One of our Patagonia residents recently returned with an interesting tale after spending the summer in his home in a small town in northern Maine. At the Fourth of July parade, the first float featured a number of hunters in camouflage with their guns pointed at a flag displaying the initials PFA. PFA, in northern Maine jargon, stands for “People from Away”, or those who do not live in the community year round. I was told that, besides being the object of disdain in the parade, PFAs are seated separately and cannot speak at the town meetings.
The PFA syndrome is a mindset that seems to exist in Patagonia as well. Here PFAs are often referred to as “newbys”, a term that refers to practically anyone who wasn’t born and raised here. At the heart of the PFA syndrome is fear that the newer residents will change the nature of the community, and is that fear is often driven by socioeconomic realities and differing cultural backgrounds.
Housing costs have risen due to an influx of newcomers who arrive from areas where real estate is much pricier and are willing to pay above average prices for housing here. This has served to increase housing costs beyond the means of some of Patagonia’s older families. From their point of view, that rise in cost threatens to destroy the town as they have known it, marginalizing their offspring’s ability to remain here. Added to that is their perception that newcomers often fail to appreciate the ways in which the culture and norms of the older residents have contributed to the unique character of Patagonia that new residents find so appealing.
No town is immune to change. The ore wagons and mules left Naugle Avenue a long time ago, and the town has seen constant change since that time. Furthermore, older residents should acknowledge and appreciate the economic and cultural vitality that newcomers bring with them.
On the other hand, it would be helpful if the new arrivals would limit their efforts to “change things” immediately upon arrival. They should recognize that the oldest Hispanic families are the primary reason that the town exists. When the mines closed and all the rich people left, the miners’ families remained to keep the town alive. As a result, those families have a sense of ownership that many newer residents fail to understand.
If residents, old and new, could both be a little more open-minded and respectful of each other’s feelings and views we’d probably be headed in the right direction. If we strive to become more inclusive in our social functions, keep exchanging our differing viewpoints and continue our dialog, perhaps we can keep the PFA Syndrome from reaching the point that it has in that small Maine town, and in so doing, preserve that special character of Patagonia that we all revere.