Some things in life just happen. Downtown Waynesville became a part of my life at a time when Lori and I desperately needed a new beginning. It was July 1992, Lori was about two weeks away from delivering Megan, now 13, and I was looking for a job. I heard about an opening at The Mountaineer and got an interview. We drove into Waynesville, up Russ Avenue, turned onto Main Street and both just smiled. This was right.

We had been living down east in Roanoke Rapids. The downtown there had the typical problems folks in Waynesville had fought to avoid: empty storefronts, aging businesses, little variety, dilapidated buildings, no hope. I loved my job editing the small daily in that manufacturing town and Lori was at a school with students she adored, but events in the town had taken its toll on our personal lives.

When I walked into The Mountaineer to interview with then-Publisher Ken Wilson, I didn’t know the part that he had played in helping get the Downtown Waynesville Association off the ground. Ken, though, even at that relatively early stage in Waynesville’s renaissance, knew that the work of he and many others was paying off. We talked briefly in his office, then Ken suggested we go over to Smith Drugs (now Nick and Nates) for coffee.

To get there, of course, one had to go by the old Curb Market. We stopped and browsed through the newspaper selection, and I got my first whiff of the old wood and paper and vegetable and metallic smell of the place that is regrettably gone. We had our coffee and walked back to the newspaper office. The interview went on for several hours. Then I came back for a second meeting, this time without Lori because it was too close to her due date.

The truth is we were sold before we left after that first visit. He could have had me for whatever he offered. We wanted to live here, and the allure of Main Street and that first positive impression was partly responsible. I’ll wager that many visitors to Haywood County in the past 15 years have had a similar experience.

It didn’t just happen

Things don’t just happen to downtowns, though. It takes people with vision and courage. By the time the Downtown Waynesville Association celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, that point had been driven home to me.

One of those people, of course, is Ron Huelster. He’s the executive director of the Downtown Waynesville Association, and one of the driving forces behind what has occurred. Ron’s best talent, perhaps, is his ability to stay in the background, suggesting change and letting others take credit. I’ve watched him do it with several different organizations and individuals.

He approached us more than six months ago with what, at the time, seemed a hair-brained idea. The plan was to get two competing newspapers — The Smoky Mountain News and The Mountaineer — to work together to publish a commemorative 20th anniversary publication for the DWA.

The idea seem far-fetched for several reasons, not the least of which is that we two publications have a bit of an incestuous history. As mentioned earlier, I came to the mountains to edit The Mountaineer. When I left that newspaper to start this one, its top salesman at that time, Greg Boothroyd, and its computer guru, Neal Torda, came with me. Greg has since become a partner in The Smoky Mountain News while Neal has moved on to other ventures. Since that time, other people have migrated between the papers. We are, when it comes to business, fierce competitors.

But Ron swayed us all. Downtown Waynesville has succeeded, he said, in part because competing businesses worked together for the long-term growth of the Main Street area. DWA has provided a means by which this cooperative spirit could produce benefits to all involved. As the discussions with Ron about the special section went on, I thought about the galleries, furniture stores, gift shops and other businesses through the years that had, despite many differences, taken part in this successful process. The evidence was overwhelming.

So we worked it out and produced the commemorative edition. To me it’s symbolic of DWA’s success, and I’m proud to have been a part of it.

The people, and the money

I’ve worked in Waynesville’s downtown commercial district since moving to the mountains in 1992. I’ve reported on its successes and failures, and covered the work of leaders in other communities in the mountains — Sylva, Bryson City, Franklin, Cashiers, Maggie Valley and Canton — that have all taken measures to rejuvenate their business districts. So what sets Waynesville apart?

More than anything else, it taxed itself so it could have money to succeed.

The Municipal Service District was created in 1985, imposing an additional property tax on property in the downtown district. In addition to generating money, the tax also created buy-in to work together. Now, each property owner was invested in the process, as were the tenants who were paying higher rent.

With the money, the visionaries had something to work with. Somehow the right set of people – those who could look ahead and were willing to invest time and effort — came together. The list is long, but folks like Ken Wilson, Brewster Ward, Bill Morris, Jeff Reece, Wells Greeley, Ernie Crawford, Ronnie James, Henry Foy, Buffy Messer and others have all played their own significant role through the years.

Then, of course, there have been the dozens of entrepreneurs who have invested their lives and their money. The leaders set the table, but it is these people who filled it up. Every small business owner who has come and gone over the last 20 years played a part.

Still much left to do

With galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, professional offices, government buildings, bookstores, furniture and more all within a couple of blocks, one might think the job is done. Well, that just ain’t true.

Downtown Waynesville has its issues and challenges, and I hear about them as I travel around Western North Carolina. There are still not enough people living downtown. More apartments and condominiums would help attract a larger variety of service offerings. A small grocer of some sort would certainly fit in, as would a movie theater.

Rents are going up, some fear too fast. As downtown Waynesville has become a destination in and of itself, property values have soared. Some recent real estate transactions have carried mind-boggling sales prices. As the commercial district expands beyond Main Street, it is hoped that this will lead to downward pressure on rents and property values. Time will tell.

Although several recent additions have helped, some say the area is too geared toward retirees or middle-aged people and not the young. There’s little doubt there’s some truth to this, but even I have seen a recent trend toward more young, bohemian types downtown. Certainly not Asheville, but the variety is picking up.

Finally, I often hear what to many is the ultimate cut — Waynesville is too ritzy and artsy. In some ways, this is like accusing downtown of being too successful. If this is true, then the problem will be solved with more infill development. As districts off Main Street grow, those districts won’t have the high rent and the same property values. Look at any city and you’ll find it has high-rent districts and some areas that are not so ritzy. It’s simply a normal growth and development pattern, but the challenge to future DWA and town leaders is to find ways to cultivate mixed-use growth.

Seeing is believing

Waynesville and all of this region is benefiting immensely from a rejection of the strip mall, big box mentality that swept retailers away from downtowns when it hit the scene in the 1950s and 1960s. The anti-big box mentality is about the desire to deal with shopkeepers whose names we know and the satisfaction of hand-made wares. We can only fill our homes with so much cheap stuff from Third World countries.

I can’t get enough of Western North Carolina’s small towns, all of them, but the steady pattern of change that has transformed Waynesville over the last 20 years is nothing short of remarkable. My wife reminds me often of how we should move so we can be of walking distance to Main Street, and a co-worker is basing her home-buying decision on that factor above all else. That is a testament to the economic multiplier effect of a successful downtown.

Even more promising, perhaps, is that no one in the DWA is resting on their laurels. The organization continues to meet regularly and search for ways to improve on its successes. Waynesville is home, and sometimes that’s all it is — a place to live and work. But all I have to do is bring friends or relatives to Main Street to get a fresh reminder of what has happened in the last 20 years. Those responsible deserve more gratitude than a one-night celebration can provide.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)