As we’ve mentioned the Perry Chamber of Commerce and other local groups are working together to try and further bridge the gap between the Latino and Anglo cultures in Perry.

One step toward that effort was taken Wednesday as a dozen local community members met with Jon Wolseth with the ISU Extension and Outreach Office to learn about the Oasis Market and the story of their owners.

Wolseth says the goal of these types of events is to help calm the nerves and make everyone a bit more comfortable.

“I think there’s sort of a degree of limiting fear here in the Midwest, fear of the unknown, fear of change, that I don’t remember experiencing growing up.  We just need to get over that sense of fear and the fear of making a fool of ourselves, fear of embarrassing oourselves or fear of the unknown.  We need to try knocking on the door of our neighbor, or in the case of the business community try walking into a Latino grocery or a restaurant and see what they have to offer” says Wolseth.

Bob Wilson with the Perry Chamber says the goal is to make these types of events a regular occurrence moving forward, including businesses of all types.