The South’s Cultural Takeover

Binge-reporting from the Rust Belt over a six-month period in 2024 left us with a habit of writing in the past tense.

The ghosts of yesteryear loom large in that once-thriving region of the country. Empty storefronts, abandoned factories, shuttered bars, and dilapidated homes force you to confront the reality that the glory days in these towns were long ago. Steel left Pennsylvania; the auto industry shrank in Michigan; and Ohio saw both leave. The shockwaves from each industry’s departure are still, decades later, reverberating.

I recognize that reporting that the Rust Belt lost industry isn’t exactly breaking news. Everyone knows about deindustrialization, and if you’ve been following Roca for a while, you really know about it. In fact, at risk of sounding cocky, I’m not sure there’s a single outlet that’s covered the on-the-ground realities of Rust Belt life – both the good and bad – in greater detail than Roca.

To date, we’ve mainly dwelt on the economic aspects of the Rust Belt’s decline. But recently we’ve come to appreciate the cultural ones, too. Indeed, the Rust Belt didn’t just make our cars, steel, and rubber; it made our culture. Or, at least, it produced the people who made our culture.

It seems that every mid-size Rust Belt city we visited – from Michigan to Connecticut – produced an icon of culture. The ex-steel city of Steubenville, OH, made Dean Martin. The struggling auto city of Bay City, MI, produced Madonna. And Gary, IN – the Rust Belt embodied – gave us Michael Jackson.

The list goes on: Latrobe, PA, the blue-collar town where I spent my middle school years, somehow produced Arnold Palmer, Mister Rogers, and, allegedly, the first banana split.

As the steel went, so did the people: Most of these cultural icons have died out. But many of these towns’ inventions and brands remain – Hershey, Wendy’s, Kellogg’s, Heinz, Procter & Gamble, Macy’s, the list goes on. And they are pure Americana.

This begs the question: Where has the culture gone? Who produces the icons of today? Is there any part of America that doesn’t require you to report in the past tense?

Now, we have our answer.