Unruffled in tense times

"I think we were a little misled," says Vada Wales, eating lunch at the senior center with her husband, Norman. "It seems like every day somebody gets shot or blown up. I think we're going to be over there for a long time."

The senior center is just one of many tangible signs of how New Freedom has changed. The building used to be the town's high school - where Vada and Norman met every day by the water cooler. "We graduated from here, and now we're back," he jokes. These days, one high school serves four neighboring towns. This year's graduating class had more than 200 kids, and every year the classes get bigger.

Similarly, one of the town's biggest factories has now been turned into a retirement complex. In its industrial heyday, seniors here recall, New Freedom actually employed more people than it housed, between a giant plastics plant and factories for furniture and sewing. A canning plant drew more business in the summer months, and at certain times of the year, it left the entire town smelling of onions.

Most trace the turning point to the 1970s, when a flood washed out the railway bridges. "The railroad never really came back after that," Mr. Shuchart says. Bit by bit, most of the local industries went with it.

Still, there's a certain optimistic, can-do spirit. Despite the struggles local businesses have had, two new shops have opened downtown in recent months: Bonkey's, an ice cream and penny-candy shop in the town's old movie theater, and Sara's Country Store, which sells groceries and prepared food in a converted warehouse.

Jerry Herbert, who owns Sara's, is busy installing air conditioning in the building, and already has plans for expanding the business. He knows he faces steep competition from the big supermarkets outside town, but he believes there's a market for what he's offering. Older people want to be able to shop without having to drive in traffic, he explains. And despite the ongoing bad news about the economy, he has trouble believing much of it. "There's a lot of work out here," he says. "I'm short people."

But many others here tell a different story. Bill Miller hasn't worked since February, when he was laid off from his job at York Barbell. Bouncing her best friend's new baby at the carnival, Dana Goodfellow (Marge's granddaughter) says this is the third summer in a row that she's been laid off from local factories. Dee Blouse, who's watching her granddaughter, Deena, says her daughter has been searching for work after being let go from the Pizza Hut in nearby Shrewsbury. "It's been really tough," she says. "Jobs are hard to find."

The biggest concern for many, though, isn't jobs. It's housing prices, which have been rising at a dizzying rate, as new condominiums spring up on the outskirts of town to keep up with the influx of people.

Amber Winter, who grew up in New Freedom and now works as a claims rep in Baltimore, would like to raise her family here, "if we can find a house that's affordable," she says. The character of the town may have changed somewhat - people lock their doors at night now, she notes. Still, she says, "it's a wonderful town."

For Marge Goodfellow, who has been watching over New Freedom since moving here in 1947, change simply presents new challenges to be met. Worried that kids watch too much TV, she's been running a day camp for local children each summer. She also has planted gardens downtown around the old rail tracks, trying to beautify the town's public spaces. In recognition, the town named its park, where the carnival is held, after her.

"Life will never be like we lived it," she says. But like many here, she's intensely proud of the efforts of this community - and the nation as a whole - to adapt to new circumstances. "On the whole, I do believe this country's right on target," she says. "I think we're doing a pretty good job."

Americans are a bit less upbeat about the economy and president Bush than a year ago. Readings above 50 are considered 'positive.'

Today/A year ago

Economic optimism index

56.1/ 59.7

Presidential leadership index

63.1/ 69.9

National outlook index*

55.6/ 58.2

*Includes views on America's moral direction and standing in the world along with economic optimism and presidential leadership

Source: Christian Science Monitor/TIPP poll June 2003 and June 2002.

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