MILLVILLE, N.J. -- This city used to bustle. The silica sand required to make glass has long been produced in the plant mines of neighboring Mauricetown. So for almost three decades leading up to the early 1970s, glass factories dominated the landscape, creating jobs, boosting the local economy and serving as the engine that drove this once-thriving town.

Those days are gone now. Long gone. Most of the glass-making jobs have been outsourced. The presence of two new jails has boosted the crime rate. And for years now, the surrounding county of Cumberland has had the lowest per-capita income in the state of New Jersey.

Times were, are and will continue to be difficult for the residents of Millville. But they've had a very welcomed distraction lately.

His name is Mike Trout -- though everyone around here seems to call him Mikey.

"Mikey's put bounce into people's steps again," Millville mayor Tim Shannon says from his office in City Hall, home to a Trout-signed jersey, numerous posters and even an autographed Little League home run ball.

"It's a sense of pride. This young man grew up, born and raised here in Millville, and made people proud to say, 'Hey, we're from Millville, Mike Trout's hometown. Mike Trout's from my hometown."