| “ | Hmm... I vaguely remember what happened here. All the factories closed down.
|
” |
– John | ||
Newspaper: Town Closes is the twenty-ninth secret of Little Hope. It can be found by John or Taylor in the Black Cat Bar. This secret appears in Vince.
Overview[]
A newspaper stating that after the closure of the Ravenden Textiles Factory, the remaining residents voted to disincorporate Little Hope and local buses were rerouted from the town.
In-Game Description[]
Newspaper article on the disincorporation of Little Hope following the shut down of the factory and the resultant mass exodus of the population.
Update(s)[]
- The factory was the main source of income for the majority of the families in Little Hope.
- The workers [sic] exodus after the factory closure left the town in ruin.
Transcript[]
October 12, 1979
MEETING VOTES FOR DISINCORPORATION
New Round of Foreclosures Spells End For Town
AT Little Hope Town Hall on Monday the last residents of the town met with emergency manager Cathy Flint to vote for disincorporation. Since the closure of the Ravenden textiles factory a mass exodus has left the town with few inhabitants and empty coffers. Flint was appointed as emergency manager to administer public services to the remaining residents, but the latest round of bank foreclosures means the last of the townsfolk are planning to pack up and move on, which will leave Little Hope virtually deserted.
"With no tax revenue coming in, we're faced with no option but to disincorporate," said Flint. "It's so sad. These people have seen their town disappear around them." Attempts to attract employers have failed, and Flint confirmed that the tourist trade, which had flourished with the promotion of the town's Witch Trail, had since collapsed, with visitors preferring the nearby attractions of Salem. In Monday's meeting the last forty residents overwhelmingly agreed by hand vote to wind up the town corporation. The town of Northbridge will take over responsibility for the few diehards who...
Continued on page 5
Local resident Irene Roberts had no regrets. "We're selling up like everyone else," she said after the meeting. "The heart of Little Hope was ripped out when they shut the factory. There's no reason to come here any more." Chester Fife, the last employee of the Ravenden factory, is said to perform basic maintenance on the abandoned site. "It's time to leave," he said. "So much of Little Hope is a ... (unreadable) ... town now."
Cathy Flint is in the process of establishing plans for disincorporation in the New State House, which will have to nullify the decision. However, she believes it will be a formality. "We're waiting on the State to agree our plans, but we'll probably be [sic] Some plots are starting to return to nature and there have been several arson attacks on abandoned buildings.
Cathy Flint is in the process of establishing plans for disincorporation to the New State House, which will have to nullify the decision. However, she believes it will be a formality. "We're waiting on the State to agree our plans, but we'll probably be turning out the lights early next year," she said.
LOCAL BUSES REROUTED
FROM January 1 the ... (unreadable) ... bus to Northbridge will be rerouted past Little Hope, say [sic] the operator, Prime Transit. "Having reviewed services in the area, we are diverting the route to reflect the changing demand while continuing to provide essential transportation into the future," a spokesman said.
The changes have the remaining residents of the ... (unreadable) ... town with no public transit and a two mile walk to the nearest bus stop. Little Hope resident Rita Sullivan complained, "I understand this shortens the journey for riders to Northbridge but this was one of the town's last public transit links. Without it we are cut off."
FINAL CLOSING SALE!
DONNIE'S SPORTS EMPORIUM
21-25, PLYMOUTH ROAD, LITTLE HOPE.
FOOTBALL
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL
HOCKEY
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
Location[]
It can be found lying on a table.
Trivia[]
- There is a grammar mistake in the second article, with 'say' instead of 'says.'
- Additionally, there is a missing apostrophe in the secret's second update.
- On the back side's continuation of the first article, half of the second paragraph is repeated in the first paragraph and suddenly cut off into a new sentence. This is likely an error.
- It is unclear why John refers to "all the factories" closing down when finding this secret, considering that there was only one factory in town.
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