Rural charm of the Rust Belt
Don’t fly over the U.S. Midwest — its countryside is beguiling
THEY’RE called the ‘flyover states’ for a reason: tourists travelling to the U.S. have traditionally ignored the Midwest, jetting over it and heading straight for the coasts. The middle of the country has been perceived as an uninspiring mix of flat farmland, featureless factories and more than a few Donald Trump supporters.
But it seems we’ve been too hasty. The archetypal flyover states of Michigan and Ohio are now drawing international visitors, lured by the unexpected beauty of the Rust Belt. Detroit is a case in point. The first thing I see on landing at the airport is a poster proclaiming: ‘Welcome to Detroit, America’s Comeback City.’ America loves a comeback and Detroit plays perfectly into its phoenix-fromthe-ashes mythology.
Once home to a thriving auto industry, it hit the headlines in 2013 after going bankrupt. Now, it’s leaping back to life, with a major regeneration programme breathing new vigour into the city’s old Art Deco buildings. There are designer restaurants and boutique hotels springing up (I stayed at the urban-chic Foundation Hotel, a converted fire station), and the revitalisation of the downtown is underlined by its gleaming new tram system, known as the QLine.
What’s more, Detroit is the gateway to enticing culture and countryside. A few hours’ drive away, in Holmes County, Ohio, lies Amish Country. This 36,000strong community is the largest Amish settlement in the world.
You know you’re there when road signs start warning you to slow for horses and buggies.
Then you see farmers with straw hats and beards driving horse-drawn ploughs.
Eschewing the trappings of modern life, traditionally the Amish do not have electricity, cars, phones, TV or computers. They don’t vote in elections and children leave school at 14.
I am shown around the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center in Berlin, Ohio, by Mark Oliver, a personable Amish guide.
He hopes people will learn about his peaceful religion and not fall back on stereotypical portrayals, such as in the film Witness. He smiles: ‘It took me a little time to realise that movie wasn’t intended to be a comedy.’ And who knew there were so many gorgeous beaches in the Midwest? The Great Lakes are full of pretty resorts and I visit one on the island of Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie, Ohio — all quaint, clapboard cottages and coves.
The Midwest is delightful, with immaculately kept lawns, white picket fences and small churches with signs outside declaring: ‘Prayer is the world’s greatest wireless connection.’
Shorn of the brashness of coastal U.S., this is homely, heartland America. It is characterised by tranquil, friendly countryside and tranquil, friendly people.
As the American playwright Theresa Rebeck, who grew up in Ohio, puts it: ‘In the Midwest, people are taught that decency and integrity and community are all important values.’
As I head back to the airport, I pass a sign to a tiny Ohio village that sums up the Midwest. The name of the village? Charm.