I often bemoan the loss of my little hometown. It has apparently become the playground for the wealthy. It was always so,even in my youth and my parents youth, it just now the " tourists " have become an invasive species. They are taking over our little garden. I really don't feel qualified to address this subject directly as I have not lived there in a number of years. I can, however , see the cause and effect.
This invasion is not only occurring in my hometown, it is happening in small towns across America. The real invasion is a corporate one. The giant chain stores destroying the Mom and Pop stores. Those stores are the lifeblood of small town America. That lifeblood is being sucked dry by the likes of Walmart,Target,Seven Eleven and others. When those little shops are gone, so is small town America.
The lucky towns, if you want to call it lucky, survive because they have something else of interest. Proximity to a body of water being the foremost draw I would say. If they can become a gateway to entertainment they will survive. The others will wind up almost as ghost towns on the landscape.
We have traded, and continue to do so, our support for local business to the big corporations in exchange for savings. This process has a been a slow progression but I have watched it creeping across the land. Early examples were the catalog stores. Dear Mr. Sears and Montgomery Ward. How many dollars were taken from the local shop owner when that convenience became available ? The revolving credit plan was the prime motivator in that process. Chain stores appeared on the land. Soon it was shopping centers. These shopping centers shifted the " center " of commerce from the town. The downtown's began to die. And we called it progress.
The resurgence of the small town will only occur when the population has a lot of disposable income. Money to be spent on the luxuries of life. Then small specialty shops and boutiques can thrive. The down town area of the small town taking on a carnival atmosphere. That portion of the town that once housed the business and civic leaders, becoming a playground.
Those left behind will remember the old home town. They will try to preserve what they can. It is a noble cause and one worth doing. Make no mistake about it though, time moves forward. We can only reflect upon the past and a way of life gone. For surely it is being lost, lost to time and progress.
This invasion is not only occurring in my hometown, it is happening in small towns across America. The real invasion is a corporate one. The giant chain stores destroying the Mom and Pop stores. Those stores are the lifeblood of small town America. That lifeblood is being sucked dry by the likes of Walmart,Target,Seven Eleven and others. When those little shops are gone, so is small town America.
The lucky towns, if you want to call it lucky, survive because they have something else of interest. Proximity to a body of water being the foremost draw I would say. If they can become a gateway to entertainment they will survive. The others will wind up almost as ghost towns on the landscape.
We have traded, and continue to do so, our support for local business to the big corporations in exchange for savings. This process has a been a slow progression but I have watched it creeping across the land. Early examples were the catalog stores. Dear Mr. Sears and Montgomery Ward. How many dollars were taken from the local shop owner when that convenience became available ? The revolving credit plan was the prime motivator in that process. Chain stores appeared on the land. Soon it was shopping centers. These shopping centers shifted the " center " of commerce from the town. The downtown's began to die. And we called it progress.
The resurgence of the small town will only occur when the population has a lot of disposable income. Money to be spent on the luxuries of life. Then small specialty shops and boutiques can thrive. The down town area of the small town taking on a carnival atmosphere. That portion of the town that once housed the business and civic leaders, becoming a playground.
Those left behind will remember the old home town. They will try to preserve what they can. It is a noble cause and one worth doing. Make no mistake about it though, time moves forward. We can only reflect upon the past and a way of life gone. For surely it is being lost, lost to time and progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment