Reply #12: It happened everywhere

[Wiregrass Willie]

There is a small village in North Georgia that I use to drive through on a weekly basis in the 1980s. It was in the foothills of the Georgia mountains. I say "was" for although there is still a small town there it is not the one I knew and loved so well. The old town looked like something out of Norman Rockwell. It was a village of about 1,500 people and the town was clean and well kept as is common for these old places. It had a small town square and I use to stop at the cafe for lunch.

There was a small park in the center of town and older ladies and gents would sit out under the large oaks and play checkers and re-fight the Civil War. In summer they would wander over to the hardware store where and old Franklin wood stove provided not only color but a warm place for the folks to sit and visit.

As I say it was a small town and the best I can recall had the following business' on the square: A hardware store, a cafe, a ladies shop, a men's shop, an auto garage, an appliance store, a general merchandise store, a small grocery store and on the corner, the county library.

It is hard to believe but it seemed everyone knew and liked each other. All the business' were locally owned and operated. None of the owners were getting rich but they were all home owners and pillars of the community. I would guess that each business had from 2 to 5 employees and the library had four librarians.

The word "friendly" could have been their motto.

Sometime about 1985 WalMart bought a few acres about three miles from town and began building. There were about 7 other small towns in a 30 mile radius and would provide a base for their needs.

To make a long story short, within three years every business in that town plus the library were closed. The former owners had to either commute about 50 miles to jobs or retire if they were lucky.

The way those local business operate is simple. Like the men's store makes it's profit off of selling a few $400 men's suits. But it is the sales of small items (belts, hankies, socks etc) that pay the bills. Same with an auto parts store. They have a $200,000 inventory for the convenience of their customers but they get about 80% of their sales from about 20% of the items they carry. WalMart carries all these small items but none of the hard to find or expensive stuff. So the small shops go under.

Now a person who needs a automobile fuel pump has to drive about 30 miles to a larger town. That's why the auto garage had to close. Walmart has all the fast selling spark plugs, belts, filters etc, socks, belt, hankies etc but no pumps or suits.

So the town went to hell and now looks like a ghost town.

I have heard that an average WalMart customer spends about $30 a week at this store. And they might save about 20% (at most) on their purchases. This would be $30 X 52 = $1560 for a saving of 20 % = $312 a year they are saving from what they paid the local merchants. But they lost their town and I don't think anyone would think they came out ahead. I bet every home owner in that town would gladly pay more than $312 a year to have that store removed. But it's too late.

Now everytime I drive up that highway and come out of a certain bend in the road, I see WalMart sitting there like a fat vulture. I haven't stopped in that town in 15 years.

I guess the old folks are either dead (of a broken heart) or in a home by now and the younger ones who are now retiring will never know the spirit of "community" that existed 20 short years ago.