Foreign residents fill local needs in Bowling Green, Ky.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - Regional Economist, Jan 2000 by Greene, Stephen

IN THE MOVIE "BACK TO THE FUTURE," MICHAEL J. FOX'S CHARACTER HOPS IN A DELOREAN TIME MACHINE, SPEEDS FOR HIS LIFE, AND WINDS UP IN A QUINTESSENTIAL 1955 VERSION OF HIS HOMETOWN. IF, BY MISTAKE, HE HAD CRASHED INTO DOWNTOWN BOWLING GREEN, KY., CIRCA 2000, HE MAY HAVE THOUGHT HE HAD REACHED HIS DESTINATION. THE STATUES AND GREENERY OF FOUNTAIN SQAURE PARK, THE ROWS OF SMALL BUSINESSES, THE CITY HALL BUILDING ON THE CORNER...BOWLING GREEN APPEARS TO BE AS TYPICALLY MID-AMERICN AS THE FICTIONAL EISENHOWER-ERA HILL VALLEY.

Closer scrutiny, however, reveals an unusual phenomenon in this city of fewer than 50,000 residents. In recent years, Bowling Green has witnessed a steady influx of immigrants, many of whom are refugees looking for a life free of political, racial or religious persecution. This trend has helped to fill job vacancies and add a cosmopolitan flavor to this unassuming southwest Kentucky town.

Why is Bowling Green suddenly home for people who historically have settled in large urban centers like NewYork, Chicago or Los Angeles? And what effect is their presence having on the local economy?

"VERY MUCH IN DEMAND"

Hovering around 2 percent, the unemployment rate in Bowling Green is extremely low by any standard. In Warren County, where Bowling Green is located, the unemployment rate is 3 percent. Each figure sits well below the state unemployment rate of 4.1 percent. Plentiful jobs, along with affordable housing and a low cost of living, have made Bowling Green a prime resettlement area for immigration.

"Even for a person who speaks no English, there are jobs available all over the place right now because times are so good,"says Martha Deputy, director of the Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance Association (VVKRMAA), part of a network of 30 agencies that resettles refugees. "These people are very much in demand."

When incorporated in 1981, the VVKRMAA began resettling refugees from Vietnam, but has since worked with people from many different countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Armenia and Russia. The majority of refugees over the past three years have come from Bosnia and Croatia.

Deputy estimates that since June of 1998, she and her staff have brought about 500 refugees into town, compared with about 125 in 1993. There are, she says, currently about 3,000 refugees in all of Warren County. In addition, there is a growing population of nonrefugee immigrants-those who leave their native land not to escape persecution but to seek greater economic prosperity elsewhere.

A VARIETY OF JOBS

Although immigrants make up only a small percentage of the overall population in Bowling Green and Warren County (accurate counts won't be available until the 2000 census is completed), they are quickly filling niches in several industries.

Immigrants are frequently hired at two woodwork companies, Woodwork of NEd-America and Eagle Industries Inc., and also at Trace Die Cast Inc. Restaurants and taverns also offer job opportunities: Because a bulk of the counties surrounding Warren County prohibit alcohol sales, many establishments have sprung up on the south side of town, offering an oasis to travelers along Interstate 65.

Then there are immigrants who have decided to go into business for themselves. Two such men are Roman Safarov, who escaped religious persecution in Armenia seven years ago and now operates his own tool repair business in Bowling Green, and Robert Stupar, a Croatian who is co-owner of The Brickyard Caf6 downtown.

Safarov operated his own automotive repair shop in Armenia and, upon arriving in Bowling Green, set his sights on once again running his own business. He says that living in a smaller town has allowed him to fulfill his dream more quickly.

"What I hear from friends of mine who are in bigger cities is that it took them longer to open their own business," Safarov says.

Stupar, who came to Bowling Green five years ago after his brotherin-law moved here from Vermont, says, "I never would have thought a place like Bowling Green would be where I would end up in America, but now that I am here, I know I am in the right place."

If the economy remains strong, even more people from other nations may be beckoned to Bowling Green to rejoin friends and families.

"When jobs are available, word travels," Deputy says. And indications are that jobs will indeed continue to be available. A diverse group of companies maintain a presence in Bowling Green. General Motors has produced all of its Corvettes in Bowling Green since 1981, and Fruit of the Loom's world headquarters is here. According to the Chamber of Commerce, Bowling Green has attracted 82 corporate facility investments since 1989, though those gains have been offset somewhat by recent plant closings. Holly Performance Products, which is headquartered in Bowling Green and still employs more than 700 people, has closed three plants in town over the past 15 years.

Richard Cantrell, an associate professor of economics at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, has closely followed the city's progress over the past two decades. He says that Bowling Green is well positioned to reap the benefits spilling over from the economically potent Nashville market, 60 miles to the south.