Main Street USA

Looking west on Market St. in Brookville

Hope you're up for one more day of small town Ohio photos and reflections. I may have an FO to write about tomorrow.

Brookville, which is about five miles from my hometown, was among my day trip destinations for one reason: soft pretzels. I wanted to buy a case of them. Since the pre-baked pretzels must be kept frozen until ready for consumption, the company doesn't mail them.

Soft pretzels!

Walking into the business was like a blast from the past in that it appeared only one person was working and wasn't at the front. This was not unusual at our family business, but it's not something I run into much around Columbus. What I didn't anticipate--but should have--was that they don't take debit cards for single transactions. (It isn't a retail storefront really, just the place where everything is made and given to bulk purchasers.) When so many stores are geared around electronic purchases, it was a bit unexpected to have to pay cash and get a handwritten receipt with carbons. (For the record, it did occur to me that it would be easier to store the pretzels in the freezer without having the box in it.)

Since I had to track down my bank branch and dawdled a bit in my hometown, I ended up changing plans for the order of where I was going to go for the day. (I hadn't intended to go here first until I saw they were open only until 3 p.m.) I had lunch in a local restaurant that provided a taste of home, although the strawberry rhubarb pie wasn't quite up to snuff. Still, it was a good, inexpensive meal.

Looking west on Market St.

The area surrounding I-70 looked as though it was prospering, but the Market St. area seemed relatively barren. (This dynamic is one of the reasons why Cars touched me. It hits close to home.) Now, it isn't fair of me to generalize about economic conditions based on brief observations of the absence of people on the sidewalks on a cold, windy day but...it didn't look to me like this street was thriving. Of course, that's a common theme in America these days. Small, independent businesses are having a hard time making a go of it.

Looking northeast on Main St. in Troy

Looking southeast on Main St.

I was able to see how a main street (and Main St.) was doing in another southwestern Ohio city when I drove to Troy. From what I recall, it's a typical small city in the state. It was encouraging to see this old Main Street appear to be doing somewhat better, or at least have some activity. I thought I might have to go round and round in the traffic circle while looking for the local yarn shop. It was a nightmare to navigate when I was a young driver. Fortunately I spotted an open parking space, decided to pull into it, and figured I'd search for the LYS on foot.

Ewetopia Fiber Arts Boutique

As it turns out, Ewetopia Fiber Arts Boutique was directly across from where I left my car. The worker greeted me and then let me free to browse while I tried to determine if any yarn caught my eye. I'm not one who often buys without a project in mind, so that was a strike against the place even if I did have a 20% discount coupon burning a hole in my pocket.

It quickly became apparent that I am terribly spoiled with the number of good yarn shops around Columbus. I don't intend that as a slight of this one. I imagine that it is a wonderful resource for local knitters and crocheters who want something the chain stores don't stock, but the selection was more limited compared to where I usually go here.

Looking southeast on Main St.

Looking northwest on Main St.

I chatted with the store employee for awhile about how knitting and how local businesses are doing. In my observation it seemed as though more places were open and people were drawn to the area. She said that it had improved some, that there were strings of shops that attracted foot traffic. The fact remains, though, that these Main Street areas struggle, although with this being a historic district, it might fare a little better. There's even a small independent movie theater, the likes of which I'd bet are increasingly rare.

IKEA in West Chester

My final destination on the trip was the newly opened IKEA in West Chester. How ironic that I get wistful for small entrepreneurial enterprises and then wrap the day at an international enormo-store built at an artificial center of commerce by the highway. Who needs Main Street when there's exit number 19? All I can say is that's how things are, like it or not. And, umm, IKEA is cool.

I try to support local businesses when possible, although not foolishly so. I have a soft spot for those trying to eke out livings against the mega-corporations, but I'm not going to practice a consumer philosophy that ignores unsatisfactory service, high prices, or poor products just because one is the little guy.

As someone whose family business was harmed in part by big box retailers, I know the playing field isn't level and that Main Street USA often suffers for it. This trip wasn't meant to be a survey of local economies, and I certainly don't have the answers to what ails these parts of the country. I guess what I see in it all are familiar faces from home trying to get by and something important being lost. I know that there are other critical issues in this election year--and I don't mean to get political--but the candidates would do well to remember that this is where the country succeeds or fails.