Deconstructing Bozeman - Part Two
Essence – noun
From Latin, esse, to be
The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.
Travel magazine editors ask writers to capture the “essence” of a place. Even well-regarded publications like National Geographic Traveler include the following in their writers’ guidelines, (Emphasis added) “Thank you for your interest in contributing to National Geographic Traveler… a Traveler story must capture a place's essence in a way that inspires readers to follow in the writer's footsteps…”
What is the essence of any place? Is it possible to write about a place’s essence without sounding trite or cliché? After years of being just another pretty face in the crowd, Bozeman, my home since 2005, is getting noticed and the population has exploded. There's no doubt Bozeman's essence is changing.
Given its rise in popularity as a place to live and visit, magazines and newspapers are eager to write about Bozeman. Travel writing is intended to “sell” a location so it’s not surprising that only the pretty points of Bozeman are featured. But many people are visiting and moving here, often influenced by what they read, so I want to add my voice to the conversation as a 17+ year resident.
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With over 53,000 people calling Bozeman home, it is by no means a huge place but it’s big enough to have many personalities. Here are a few things that capture my essence of Bozeman.
1) Outdoors - A first-time visitor is immediately struck by the mountains, rivers, and seemingly endless outdoor amenities surrounding Bozeman. Six ranges are close to town offering everything from short jaunts to multi-day epic adventures, and there is no shortage of outdoor activities to partake in year-round. People move here a to ski, climb, and mountain bike, or simply to live life surrounded by the mountains and admire them from afar.
2) Bozemanites are community minded - Residents like living where things happen. Young people pursue careers with non-profit arts, environmental, and social service organizations helping make Bozeman a better place to live. Retirees move here and become involved as volunteers and philanthropists. There’s a thriving music and arts scene thanks to those who donated time and money. (A community radio and a symphony were founded in 1968, Intermountain Opera was established in 1978, and Montana Ballet Company joined the cultural mix in 1984.) Those who are scientifically inclined have helped build a small but thriving tech community offering well-paying jobs drawing newcomers to town and allowing others to stay here after they outgrow their ski bum years.
3) College town – Bozeman is home to Montana State University and many people are drawn to Bozeman because of it. Some say MSU helps ground Bozeman in reality, setting it apart from other outdoor-oriented towns; it's not just another outdoor Lala Land but a place where you can balance adventure with cultural and intellectual pursuits.
I work at Montana State University Library and a colleague had this to say when I posed the question “what is the essence of Bozeman?” on Facebook.
“I'm thinking of how the university shapes the essence of Bozeman. It's arguably the biggest source of diversity and influences our politics. It bridges Old and New West: hometown sports, especially football and rodeo with community-focused events attached to each, plus ag, animal science, and wildlife / land management meeting tech innovation, progressive arts, science, and culture, and tourism economics and business.”4) Downtown - At only a few blocks long, a lot is jammed into Bozeman’s small downtown. An abundance of pubs, restaurants, galleries, and boutiques keep things lively. Tourists stumble vapor-locked clutching little bags from the shops and gawk at the architecture on Main Street. They squeal things like “It’s so cute,” “Just charming,” and “I would love to live here.” Events happen year-round and a local business organization touts the idea that “Life is Downtown.”
5) People are friendly and like to make small talk - In Bozeman and throughout Montana there is a desire to help your friends and neighbors. Folks do not hesitate to lend a hand if their neighbor's basement has flooded, will pull over to dig a car out of a snowbank, and will shovel the driveway for an elderly neighbor. People say hi on the trails and service workers take the time to ask how you are doing. To many, these simple acts of kindness are important part of being “from here,” making life and day-to-day interactions very civil.
6) Agriculture – It’s a big part of Bozeman history, but it's not part of my essence as I don’t have a lot of interaction with that community. I won’t comment further, but I share a friend’s thoughts in the next section.
Bozeman is a great place to live but it’s growing rapidly, and these changing times have brought some not so nice essences.
1. Growth – Growth has been steady since I moved here over 17 years ago. The pandemic exasperated it, the Yellowstone television series has catapulted the area further into the limelight, and growth has exploded.
Development fills vacant fields, cranes and earth digging machines are everywhere, and a staggering number of apartments are being built. Things we already know and have heard ad nauseum, about traffic, crowds at trailheads, escalating prices, lack of affordable homes or rentals, are becoming impossible to ignore.
Growth has happened so quickly that the City of Bozeman has a hard time handling it. (Is it even possible to know what to do during times like these? Is there a right way or an easy-to-follow method for dealing with growth?). As a result, we end up with thoughtless development, sprawl, town infrastructure that can't keep up the influx of people, lack of public transportation, poor routes for bike commuting, and on and on.
2. Us vs. Them mentality – With growth comes unfamiliar faces. Bozemanites can be very quick to judge and categorize one another, and there is a growing divide between long-timers and newcomers, who are easy to blame for Bozeman current woes. “It’s ‘all those people’ who are moving in and ruining Bozeman,” is a common refrain when talking about change.
Folks pride themselves in being fourth generation Montanans or for being born in Bozeman and can be among those to complain the most about growth. (Surprisingly, they seldom run for office.)
Town is strongly Democrats but Gallatin County still votes Republican. As a progressive, I can attest to surrounding myself with like-minded people, but I have to work hard (and often fail) to accept the large conservative population in the county.
Outdoor enthusiasts identify with one clan or another. Mountain bikers versus road bikers. Backcountry skiers versus ski area folks versus lycra clad Nordic folks. Human powered versus motorized recreation. Trail conflicts between user groups are more common than they used to be.
3. False friendliness – As mentioned above, Bozemanites are helpful and nice on the surface. While these gestures are appreciated, real connections can be hard to make. Bozemanites want to be liked and appear friendly but “We should get together sometime” from a new acquaintance rarely results in an invite. I know I can count on many folks to help me out during a crisis, but I often have trouble rounding anyone up for something simple like a drink or just hanging out. In heated moments, the most bitter and entitled among us may tell a newcomer to "go back to where you came from".
4. The pace of life is changing - While articles about Bozeman tout the “slower pace of life,” it is not uncommon for people to lament “I’m so busy.” I have noticed this for many years, long before the pandemic brought in the latest round of newcomers. Busyness is everywhere these days and Bozeman is no longer as “chill” or as special as we’d like to think.
5. A shrinking agriculture community – A friends and former colleague had this to say.
“Probably the biggest change is that agriculture has become mostly scenery (which is steadily dwindling) and the odds of having a meaningful interaction with someone from the agricultural community has become highly unlikely unless you’re interacting with MSU students or frequenting farmers markets - though one could make the case that ag people at farmers markets are a bit like exotic animals in a zoo.”6. Loss of local businesses – Popular Main Street local businesses like Leaf and Bean, Barrel Mountaineering (Both closed), and Cactus Records (Moved) have left downtown and chains like Lulu Lemon and Athleta are moving it. Whether it’s cost of downtown rent or personal shopping preferences is hard to tell.
7. Girls with big dumb hats – Just kidding. I couldn’t resist a chance to poke fun at the SNL video. Girls in big dumb hats are a growing population in Bozeman as are places to buy big dumb hats.
A friend and former co-worker said the following when responding to my Facebook post mentioned above.
“Having lived in the valley for 23 years now, I would suggest the essence is what you make of it. With each new change, year, or milestone, the Bozone has taken on different meanings for me - some good, some not so good. In the end it is what it is, right?”
She has given me something to think about. Perhaps the only real essence of Bozeman is change. What do you think? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
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Read more
- All about Bozeman - https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/search/label/Bozeman
- Dreams about getting out of town - https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2022/10/bozeman-blues-new-haven-fantasy.html
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