By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
With recreational vehicle factories to the north and the south, Middlebury has seen hard times before.
Shop owners and residents remember the economic downturns of the past but the current troubles are different. The layoffs seem a little deeper, the opportunities appear to be fewer and the pain feels sharper.
Within the past six months, the struggles of the RV industry have come home to the town on the eastern edge of Elkhart County. First, Pilgrim International, a young RV factory, closed and filed for bankruptcy.
Next, Coachmen Industries, a pillar among RV businesses, sold its recreational vehicle manufacturing division to Forest River, part of corporate giant Berkshire Hathaway.
Then, on Monday, Jayco Inc., a family-owned RV maker with its roots in Middlebury, announced it is cutting more than 250 employees from its payroll.
Tuesday morning the sun shone on downtown Middlebury and the shops were welcoming places with friends and neighbors chatting and making purchases.
Varns & Hoover Hardware Store brings in many workers from Jayco and as news spread of the layoff, some who still had their jobs talked of family members and colleagues who were not so fortunate.
"There was a lot of relief yesterday and a lot of sorrow yesterday," said Carl Eash, owner of Varns & Hoover.
During down times, business typically increases for the 128-year-old hardware store that still has a wood floor and carries an array of items beyond the expected nuts, bolts and screwdrivers. People come in looking for parts and help to repair things on their own rather than pay someone else, Eash explained.
However, the gray-haired proprietor wonders what will happen as local residents lose jobs and have their spendable income reduced. With the county's unemployment rate above 15 percent, he believes it could top 20 percent in the coming months.
"I've been around here 37 years," Eash said of his community, "and I don't think it's ever been hit this hard."
While residents acknowledged the hurt is widespread, no one was convinced the spirit or character of Middlebury would become callous or bitter.
People who live in the community of 3,000 are pretty giving and help as they can, said Randy Grewe, owner of Old Hoosier Meats.
The residents are self-sufficient and they have experience with plant shutdowns as well as layoffs, said retired bank teller Jackie Miller.
"It'll remain pretty much the same," she said of Middlebury. "It's a good town."
So far, the community's resiliency has kept the local food pantry stocked even though demand has been rising. Just a couple of months ago, a busy Saturday would have brought about 20 families but one recent weekend the pantry served 69.
Several area churches contribute to the food pantry, overseen by First Mennonite Church.
People in the community who have jobs are sharing what they can, said Deroy Kauffman, administrative assistant at First Mennonite. Yet he worries that soon, the amount of food going out will greatly outpace the amount coming in.
"What are we going to do after a while?" he said throwing his hands in the air, "because I don't think the people coming in are going to decrease soon. I don't see how it can."
Although the sale of Coachmen RV inspired what Grewe called an "aw shucks" among local residents as one of their own was bought by a major company, the news from Jayco brought sympathy for the employees as well as the owners. The Bontrager family that started Jayco and, in particular the brothers Wilbur and Derald who now run the company, are respected because they live in Middlebury and have been leading supporters of the community.
Enjoying a plate of chicken and noodles at The Village Inn, town resident Ron Puckett attributed the decision to lay off to the realities of the RV market that is swamped with units.
"I don't think it's any fault of Jayco's," he said of the job reduction. "It's just the way the economy is. You just have to do what you have to do to survive."
Residents are calling upon more then food and money to survive. Along with providing staples for a few meals, the Middlebury Food Pantry takes prayer requests from those in need. Lately, the volunteers and churches who help at the pantry have been asked by families to pray for jobs, for utilities not to be turned off and that the money for rent be found.
Perhaps demonstrating both Middlebury's present bout of economic struggle and its strong sense of service, one woman asked the ecumenical community to pray that her family not only would have the strength to get through these hard times but also find a way to somehow help others.