Estimated read time: 10-11 minutes
HELPER — Nestled at the mouth of Price Canyon and surrounded by a cathedral of jagged rock outcroppings, the town of Helper bursts with charm, vibrancy and a palpable sense of community.
But it wasn't always that way.
At just over 2,000 people, Helper can easily be passed by travelers making their way through central Utah by way of U.S. 6. But the rural town in Carbon County has played an important role in Utah's history, developing as a population center in the 1880s with the development of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.
At the turn of the century, 27 languages were spoken in Helper — an ode to its diversity at the time.
While coal production increased during World War II and through the 1960s, Helper flourished and further grew into its role as a mining and railroad hub. But as is the reality of many small, rural, mining-oriented towns in the Mountain West, this productivity was bound to slow at some point, ushering in times of uncertainty.
For Helper, the downturn of coal led to the downturn of a once bustling community, essentially reverting it to a ghost town.
But in a story of resilience, community collaboration and proactive rural leadership, Helper has endured — flipping the script and rejecting the kiss of death that shuts the door on many extraction-driven communities in the West.
Here's how Helper did it.
'Bones of a great community'
Helper Mayor Lenise Peterman was born and raised in Louisiana, traveling all over the U.S. while working in litigation support for what she described as "serial litigants." Think Dow Chemical Company and the Ford Motor Company — corporations that are constantly being sued.
In 2004, her work brought her to Utah and specifically, Salt Lake City. It was there where she met her wife, Kate Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick is an artist and today, many of her murals grace the buildings along Helper's Main Street. Kilpatrick initially ventured to Helper in 2010 for a workshop, returning to Salt Lake City and Peterman with a declaration: "We have to move here."
"I actually came down here and and saw a path I could take as an artist and having other artists here and that was the biggest draw," Kilpatrick said. "I like the quiet. I'm not drawn to go elsewhere. I'm drawn to to stay in my studio and work."
And so, the couple's path was set in motion and Kilpatrick relocated to Helper in 2012 with Peterman following in 2015.
"When we first moved here, you could have purchased a rundown building on Main Street for next to nothing. Main Street was basically vacant," Peterman recalled.
Yet even in its dilapidated state, Peterman saw "the bones of a great community." With a persistent mentality, Peterman got to work.
A proud mayor of a proud town
Shortly after relocating, Peterman stepped into various leadership roles, chairing the Helper Revitalization Committee and running the Helper Arts, Music and Film Festival.
"(I) got quickly engrained into the community and built up trust in doing so," Peterman said. "And this community, it's just great people and they really wanted to survive and we were in a pretty massive downturn."
In 2016, Peterman wrote a grant on behalf of the city called the Sustainable Design Assessment Team grant, administered by the American Institute of Architects. This grant is unique in the sense that town leaders present their community's unique challenges and if selected, the institute identifies experts based on those needs to come to the area and work with community decision-makers and stakeholders through an intensive planning process.
For Helper, those challenges were beautifying Main Street and diversifying the economy while maintaining the town's unique, historic integrity.
"So it's not an outside, 'We're going to tell you what you need to do.' It's basically an inside, 'Here's what you said you can do to improve things for your community, now go do it,'" Peterman explained.
After securing the grant, Peterman's mind was made up and she decided to run for office. In 2018, Helper elected Peterman as its mayor.
"The people were just really welcoming. They're very kind and wanted to see a way to create sustainability. I believe that that's why they voted for me. That's why I got into office is because they saw a way to make Helper vibrant again."
Small-town revival
Securing the grant to work on the plan to beautify Main Street and diversify the economy was just a jumping-off point that led to many, many more revitalization efforts and initiatives.
For starters, Helper's Main Street was designated as a National Historic Place. But that designation was limited to the commercial district. Peterman expanded that designation to include residential areas through the Utah State Historic Preservation Office
"What that does is it allows people to access funding or tax incentives. If they're in a historic home or a historic building on Main Street, they can get into these programs to rehabilitate buildings if they choose to," Peterman said. "We've been able to leverage the certified local government grant for everything from neon signs to HVAC systems to windows."
There are also plans in place to remodel and restore the nearly 100-year-old Helper City Auditorium and other buildings.
Another unique initiative Peterman led was a participatory Main Street redesign, harnessing people's passions and handing them the keys to provide design input and take a hands-on approach to redesigning the town's primary corridor.
"If you were passionate about history, you could work with a group of people who were passionate about history. Or plants, trees, benches — so we kind of broke down the different categories. At the end of the day, we just said, 'Well, let's have the community vote on it. Let them pick. I don't care what we do, I think it will be beautiful either way, but let's have them vote on it," Peterman said.
Over the course of nine weekends in 2018, Helper's own rebuilt the Main Street and what came out of this redesign is what you'll see today walking down it. Something unique that came out of this redesign is 27 plaques embedded in the sidewalk that read, "Welcome Friend" in the 27 different languages that were spoken in Helper during the coal and railroad boom of the 20th century.
"It was just a real community coming together to create something beautiful," Peterman said. "People are so proud of Main Street because, guess what, they probably spent a Saturday planting or, you know, working on it. So they have a real sense of ownership of it and taking care of it."
A community reborn
The hard work and long days led by Peterman and the people of Helper have made a lasting impact felt on every block and street corner of Helper today. At night, the town lights up with neon signage welcoming residents and visitors alike into the various businesses that line Main Street.
It's like the fictional town of Radiator Springs in the movie "Cars" before and after its facelift. In the movie, the changes revive the struggling town in a way that mirrors Helper's newfound reality.
Helper is now home to a plethora of festivals and events far beyond what one might expect from a community of its size.
The Helper Arts, Music and Film Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary this August, welcoming people from across the country to Helper for a weekend of art, music, food and community. Helper Vibes is a community event held on the second and fourth Saturday of every month from May though September and also includes live music, art and a wide array of food options. A few years ago, Helper Vibes hosted the town's first Pride event.
Around the holidays, Helper lights up with its Christmas Town festival, carrying on the tradition of the Helper Electric Light Parade that started in 1990.
"Those two events (Christmas Town and the Arts Festival) really have carried Helper through kind of dark days. Back when there was nothing going on, those two events were steadfast, community, much-loved events. Now we're kind of on the upswing so now they're just celebrations at this point," Peterman said.
Along with its festivals and events, Helper also houses thriving businesses.
Residents or passersby can stop in at Balance Rock Eatery & Pub for a meal. Those looking to indulge in libations can do so at Helper Beer, the town's brewpub. Anyone in need of an energy boost can drop in at the Happiness Within coffee shop before taking a stroll through the four-story Helper Museum or browsing the impressive art found in Kilpatrick Art Garage gallery.
And these aforementioned attractions are only scratching the surface of what Helper has to offer.
'Community agenda'
It may be a question Peterman is tired of hearing (if it is, it doesn't show) but some may wonder if the fact that Peterman has a wife has impacted her life in a rural Utah town that used to be a hotbed of mining. Being a historically diverse place, Peterman sees that diversity as one of Helper's greatest attributes.
"When you're different like that, there are some people who will struggle to it. Both Kate and I are sensitive to that and it's not something we push," Peterman said. "We don't have a gay agenda, we have a community agenda. We want to see a thriving, vibrant community. But I know it's out there, I'll be honest. But you just have to brush some of that off and say, 'You know, I'm really working hard to create what's best for all of us' and that's what I'm focusing on."
She said 90% of her engagement with the community is supportive and thankful for what she's working to create. A big part of this, undoubtedly, is rooted in Peterman's outlook and approach to leadership.
"I always tell everyone, my constituents really aren't the people out here today. It's the third graders at Sally Mauro (Elementary) that I'm trying to build for so that those kids can get educated and come home and have a well-paying job and raise their families here. So ... my objective is much bigger."
Of course, the issue of a dying coal town is in no way unique to Helper. As someone who has worked relentlessly to reverse what once seemed like an inevitable future of stagnancy, Peterman offers a word of advice for other community and civic leaders in her position.
It all starts with the hard work of identifying exactly what the future of a community should look like and taking a boots-on-the-ground approach to achieving that vision.
"It's beyond just beautification and art and performing arts. It's about ... taking care of the roads and the lights and everything else that creates a community. To do that, you really have to be part of it and dig in and roll up your sleeves and create that sweat equity to bring about meaningful change," Peterman said. "I tell everyone, 'I try hard to earn your vote every day, regardless as to whether or not you agree or disagree with me' and sometimes hearing the disagreement is healthy.
"It's part of change methodology. Stay that course and be true to yourself, be true to your community and I just think good things come when you do that."
