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Small town shopping

It has come across my desk, an opinion piece from someone in the business community, a plea, in fact, to encourage citizens to shop locally.
Having just completed one summer festival and with more on the way, many sponsored by area businesses and organizations, it might be a good time to talk about how important businesses are in our small communities.
Itís true, as the writer said, the businesses support school carnivals, ball teams, special events, dinners, senior programs, etc. and they often are more than willing to donate money and prizes for school and community events. Just read the thank you letters and youíll see how much local businesses give to the community.
True, they get recognition most of the time for their donations, but not always. And very few say no when asked for a donation.
Many people in our communities are not aware of all of the businesses available in our small towns. It took a block party last year for a lot of new people in North Branch to learn just what the businesses had to offer on two blocks of Main Street.
This year, the block party moved to another segment of Main Street where, again, people got familiar with what the businesses there had to offer ñ much more than anyone would think.
The business people, for the most part, are your neighbors trying to make a living in small town America and fighting large chain store competition every day.
The ideal world would be a place where the small businesses would co-exist with the larger stores, providing all the goods and services for the residents of each community so they wouldnít have to travel far and wide to find what they need.
The fact is, once the large chain stores come into a community, or even nearby, there is tremendous pressure on the small business owner to stay alive. And may donít.
Even our smallest communities, Almelund, Harris and Stacy, have services that you can use. As does Rush City which has a number of interesting and unique shops. Of course, you wonít find everything in our small towns, but you might find more if you shopped there more.
What the author of the opinion piece was saying is why not give the local stores a try. Prices might be a little higher, but then you are saving gas and the stress of driving in the cities. And thatís a big plus.
When you support the local businesses, you make them feel itís worth it to keep supporting your events and programs.
Everyone wins, and thatís good.
So maybe you canít grab a cart and get all your needs in one spot, thatís the way they shop in small towns. But isnít that what everyoneís flocking to these communities to find ñ small town living?

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