The Idaho Town Back from the Dead

A saying I’ve often heard repeated says if you’re not growing, you’re dying.  The phrase is often applied to communities.  I’m not sure if it’s 100 percent accurate.  There are a great many small towns in Idaho where the populations have fluctuated over the past century.  In some cases, mining never came back, and all that’s left are crumbling buildings.

Elsewhere, there’s a small but busy downtown business district, and life goes on without a lot of drastic changes.

I was thinking about all of this when I made a stop in Bliss.  Not long ago, CNN reported that Bliss was soon going to be a ghost town.  I’m not so sure.  Yes, there are some buildings boarded up, but I detect a major change.

When a truck stop opened a few years ago just off the Interstate exit, Bliss instantly became a very busy place.  If you’ve had to navigate the parking lot at midday on a Sunday, you know what I mean!

While it’s not a business that employs 500 people and manufactures widgets we can sell overseas, the spillover from such a busy place has to impact the local economy.

I mentioned the highway off-ramp.  Another advantage.  I grew up in a county where my small town was eclipsed by another on a busier state highway.  Now, an Interstate roars through my hometown, and the old road is rarely traveled.  My town prospered.  The other went into decline.

Bliss has some other advantages.

It’s close to shopping in Boise and Twin Falls, but guarantees country living. Neighboring Hagerman looks to be booming, and the proximity (seven miles) should boost Bliss.

Sometimes obituaries are premature.