It’s long been lore in the town of Springfield, Vermont, that it was “No. 7 on the list” of the top U.S. sites Hitler wanted to bomb during World War II.

There’s some question about the origins of this list, or even whether it really existed. But there’s no question about the claim at the heart of the story: This small town and its thriving machine tool industry were vital to the war effort.

Today, that industry is gone from Springfield, and there’s been long fallout from the loss of jobs and identity. For instance, the percentage of households receiving public assistance is nearly double the state average, according to Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corporation.

But Flint also pointed to the $9 million already spent to clean up former factory sites in this town of 9,000, and the $5 million more that’s committed. The remediation is seen as a critical step toward commercial redevelopment at the sites.

“We’ve kind of picked ourselves up,” Flint said. “We’ve been very resilient.”

The town’s efforts to reset include participating in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Places initiative. On Thursday, Boston Fed President Susan M. Collins visited Springfield during a Vermont trip that also took her to a Rutland manufacturing site and a meeting with business leaders in South Burlington.

In Springfield, Collins told the Working Places team she knows “there’s a lot of focus on the big cities like Boston.”

“But a lot of people and a lot of our economy is outside of those cities,” she said. “It’s in towns, it’s in rural areas, it’s in smaller cities. And those are really important for a vibrant economy.”

One overarching goal? Increase workforce participation

Working Places brings different community sectors together to address longstanding problems, and Springfield was selected to be part of the initiative's Working Communities Challenge in 2020. An overarching goal for the WCC team is increasing local workforce participation, which Flint’s agency estimates at 56%, well below September’s U.S. labor force participation rate of 62.7%.

Flint told Collins that to do that, it’s important that social services and the private sector find a “common language,” so both sides understand they share many goals and concerns. He also emphasized a “no wrong door” approach, meaning everyone who comes for help is routed to someone who can give it.

Team members said specific steps they’ve taken include advocating for employers to better understand and meet various challenges employees face – everything from addiction to difficulties finding child care and transportation.

They’re also working to take advantage of the area’s exceptionally fast connectivity speeds to draw business. And the WCC launched a free laptop program during the pandemic to provide access to technology and help teach its fundamentals.

WCC team member Sue Graff, Vermont’s field services director, said people must have hope that good things are ahead.

“Connecting the partners and players through Working Communities is really the way we’re going to do that, help people re-envision their future here,” she said.

Collins tours employee-owned reel maker, hears about housing woes from business leaders

Collins’ tour of the Carris Reels mill in Rutland featured the sounds and smells of plywood being cut to make cylindrical reels used by the wire and cable industries. The CEO of the 73-year-old company is Alberto Aguilar, a member of the Boston Fed’s New England Advisory Council, which gives Collins an on-the-ground view of business and economic conditions.

Carris Reels has been 100% employee-owned since the 1990s through an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. Proponents say ESOPs can help keep businesses and jobs local, and Carris Reels said it’s working for them.

“It’s something that we’ve been able to demonstrate is sustainable here at the company,” Chief Financial Officer David Fitz-Gerald said.

In South Burlington, Collins attended a roundtable with business leaders at industrial computer maker OnLogic. Amy Spear, president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, reported “mixed sentiments” on Vermont’s business climate due to concerns about high taxes, regulation, a labor shortage, and inflation.

Business leaders said that housing costs and a lack of housing stock were driving young people away and making it tough to attract workers of all skill and income levels.

OnLogic CEO Sean Larkin said he’s had executives accept a job, but then find it impossible to find a house.

“And after six months, the family’s like, ‘We can’t live in a hotel for much longer.’ And then we’ll lose them, or we have to ship them off to a different site,” he said.

Jason Williams, chief external relations officer at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said they’re experimenting with ways to cultivate their own workforce. For instance, they’ve reached out to people in substance abuse recovery, who historically haven’t worked in health care.

“We have to get really creative about workforce development because we cannot ‘recruit in’ our way out of the problems we’re facing,” he said.

Collins said that the Fed plays a role in housing affordability by helping control inflation and influencing borrowing costs, but issues related to supply are broader, and solutions will require collaboration from different sectors. Collins added she knows housing costs are having a huge impact on things the Fed cares about, like economic vibrancy and employment.

“We are trying to look to see what more can we do in this space,” she said.