Think twice before leaving town (10/2/04)

This letter to the editor is a first for me but I feel it is an absolute necessity. Many of you may have received the same letter that I received from Neil Habegger, owner of Hunt’s Emporium, a few days ago.

My job deals almost exclusively with industrial companies and when they send similar letters to my office indicating business is real bad, it’s almost a given that they will be closing their plant.

As you all know, this letter from Neil was a little different approach. He is basically letting residents of Jay County know that business is bad. Local traffic into his store has been on the decline for the past three years and if it continues Portland/Jay County may lose yet another major retail gift store.

Lately we have enjoyed several encouraging ribbon cuttings celebrating the opening of retail outlets in our downtown and central business district. Portland/Jay County without a Hunt’s Emporium occupying a major block in Portland’s downtown would be a tremendous setback.

We all do shopping outside of Jay County. Nowadays that’s a given in most if not all rural communities. We are not able to find everything we need within the store selections small communities have to offer. This trend will not stop and it’s something all like communities struggle with.

It’s true that almost everything offered for sale in Hunt’s Emporium can be purchased elsewhere and perhaps maybe at a lower cost.

However, how many of these out of town merchants have employees that greet you with a friendly “hello” before you take five steps into their store?; how many of these stores rotate their inventory constantly to match up with any given season or event?; how many of these stores give you top notch service and suggestions if you are not certain of what you want; how many of these stores offer free gift wrapping?; how many of these stores offer punch cards that give you cash discounts towards future purchases; and how many of these stores have an owner and several employees that devote countless hours, days and, in some cases, years of community service work?

What would Portland’s downtown be like without a Hunt’s Emporium that has served Jay County in so many ways for almost 80 years? We have the opportunity to find out if we stop buying locally. Maybe a few less trips to Muncie, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Richmond, etc. to stop for items we can purchase locally might make a difference.

Neil mentioned in his letter to his “Dear Customers & Friends,” that “we need locally-owned and operated businesses, where owners take an active role in daily community life.” Major outlets, discount stores and big box businesses are here and they will continue to be here. This does not mean we have to stop supporting our local businesses.

Next time you buy something off the Internet, when you could have purchased it locally, ask whomever you purchased from if the owner would like to make a contribution to the Jay County United Way, the Jay County Booster Club, Jay County Community Center, etc.

It may cost some extra money in some cases, but whenever and wherever possible we need to make that special effort to support our locally-owned merchants.

Bob Quadrozzi, executive

director, Jay County

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