End of an Era
As I've mentioned before, I am currently working in a small town. Well, starting tomorrow, it's going to be even smaller. The local hardware store is closing its doors, after one final "Everything Must Go!" sale in the morning. It anchored one third of the only "shopping center" this town has- the other two stores being a local grocery and a Bill's.
It had been open for as long as I can remember.
The reason it closed? Two words- Home Depot.
Yep, the Big Orange Behemoth has recently placed itself in an interstate town roughly eight miles away. Little 'ol local hardware store couldn't compete. Just think about it- Home Depot might buy a billion screws at once, whereas this guy probably bought 500 or so at a time. Who do you think gets the better deal?
(This is also why Wal-mart can sell for so cheap- of course, it's buying power is even larger.)
I know its capitalism, and good business sense, but this town will never be the same. I don't blame Home Depot for moving in (admittedly, it was a smart move) but I am sad the little store is gone. There's much to be said for progress; but I hope in the process we don't always have to destroy those things that came before in order to achieve it. Had not people with that kind of entrepreneurial spirit blazed the way, Home Depot might not have ever existed.
Now, the people of this town will have to drive 16 miles roundtrip just to get a key made, or to buy an air filter. I realize that's not so great a distance to drive, but it seems a bit long when your purpose is so menial.
This town is on the verge of reducing itself to "bedroom community" status- if it's not careful, people will only live here, and then drive back and forth to work, shop, and eat. As it stands now, a determined soul could avoid driving into a larger town. It has a post office, grocery store, drug store, and a few restaurants. The loss of a good hardware store, however, robs the town of some of its independence and makes it rely on other cities to survive. A small reliance, granted, but one that may have aftershocks and repercussions in the years to come.
It had been open for as long as I can remember.
The reason it closed? Two words- Home Depot.
Yep, the Big Orange Behemoth has recently placed itself in an interstate town roughly eight miles away. Little 'ol local hardware store couldn't compete. Just think about it- Home Depot might buy a billion screws at once, whereas this guy probably bought 500 or so at a time. Who do you think gets the better deal?
(This is also why Wal-mart can sell for so cheap- of course, it's buying power is even larger.)
I know its capitalism, and good business sense, but this town will never be the same. I don't blame Home Depot for moving in (admittedly, it was a smart move) but I am sad the little store is gone. There's much to be said for progress; but I hope in the process we don't always have to destroy those things that came before in order to achieve it. Had not people with that kind of entrepreneurial spirit blazed the way, Home Depot might not have ever existed.
Now, the people of this town will have to drive 16 miles roundtrip just to get a key made, or to buy an air filter. I realize that's not so great a distance to drive, but it seems a bit long when your purpose is so menial.
This town is on the verge of reducing itself to "bedroom community" status- if it's not careful, people will only live here, and then drive back and forth to work, shop, and eat. As it stands now, a determined soul could avoid driving into a larger town. It has a post office, grocery store, drug store, and a few restaurants. The loss of a good hardware store, however, robs the town of some of its independence and makes it rely on other cities to survive. A small reliance, granted, but one that may have aftershocks and repercussions in the years to come.
posted by Yorick at 2:05 PM
2 Comments:
ohmigosh! i laughed out loud when i read that you have a "Bill's" in your small town. my family lived in jackson, mississippi for three years when i was in middle school and we used to ride our bikes to the jitney jungle (local grocer) and then always browse the local Bill's.
i agree that the advent of major superstores is edging out the community. ironic, isn't it, that home depot's motto "you can do it, we can help" implies that they will help you improve your home in an effort to create better communities?
i realized recently, when my husband and i were considering moving to england, that i buy virtually everything at a superstore; supermarket, super wal-mart, target, a mall, petsmart, sam's. maybe this is why even the homeless in america are obese.
sorry this was so long.
As Fish once told me, never apologize for a long post.
I find it ironic that one hundred years ago, a majority of people built their own homes (like my grandfather) and now we're content to just "improve" them.
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