Author makes Palmyra 10th stop on book tour > Series focuses on rural economics and lifestyle

PALMYRA – In his youth, John-Claude “Top Hat” Redfern of Palmyra, Ill., was a power forward on his school’s basketball team. Now an author and specialist in rural economics, Redfern bounded Friday morning into the Palmyra Town Hall, carrying the ball for “a new paradigm for rural sustainable development.”

A tall and commanding personality, Redfern came primarily to hawk his latest book, the third in a series on rural economics and lifestyle. He also demonstrated his passion for preserving the quality and community of small-town life.

Palmyra, Maine, is Redfern’s 10th stop on his mission to visit all 18 Palmyras in the United States. Along the way, he is researching the effects of modernization on rural communities while simultaneously promoting his book series.

A native of Nancy, France, and a 40-year resident of the United States, Redfern holds a master’s degree in public administration and economics, and owns a consulting and publishing company in his adopted hometown in Illinois.

Rural economics, however, is his true passion, he told a small gathering Friday morning at the Palmyra Town Hall.

Redfern’s latest book, “The New Wave Millennium, Rural Economies and Human Rights,” is self-published. In it, he attempts to “debunk” the myths associated with urbanization of rural areas and presents his views on preserving the dream of the American lifestyle.

In Palmyra, Maine, Redfern found himself preaching to the choir.

An advocate of cooperative efforts between neighboring communities, he learned the Maine community has working relationships for a number of services with its neighbors in Pittsfield, Hartland, St. Albans and Newport.

Redfern learned that as family farms declined in the area, the number of homes increased, occupied by people looking for the lifestyle he champions.

While jobs have decreased in the area, the community is a member of a regional organization that is developing a unique business park in Oakland. This park, along the Interstate 95 corridor, is designed to bring more jobs to central Maine.

“We need cooperative ventures,” Redfern said, promoting his personal remedy for the decline in community spirit in many small towns.

“But growth causes as many problems as it solves,” Redfern said, urging people to move forward with cautious optimism.

“Small towns are made up of honest, hardworking, diligent people who believe in community and a cooperative spirit,” he observed while describing the locations he has visited.

Across the country, most Palmyras are in “pretty good shape,” he said.

Palmyra, Ohio, said Redfern, was the smallest and most depressing community in his tour. It had little left of its identity but an abandoned middle school, he said.

In New Jersey, he found Palmyra swallowed up by its neighbors, leaving its residents a community of strangers.

Redfern exchanged ideas on rural lifestyle with several community leaders who were able to meet with him before he departed for a self-guided tour of the area.

Redfern presented copies of his latest book to Beverly Breau, who represented Palmyra’s fledgling library at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church parish hall.