Ettrick is a small rural village in Midwest Wisconsin. The population is only 550. Up until last fall it had been a flourishing small town. Since then the biggest employer, TRW, has shut the doors and closed up the plant. Many of the people who were employed there lived in Ettrick, but even more commuted in from surrounding towns. I was employed there for twenty-five years, as were a lot of the people who I worked with. The reason for closing you ask? More and more jobs are being shipped out of the country. Mexico, Japan, and other foreign countries are benefiting from Americans losing their jobs.

When a small town loses something as vital as industry many other things are affected. People don’t have the money to spend locally, so other businesses suffer. People have started to move out of the area to find work. This in turn hurts the economy. Other businesses in the area are starting to feel it. At one point TRW had employed 375 people. When people aren’t driving into work, they also aren’t stopping at the local gas station or spending money at other businesses.

I want to make sure Ettrick will be here in years to come. This is where I would spend my $100,000. I have spent my whole life in Ettrick. I went to grade school there, met my husband there, and raised my kids there. Ettrick is a great place to live. My three wishes in doing this would be; bringing industry back into town, opening up a restaurant, and donating money to finish the ball park.

My first wish involves getting industry back into the building that housed TRW. It is all set up and ready for any business to start. I would not be alone on this task, as I know there are people already dedicated to saving Ettrick. Many of my old co-workers haven’t found reemployment. It would be a great feeling knowing that I helped them get back on their feet. This first wish will get the ball rolling for my other two wishes.

We no longer have a restaurant in town. On Sundays, after church, there’s no place to get breakfast. If you want to go out to eat you have to drive to the next town. My second wish is open a small restaurant. The older people in Ettrick need a place to get together and have coffee. It’s not easy for them to drive out of town.

Growing up I remember spending weekends at the ball park in Ettrick. Teams from all around the area used to have tournaments there. A lot of people would come to town for these games. Ball players and their families would come for the whole weekend. Small business benefited from the revenue that was brought into the area. As years went by the ball tournaments ceased. The ball park got neglected as a result. My third and final wish is to donate money to improve the condition of the park. I would love to see times like the past when the bleachers were full.

In fulfilling my three wishes I believe Ettrick will survive. Getting the industry back into town is my most important wish. I believe once that is done the other things will follow.