The Last Word On Nothing

Two years ago, I wrote a story for The Atlantic about my obsession with the town of Eveleth, Minnesota. I’ve never been there. But I’ve visited it often on Google Maps. Often enough to know the town really well. To know the giant hockey stick, the city hall, the big church, the tattoo shop where the Google car has captured a woman giving it the middle finger.

I thought it was just going to be some fun story to write and then it would be over, but once the story was up I started getting emails. Lots of emails. The fine folks of Eveleth had found the piece, and my inbox was suddenly full of messages from people who currently and formerly lived in Eveleth. They sent me photos of the town and their stories of growing up. They offered to take pictures of anything I wanted to see that I couldn’t see on Google Maps. One of them even scanned and sent poetry that her father wrote about how much he loved the town.

Eveleth is a darn good city

Not a big or fancy place

Eveleth is a friendly city

With friends who are tough to replace

It goes on from there.

The folks of Eveleth are, from my biased sample, extremely lovely. Here’s another email:

Our small town is getting smaller but our people never will.  We are very proud of being Evelethians and try to give back in any way we can. Check out the Eveleth Foundation’s Facebook page.  Our little community raised over $300,000 just to give back to the city we love.  Do come and visit.

Call me when you are in town.  I’d love to show you around.

I tried to email everybody back, and they were all adamant about one thing. Every single person who contacted me about Eveleth agreed that I had to come for the 4th of July. While the town is slowly fading, as people move away and as jobs in the iron range dry up, the 4th of July is when you can really see Eveleth the way it was at its peak.

I knew about the Eveleth 4th of July parade of course. Every year the Eveleth Clown Band and a stream of merry Evelethians march down Main Street and celebrate. I’d seen lots of pictures of the event, and it seemed like a classic, lovely, small town extravaganza. Perhaps I should go, I thought. It does seem fun. 

Part of me loves the idea of going to Eveleth for the parade. I have this fantasy that I’d check into a hotel and the clerk behind the desk would ask for my last name for the reservation. “Eveleth,” I’ll say, “like… this town.” I dream of making myself a name tag, “Rose Eveleth” so that people will ask me: “Really? Like this town?” “Yes!” I’ll say. “Like this town!”

But I’m also a little bit afraid of going. Because Eveleth is very intact in my mind. It’s a sleepy town, a cute town, a town full of these nice people working hard and living their Evelethian life. I’m not picturing a Leave it to Beaver television town, with white picket fences and perfect nuclear families. I’ve seen the boarded up windows, I’ve read the forum posts, I know that a slowly declining mining town will be rough in places. But I do have this picture of Eveleth that is small but lively, feisty, hanging on to its former glory.

What if I go, and instead of being lively and feisty it’s just sad? What if the parade is lackluster, what if the Clown Band is finally fading? What if, and this is the worst thing I can imagine, what if Eveleth is boring? Eveleth exists for me as a place to go on Google Maps when I’m stressed out. Digitally walking the streets is calming, for some weird reason. Will revisiting those street views still be relaxing when I know what the streets are just plain?

I haven’t ruled out the idea of going to Eveleth. I sometimes price out the ticket, the hotel. I keep the date clear just in case. But something always keeps me from committing to do it. I didn’t go last year. There’s still time this year, and I’m not sure what I’ll do.

If I do go, I probably have to get a tattoo at Lenny’s After 4-Eva Tat-2’s, right?

(If you’re an editor who thinks this would be a good story, and wants to send me to Eveleth for the 4th of July, let me know. I’m game to face my fears and I can take good pictures.)