Circle – A Great Place to be Around
“Keeping our community connected remains our priority here in Circle,” comments a local resident. Such priorities resound through a flurry of local revitalization projects strengthened by the community’s participation in Horizons, a community leadership development program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation. One such project stemmed from a need to keep connected the good old-fashioned way — by voice. Circle purchased radio equipment (a low frequency FM transmitter) enabling the community to broadcast a local message within a three-mile radius of this town of 644 in rural eastern Montana. From broadcasting the Fourth of July parade to daily announcements, community radio sends a message of hope.
The community radio project involves people of all ages in Circle — youth to seniors. With a high elderly population, Circle radio provides information and connection for area seniors. “Community radio has proven to be a great way for Circle to involve our senior folks who grew up on radio,” says one resident.
Likewise, the youth of Circle are embracing this effort. With the radio station antenna prominent on the roof of the local high school, an entrepreneurship class lets students garner hands-on experience in creating daily broadcasts and operating the equipment. The class runs other businesses too, such as car detailing, video editing, concessions and a design shop.
The radio equipment can be taken to high school sporting events to broadcast games for those unable to attend, particularly the elderly. There are future plans for community members to broadcast their own shows and possibly go through the FCC licensing process to become an official FM station and increase the station’s reach. “The sky’s the limit with where this can go,” grins one of the organizers of the community radio project.
Such ambitious, positive spirit first brought enterprising pioneers to this area a century ago in search of land and freedom to craft a self-sufficient life for their families and community. Flash-forward to today: these industrious, progressive roots still drive tight-knit, small towns like Circle, but in new, innovative ways.
Surrounded by expansive rangeland, Circle embodies the uninhibited scenic backdrop that most city dwellers only experience through Western movies. Yet Circle’s remoteness proves also to be an ongoing challenge in retaining jobs and offering economic opportunities. “Circle, Montana, became a withering community, slowly dying away. Our population today of 644 rests at half of where it was 30 years ago,” comments a longtime resident. With the decline in agriculture and lack of local job opportunities, Circle found itself losing its younger population as families left for larger communities.
Rather than fall victim to this downward trend, the assiduous residents of Circle took action to boost their town back to an economic rebound, addressing poverty in self-sufficient ways. “To make a living in Circle, you can’t just do one thing anymore,” explains an area resident involved with the leadership program. This insight drove Circle to focus on the power of the Internet and eBay to help residents move out of the “I need an employer to hire me” mindset to a place where they have the skills and knowledge to create their own jobs. Free classes are now available in the community on how to start a business and sell through eBay.
“The eBay class opened my eyes to another way of working from home,” comments one student. Folks started strategically searching their attics and closets for unused items to sell at a profit. One gentleman sold unopened boxes of Harley Davidson chain grease he bought decades ago for 15 cents for several hundred dollars on eBay. eBay proves to be an interesting approach to increasing both residents’ income and the local Circle economy. “eBay sales bring outside revenue into Circle, which then boosts the dollars residents have to spend at local businesses,” comments one community member.
The fact that eastern Montana’s largest telecommunications cooperative, Mid Rivers, keeps its headquarters in Circle helps boosts the community’s progressive attitude toward technology. DSL access is readily available in town and plans for a community computer resource center are in the works for residents who don’t own a computer. Community volunteers are creating a detailed Web site for Circle, one that they hope will lure both new residents and new businesses to town.
This commitment to community remains the core of Circle. Dedication to Circle flourishes, especially grassroots rallying to get the job done. When the old Redwater Movie Theater was slated to shut its doors, townspeople pulled together and raised the funds needed to keep it open, setting up a nonprofit to run the theater. It now shows movies on weekend evenings. “Us old-timers remember the Redwater Theater as the hub of our social life when we were growing up in Circle and we wanted that to continue for the younger generations,” adds a resident involved with the restoration.
New ventures include welcome banners hanging from light posts on Circle’s main streets, designed by the high school art class, and the creation of a half dozen new Circle postcards. Yet Circle realizes the mainstay of its community remains its people. “If you don’t make it to your regular card game or coffee gathering, someone will stop in on you or call to make sure everything’s okay,” explains a local resident.
Circle residents rave about youth in their community, commenting about how their youth are different from other kids. “The younger generation in Circle still lives under the older generation’s values, meaning they are very dependable, moral and responsible kids,” explains a local community member, adding that seniors and youth tend to mingle and interact well. Given that Circle’s population is almost half under 20 and half over 65 — with some parents in between — this intergenerational respect and the ties between young and old are key. It motivates Circle’s older residents to keep economic opportunities abundant so that Circle youth will have reasons to stay and raise their own families in the area.
One advantage for small towns like Circle is small class sizes and increased student and teacher interaction in school, a marketable advantage for recruiting new residents to the area. One family, who moved their technology-based businesses to the area from California, experienced a dramatic change in their children’s educational opportunities in Circle: “My kids went from having 4,000 students in their former Los Angeles area middle school to about a dozen students in their graduating class at Circle. Sure there was an adjustment period, but after that, our children have thrived, getting the best grades they ever had and the opportunity to participate on sporting teams or whatever they choose. Because of the smaller student base, no one gets cut from the team.”
So, circle ’round Circle, “a great place to be around,” as the town motto declares. Here’s an inspiring example of a community coming together toward a shared vision for a successful future, one commitment — or one eBay account — at a time.