This month is our 30th birthday! So we’re in the midst of our “30 Stories for 30 Years” interview series, featuring past OVC Board members, and others who’ve been along for the ride. Together, we’re reflecting on 30 years in the Middle of Everywhere, and pondering what is yet to come. Join us, as we look back on local tourism’s evolution, some OVC history, and a special guest’s unique perspectives.

Our special guest for this entry is Charles “Chuck” Stanley, who began working as a reporter at the Times right here in Ottawa, in 2003. Tourism is a machine of many parts, so we’d like to explore these interconnected pieces. He got us started with a brief background.

“Originally when I came here, they had an office in Marseilles, and then I was there, and then they closed it. So when I came here to work at the Ottawa office, I started covering LaSalle County, and then after that it was the City of Ottawa.”

For our first question, we asked Chuck how he would say Ottawa and tourism have changed over the years, from his perspective as a local reporter.

“I’d been coming to Ottawa maybe once a year for many, many years, but when I came here to work at the newspaper, it kind of had a different view of it. And I guess that the downtown wasn’t looking anywhere as nice as it does now. I think one of the things that really struck me was that in downtown there, one of the major locations was the New to You shop. And then also that across the street from one another, that being LaSalle Street, there were tattoo parlors, and a lot of, I think there were, I think the hospital had a used item store too, so the restaurants were good, but nothing too much in the way of retail offerings, I felt,” he said.

“I think one of the major changes was the beautification of downtown with all the plants and the trees. And a real effort, obviously, on behalf of the city government to improve the appearance of the downtown and to offer more tourism activities. One of the things that I ran into, were people I used to know where I used to live. They were surprised to see me here, but they had come down for the Wine Festival. And every year, I saw somebody else I knew from the suburbs, who was out in Ottawa. And I asked them what caused them to come, and they all said they came for the Wine Festival. And they were sticking around for shopping.”

As we’ve seen throughout the course of these interviews, developing local tourism has been an incremental process. One project leads to another, which leads to all of the fun and memories we can make today. Building off this discussion, we asked Chuck what the relationship between tourism and Ottawa means to him.

“What tourism means to me, is that I can invite people to come here, and they’re really impressed with the town, with the offerings, the restaurants, and of course, the proximity to Starved Rock State Park. So it’s nicer, I think, and it has more to offer than maybe they thought, or certainly than it did the last time they were here,” Chuck said.

Ottawa certainly has plenty to offer. From dining options, to shopping, to adventure, to relaxation, and more. Chuck’s last point is also important to mention. It’s not uncommon to see or hear of former Ottawa natives returning as tourists. Some eventually even decide to return for the long-term. It took much interconnected work for Ottawa to become the Middle of Everywhere, which is exactly what we’ve been exploring! We next discussed the relationship between local tourism and journalism.

“I would say when I worked for the Times, we were always looking for a good tourism story, a good reason for people to come here. They aren’t subscribers here, but then the word kind of gets around. I certainly never felt any hesitation at all to suggest to people they come here to celebrate really any occasion. And I lived in the south suburbs, so it really wasn’t that far of a drive, too,” he explained.

“The guy who used to be in charge of the agency here, Hank Wolf. Hank went to the same high school I did in the south suburbs. And I knew the town he lived in, Worth, really pretty well. I had a lot of friends from high school there too. You know, when I talked to him about moving here, we had the same kind of impression. It’s like, ‘Well, this is a really nice kind of laid-back place, and people are really nice to deal with, and you don’t have any of the maybe personal safety concerns that you would have in Chicagoland.’”

Chuck is referring to our former OVC Board president and good friend, Hank Wolf. We’ve certainly cited some credible sources here! A lot goes into cultivating such an inviting atmosphere, like events and attractions. We asked Chuck if he could pick out a favorite from throughout the years. We also asked if he would like to see a former event/attraction make a return as well.

“I’d say the Wine Fest was really my favorite. And I used to do a feature story on it. And I liked the idea that people could come up and just listen to the music. They didn’t have to go inside the big… wine vendor’s tent, and you didn’t have to pay anything. So there was something in it for the community, not to mention the money that people who came out here were dropping, which I’m sure was very helpful for the local economy,” he said.

“I did like the Friendship Days when it was a more expanded type of event. It used to be run over two weekends.”

The variations of these two events have been quite iconic in Ottawa. Perhaps they’ll make a return, or something similar will be created. In a forward-looking like Ottawa, the possibilities are endless. No matter what the future may hold, we’re so excited to keep sharing the heart of our community. As our interview came to a close, we asked Chuck if he had any final thoughts on the future of tourism and Ottawa.

“Nothing comes to mind right away. I just think that the businesses here, and the local government have gone with the flow of what people want. And with the number of events that we have downtown, especially, I think that’s very positive to see all the shopping opportunities, especially like at… They have the Chris Kringle Market and things like that. And those are very positive things. I think everybody enjoys them.”

Many thanks to Chuck! Follow along with us as we celebrate our 30th anniversary in the Middle of Everywhere. You can find more updates on the rest of our blog, or on our Facebook page.