Welcome to Binghamton, ‘Carousel Capital of the World’

Visiting Ed and his wife Shelley in North Carolina at their ‘Paradise Found!’

Ed is a dear friend of mine and the one who linked me eternally to Prospect Mountain and Ely Park Golf Course by selling me the land at 70 Ridge Street where I plan to build a spiritual home, ‘Close to Heaven,’ to enjoy ‘the rest of my life!’

‘Paradise Found’ for my good friend & Binghamton mentor Ed Aswad & his wife Shelly! Always good to visit this inspirational couple on their horse farm outside Pinehurst, NC. Ed was a lifelong photographer in Broome County (Carriage House) & the one who sold me the land at 70 Ridge Street to be known forever as ‘Aswad Point.’ Big-hearted, immense creativity, and full of meaningful & insightful perspectives & comments, most original to this wonderful man! Thanks for the hospitality! See you again soon!   (Facebook Post with 25 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 11-10-17)

James Pratt, his article “Binghamton, NY, My Hometown, A Cut Above,’ was inspired by his barber!

By James Pratt

Binghamton, My home town. The other day I was at the Barber and he said that he would move out of the area if he didn’t have a business. He said that there were no jobs in the area. This rubbed me the wrong way and I countered that there are tons of jobs and a rich history of the area. I mentioned Dicks Warehouse advertising for 400 jobs and many in the Hospitals and Colleges.

I would like to list a few positive points for living in the Triple Cities.

While it is true that Binghamton has lost population to half of what it was in the heyday of 1950, the area’s of Vestal, Endwell and Endicott have gained population. The total population of Greater Binghamton and suburbs is 200,600.

This area supports many Sports teams, Choral groups, Our own Opera Company, and Orchestra’s all of which enriches our lives and our community.

We have four Over the Air Television Stations and a World Class Hybrid Fiber/Coax Cable System with high speed internet.

Our Religious Community comprises of many beautiful Churches with Calendar’s full of Suppers and Festivals.

We have Three Colleges, one is a Major University. We have a rich History of Inventor’s such as Edwin Link whose “Link Trainer” was used to train pilots in World War II.

Rod Serling, one of Binghamton’s favorite citizens, loved his hometown of Binghamton, NY!

Writer Rod Serling whose achievements have made our area famous worldwide. Rod said this about his hometown. “Everyone has to have a hometown, Binghamton’s mine. In the strangely brittle, terribly sensitive makeup of a human being, there is a need for a place to hang a hat, or kind of geographical womb to crawl back into, or maybe just a place that’s familiar because that’s where you grew up. When I dig back through my memory cells, I get one particularly distinctive feeling and that’s one of warmth, comfort and well-being. For whatever else I have had, or lost, or will find, I’ve still got a hometown. This, nobody’s gonna take away from me.” – Rod Serling.

I point all of this out to make us think positively about the Triple Cities. Our community is rich on many levels.

We have Three Major Hospitals with many Satellite offices.

Great Restaurants and a diverse population due to immigrants of many nations. Many of these immigrants worked for Endicott Johnson Shoes and supplied the War effort with boots. Endicott Johnson gave our area six Carousels which is more than any other area in the world.

We have the Kopernik Space Education Center, Roberson Museum, Bundy Museum, Phelps Mansion Museum and the Discovery Museum.

Cover Photo for Facebook’s ‘Historic Binghamton!’ Photo Credit: Bob Bullock

Many naysayers usually list the weather or jobs for moving on to other states. We enjoy the four season’s which includes winter. Our area of the country has a moderate temperate climate which is wonderful because we don’t have extreme heat or Cold.

Here is a link to a webpage that I include in the many websites that I maintain www.stny.info. This webpage has many links to local Activities, Schools, Businesses, Churches, Sports, Arts and Theatre.

Links to The Southern Tier of New York & Environs

I would like to hear from other members of the Community to post positive uplifting messages. We have all heard the negatives, I want to hear positives. I will be posting this message on the wall’s of many groups in order to get a wide range of responses.

NOTE:   This article was originally posted by James Pratt on November 2^nd, 20170 on Facebook’s ‘Historic Binghamton,’ a public group with nearly 9.500 members. Reposted here with permission of the author.

Tom Egan, Pro-Binghamton, Direct from Paris, France!

By Tom Egan:

Yes, I’m a big-city guy at heart, but happiness comes in a lot of different packages, and I’m glad I live where I do.

It’s been said that if you are connected with yourself and your emotions, as well as with friends and community, you can be happy anywhere. But that statement sells this town short. In theory, I am “stuck” here because of family commitments and my small business. But if I am indeed “stuck” here, I am a happy and willing prisoner.

In the past 30 years, I have seen our town transform itself from a blown-out post-industrial lesson on the price of resistance into a community in the midst of an economic and social rebirth, with a thriving arts and culture scene that few could have imagined at the onset.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in 1984… Photo Credit: www.fenichel.com

Exactly 32 years ago, I sat in my tiny apartment in Paris pondering a pivotal decision that pitted coming back to the U.S. to attend Binghamton University against pursuing an economics degree in France. An entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of the differences in social mobility between Europe and the U.S. drove me back home. I chose Binghamton for a variety of practical reasons, in addition to the reputation of the university.

So why did my adoptive hometown undergo such a substantial and rather abrupt reversal of fortunes about 10 years ago? You could say it was the university, but it had already been here for many decades at the time. Why, then? Was it Mayor Matthew Ryan and his urban renewal initiatives? The Gorgeous Washington Street Association? The Downtown University Center? The committed real estate developers and the grants, agencies and programs that supported them? Mayor Richard David and his focus on developing infrastructure? Was it the club and gallery owners, and the musicians and artists who brought life to gray streets and boarded-up storefronts?

Binghamton’s Centennial Celebration on 1967. Photo Credit: WNBF.com

In truth, all of these built a critical mass, setting the stage for durable and sustainable change. As larger economic trends forced us to look beyond our historical reliance on manufacturing, we took advantage of new opportunities in health care, services and education. As the university grew and other opportunities faded, mathematics took over, and the university-related imports making up our permanent population grew from a relative minority to a significant — and even driving — force in our socioeconomic fabric. Our ethnic diversity increased, but our intellectual and creative diversity increased even more. Instead of rejecting this influx and demographic shift, we chose to embrace the opportunity. As a result, this region is now full of people having a sincere desire to improve their lot coupled with some very potent tools to accomplish that goal.

The City of Binghamton We Love Today! Photo Credit: Greater Binghamton Convention and Visitors Bureau

I’m proud to be a part of this community, and I look forward to contributing to, as well as reaping, the benefits of its successes.

The next time you hear someone speaking poorly of our hometown, right after you ask them what they’ve been doing lately to create that change they feel is needed, consider taking a moment to educate them on where we have come from and where we are headed. You never know, you just might help them to change their tune.

Tom Egan is a Binghamton resident.

Originally published by Press Connects

Republished with permission of the author.