Staff Writer
It might not be overtly obvious as to what would bring a doctorate-holding, Senior Lecturer in Politics, and co-inventor of the Institute of Cornish Studies with the University of Exeter to find her way to Grass Valley, but Dr. Joanie Willett visited Nevada County in an effort to expand her knowledge of economics in rural communities.
A Cornwall native, Willett was recently hosted by local author and historian Gage McKinney and his wife Ilka while she continued her studies. The visit wasn’t completely random, however, as Willett lives near the town of Bodmin, which serves as Grass Valley’s sister city.
“The whole story around it is that I was in the states, in Virginia, on a Fulbright Scholarship and that covered the period of St. Piran’s Day,” Willett said. “And like any true Cornish maid you’ve got to do something on St. Piran’s Day, right? So of course Grass Valley was the natural choice of places to go. What surprised me enormously was the huge welcome I got.”
Willett had planned on arriving to the area on the last day of February but thanks to the abundance of snow the region collected, her train was canceled. She booked a flight and instead of spending three days in Nevada County it turned into eight.
“One thing that was fascinating is how many similarities there are with Cornwall,” said Willett of Nevada County. “Not only our shared history, and the fact that Grass Valley is the American diaspora; also questions around de-industrialization and what happens when places de-industrialize. What happens when people from the city—especially artists from the city—find your place and like it? And what is it that they bring to the place?
“And then the much more recent iteration: what happens when people from the city—who have a lot more resources than local people—what happens when your home becomes incredibly desirable?”
Willett acknowledges these issues are more universal than not, and with her research will hopefully write a book (her second) exploring the relationship between “our environments, our economies, and our local government.” She goes on to explain that she is particularly interested in speaking to people about “town centre revival through the Main Street programme, and about people’s experiences of local government.”
Aside from the sister city status, Willett said she recognized a number of shared characteristics between her own village of St. Austell.
“Isn’t it just amazing that you live in a place where people want to move to?” she posited. “What a gift. It’s absolutely wonderful. It means that your place is special. People like it. That matters.
“It also matters having new ideas and all of that stuff coming in. The downside to that is…we’re talking about inequalities that happen when one group of people has a much higher purchasing power than another group of people. We’re talking about things like homes which—in my view—a home is a fundamental right. On the hierarchy of needs, housing is at the top of that.”
Willett’s research conducted in Grass Valley and surrounding towns will be used in her home country of Britain to help inform local and national policy about “town centre revival” and what she calls the “devolution” of local government, giving local governments in Britain more responsibility than they already have.
“It’s trying to figure out ways to move forward in a way that is socially just but also is completely inclusive and enjoying of the new good stuff that’s coming in as well,” Willett said. “I loved my time in Grass Valley, but it left me with lots of exactly the kinds of intellectual questions that I like to spend my time thinking about.”
As for the definition of “rural,” Willett has spent much time pondering the subject and creating a relatively succinct way of explain what the term means to her and her colleagues. Her interest in the topic was spawned by living rurally herself, in a village of about 2,000 people.
“Rural is complicated,” she said. “In the U.S. you do rural far better than we do. I suppose by ‘rural,’ one of the kinds of definitions that some people have been working with is a region without a major city within (driving distance). I know you’ve got Sacramento a little further away, but it still feels rural. And Cornwall is kind of similar, right? We are in the countryside. We have communities between 10,000 and 20,000 within a half-hour drive to the beach. That’s our rural. But no major kind of epicenter at all.”
Willett is the mother of two children, and said it hurts her to think her offspring would be so quick to leave their rural upbringing.
“I’ve got kids and you watch other kids growing up and it’s like it feels wrong that so many kids feel that the only way to get on is you’ve got to get out. What if your kids want to stay in your community? Because they care about it and that’s where they are and that’s where they’re rooted and have networks, etcetera. That feels wrong that they shouldn’t have those kind of choices.”
Willett admits that her studies aren’t particularly “cool” (“which makes me cross”) but recognizes that so many people place importance on larger cities and suburban areas. Where she lives, she said, their traditions are deeply rooted. Her area still supports China clay mining. It has its own brass band and pantomime company, a carnival, and a football club. She describes her birthplace as “vibrant.”
She has been using Cornwall as a case study for a number of years but believes that focusing her research on one area would cause people to believe she’s parochial. She was determined to expand her plans, and eventually found herself in Appalachia, which she reckons is isolated rural living.
“I’m looking at the relationship between the past and the present. And I initially thought I would stick with Appalachia, or Virginia, but I am kind of changing it a little. I think it will be Appalachia, and New Orleans. And my other case study, as long as you all don’t mind, is going to be Grass Valley. It’s all so fascinating and I am really enjoying getting to know you all.”
For now, Willett said she doesn’t have a solid thesis tracked for her next book but has a lot of questions, yet to be answered.
“I think one of the things that’s fascinating to me is that often people imagine rural areas as being quite dispersed, hyperlocal, and isolated. But time and time again, I realize that so many of our experiences are so similar.
“Rural areas are deeply connected globally as well in all kinds of complicated ways; the obvious one with Grass Valley is the connection with Cornwall and Cornish heritage and the way that’s shifted backward and forward.”
In addition to her research, the doctor will take home an idea, inspired by the St. Piran’s Day tradition Grass Valley has observed for years now.
“There’s a lot of cultural sharing. And I also have to say: in St. Austell we are going to have a pasty toss next year,” she announced. (And yes, she did have a pasty from Marshall’s while visiting and gave it her stamp of approval.)
“I think one of the major take-homes for me—and I have mentioned before about how similar our experiences are—I feel that means we can also share policy solutions, on a policy or government level, but also on an individual level, and share different ways that we address those problems or issues that we share.”
Perhaps the best way to sum up Willett’s research and dedication is to borrow the old phrase, “It learns them Cornish.”
“It’s a dialect for something that teaches people Cornish culture,” she said. “…finding ways to share newer people to the community about Cornish culture, and invite them to participate in it.”