where they can find work.