The Unadvertised Beauty of La Grande

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Natural beauty and tourist attractions are great, and they would absolutely bring in more tourists. However I was surprised to hear that even though La Grande is a college town, the population is relatively low. I believe that the city of La Grande is not utilizing its college town status to the full potential. College is an exciting place for many people, not just students. Walking the halls of academia can be a life changing event for some. The mere comradery that a university offers is enough for people to stay loyal to an area and look to settle down nearby. It is for this reason that I believe La Grande should push Eastern Oregon University to develop a solid and consistent football team. In order to see the efficacy of this approach, one need only to look to the west to see the famous Beaver and Duck rivalry that exists in the state schools in the western side of the state. People love to be a part of the team, even if it means simply wearing a shirt or going to a game. If EOU were to develop a team that could even come close to comparing to the Ducks or Beavers, college applicants would not only skyrocket, but permanent residents would skyrocket as well. This event would have chain effect in the tourism industry as well. Logically speaking the more people that reside in a town, the more possibilities exist for friends and family to come and visit and experience the wonders of Eastern Oregon, and more specifically, La Grande.

La Grande is a wonderful place loaded with rich heritage, beautiful scenery, a college campus, and a wonderfully mild climate. It is an absolute mystery why this town hasn’t exploded in population and tourism, especially in recent years when so much information is available. It is my belief that the city of La Grande has failed to entice people to come and experience the city. However with the changes I have proposed in this paper, I truly believe that La Grande would never look the same again.

References

La Grande Main Street. (2015, June). Historic Preservation. Retrieved from La Grande Main Street Downtown: http://lagrandemainstreet.org/sample-page/historic-preservation/

Northeastern Oregon. (2015, June). Northeastern Oregon. Retrieved from Visit Eastern Oregon: http://www.visiteasternoregon.com/explore/places/northeast/

Wikipedia. (2015, June). La Grande, Oregon. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Grande,_Oregon