Rich in History, Poor in Money: How the History of Willimantic's Diverse Population Could Save the Thread City

Katie Ballinger | Contributing Author

The Jilson House, pictured above, houses a museum and the Windham Historical Society.

The city of Willimantic is broke, or “poor,” as mayor Tom DeVivo put it during a community discussion hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University’s Community Organizing students. On Monday, April 20th, we invited local stakeholders including town manager Rob Zarnetske as well as Billy Sayers and Josh Holman, members of the town council, to hear us out and discuss our topic civilly.

The community discussion was initially about our concerns with Flock Safety cameras, as the issue of installing traffic cameras was raised during a town meeting. Flock Safety is a brand of cameras that use artificial intelligence to read license plates and issue tickets, otherwise known as Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs). Students are against the installation of ALPRs because they use AI to not only read license plates but also track the vehicles themselves, and the number of false positive reads and misidentifications is too big of a risk to make them worth installing; they would track all vehicles, which we consider an invasion of privacy; and given that Willimantic is a sanctuary city, there is an even bigger risk of the ALPRs being hacked into or even accessed without permission by ICE.

These were only a few of the reasons to be concerned. We acknowledged, during our campaign, that Willimantic was in need of money. We also acknowledged that the ALPRs that the city was at least looking into would not bring in revenue. Even an alternative like red light cameras would not generate that much money. Are they worth the cost of installing them? Eastern students don’t think so.

As an Eastern student, commuter, and history major, I got to thinking about how to begin approaching the issue of Willimantic being “poor.”

Willimantic is a city rich with history. The Windham Historical Society at the Jillson House and the Textile Museum are located on Main Street, making it easily accessible to residents, Route 32, and Route 66. The J. Eugene Smith Library on Eastern’s campus encompasses the University Archives office and the Center for Connecticut Studies, in which documents local to Windham and Willimantic are available for the public to view. These historic places no doubt capture the creation of Willimantic.

One issue, however, is that there aren’t many patrons. I attended a program on herbs and midwifery at the Jillson House on Wednesday, April 29th in which I had the pleasure of meeting Windham Historical Society board member Bev York. 27 people attended, which was more than they had seen the previous week at their ongoing Tavern Night program.

Another potential hurdle is the demographic of the patrons and board members. Each attendee at the program appeared to be fifty or older. The wonderful women running the program were older as well. In a meeting with the board’s secretary, Diane Nadeau, I was told that the Windham Historical Society wanted to reach a more diverse audience, and I don’t blame her.

It is well known that Willimantic was settled by white folk in the mid 18th century and dominated by this demographic until the mid-to-late 19th - 20th centuries. The city seems to be stuck in that era in terms of its history. So much has occurred here since then, and so many different people have come and had a positive effect on the city.

This issue is not only targeted at the Historical Society’s Board of Directors, but at the local stakeholders as well.

The demographic of Willimantic right now needs to be considered when looking at organizing community events and programs. Did you know that Willimatic is called “Willi-Rico”? Did you know there is a branch of the NAACP here in Willimantic? I certainly didn’t before I started attending Eastern. There is so much diversity here in our so-called sanctuary city. We must recognize the history of our current residents and honor them, just as us white folk have for centuries.

I have so many ideas regarding events and the changes that could be made locally, but what must happen now is mere consideration of the ages and ethnicities of Willimantic’s residents in planning and organizing events. In order for community to exist in the city of Willimantic, we must allow everyone to have a voice. By engaging more than just 27 white people in a colonial house on Main Street, not only will the Historical Society generate more support, and perhaps more funding from locals, but also the city of Willimantic will have a shot at rising up as a multicultural hub in eastern Connecticut in which more support for local businesses, events, and the city itself, will generate revenue.