SHERBURNE _ Life in Cuba looked pretty good, a couple of Chenango County men said after returning from a state-sponsored visit to Havana recently.
Jim Webb, of Columbus, president of Lok-n-Logs in Sherburne, and Scott Clippinger, an attorney from Smyrna, spent three days in the island nation as part of an agricultural trade mission from New York state.
The mission, led by Patrick Hooker, the state's commissioner of Agriculture and Markets, was intended to open up Cuban markets to farm products from the Empire State. Among the state's products presented to potential Cuban buyers were maple syrup, wine, cheesecake, apples, onions, fruit juices, vegetables from Schoharie Valley Farms and beef.
See CUBA on Page 11
Webb, whose log homes are sold around the world, was invited to represent the state's wood products industry, and he invited Clippinger to accompany him ``to keep me out of trouble.''
Clippinger said Thursday he didn't have to be asked twice.
``I've wanted to see Cuba since 1959, and it was a great trip,'' he said.
Webb noted that Cuba is ringed by unspoiled islands that might someday be developed as resorts.
``Florida is already built up, and these islands are not far off our coast,'' he said.
Cuba is evolving, as longtime president Fidel Castro recently stepped down, and the Cubans seem ready for more American investment, Webb said.
``It's really our government that's been putting the brakes on, but things are changing and they may change even more,'' he said.
Toward that end, he spent much of his days in meetings with officials, though he still toured a lumber plant three hours from Havana.
``It was 50 years behind the times, but not 150,'' he observed.
And in the evenings, he added, he had excellent meals and went for walks along the famed Malecon beach in Havana.
During the days, while Webb was working, Clippinger toured the capital with his camera.
``The architecture is beautiful and I couldn't take enough pictures,'' he said.
During his excursions down city streets, he was often accompanied by a police officer, he noted.
``He never bothered me, though,'' Clippinger said. ``If I talked to someone, he'd talk to them afterward, probably to make sure we weren't arranging anything illegal.''
But the residents didn't seem to mind the low-key police officer, he said, seeming to know he was only doing his job.
``The people in Cuba are very relaxed and happy,'' he said. ``They get their health care for free, their education for free, everyone has a place to live and there is no unemployment.''
Webb noted how clean the streets are, and both men spoke of how music pervaded the outdoors in the city.
``The kids are all out playing and they all know how to play baseball, even if they don't have a real baseball or bat,'' said Clippinger, showing a photograph of a Cuban boy batting with a modified two-by-four.
While the price of goods and services paid by Cubans is very low by American standards, the country has a policy of charging tourists much more, Webb said.
``When we had dinner, it was over $50 a person,'' he said.
During Clippinger's forays down city streets and during Webb's meetings, they observed the egalitarian nature of Cuban society, where women can comfortably be in charge and society is not stratified along racial lines, they said.
``Race just isn't an issue there,'' said Clippinger, ``and the people are beautiful.''
Many of the island's historic structures are being restored, albeit slowly and by non-modern methods, he said. ``They haul their concrete up with ropes and pulleys.''
The classic buildings are often graced with ornamental ironwork and painted pink, red and other lively colors. Murals of Cuban heroes, including Castro and Che Guevara, are on display, but the visitors saw no commercial billboards.
People get around on modern Chinese buses and in an assortment of vehicles, from 1950s American cars to horse-drawn carts.
``Taxis don't move until they have five people in them,'' said Clippinger, ``but going for a taxi ride is a social event and no one seems to mind. When they let someone out, they pick up someone else.''
During Webb's trip into the interior, he said, ``most farmers used oxen. I saw tractors, too, but more oxen.''
Asked if they would like to return to Cuba someday, Webb said, ``Sure, if someone else is paying the bills.''
And Clippinger said, ``In a heartbeat.''
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