Eureka Memories: Wal-Mart's OK If the Market Demands It

(Please consider expressing whatever pleasure and enjoyment you gain from reading "Eureka Memories" by clicking on the "Donate" button above and contributing a dollar, 50 cents, a little more or a little less to my PayPal account. If you find value in the work, I hope you'll consider a financial donation that will help me continue to present my work to you. -- Ted Sillanpaa)

The Bayshore Mall was built in my hometown of Eureka, Calif. in the 1990s with the promise that it would invigorate the economy decimated by the loss of the timber and fishing industries.

The mall performed as advertised ... for awhile. Folks stopped making the four-hour drive south to Santa Rosa to escape locally-owned chain stores who controlled the market and didn't provide the options available to those who could pick and choose from chain stores like Mervyn's, Sears, etc.

The Bayshore Mall died an inglorious death, as the Humboldt County economy continued to sag. People don't buy at speciality shops or need three or four places to buy athletic shoes when unemployment is through the roof. The movie theaters at the mall lost business when theater complexes were built in neighboring towns, thus removing the need to drive to Eureka to see a film.

Gottschalk's was one of the anchor stores at the mall. It has been empty for awhile because, well, the area really can't support a slightly upscale department store. If Mervyn's and Sears -- other cornerstones of the facility -- had died ... what chance did Gottschalk's have?

The mall is a sad place to be and more sad to see, assuming one remembers when it was bustling and full of promise for a community short on such a thing.

It seemed like exciting news that a "mystery" business was ready to move into Gottschalk's. Well, the Times-Standard newspaper called it a "mystery" business. Most readers seem certain that the old Gottschalk's will become either a Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

Best Buy? OK. If the Humboldt County economy can support a electronics store, great. Based on what I read in the Times-Standard and hear from old friends, a big electronics chain wouldn't seem too anxious to make a home in Eureka.

Wal-Mart, however, suits Humboldt County just fine. It offers low prices and tons of controversy. The same type controversy folks in Fairfield remember when the old, empty shopping center that took up an entire city blocks became home a Wal-Mart superstore.

The folks who don't like the idea of Wal-Mart, and its questionable business practices and low prices, coming to Eureka insist it will kill what's left of locally-owned Humboldt County businesses. Mostly, they focus on the questionable business practices because the majority of locally-owned Eureka business began to disappear years and years ago.

As a Fairfield resident who cares what happens in his hometown of Eureka, I'm confused by the anger expressed by folks who can't stand the idea of a Wal-Mart moving into the Gottschalk's space.

The bulk of locally-owned businesses are speciality-type spots. One Times-Standard reader complained that Wal-Mart will kill such stores. Another reader, rightly, mentioned that local stores don't sell shampoo, vitamins, pet food, toilet paper, etc. So, Wal-Mart would actually pose no threat to local shops.

The anti-Wal-Mart reader eventually said that, indeed, there are businesses that sell essentials like toilet paper and more. He mentioned a speciality shop called Bubbles as a spot that sells shampoo. And, he explained that a local health food story in Arcata (a town across the bay from Eureka) markets vitamins. Finally, he mentioned a locally-owned pet store that does sell pet food.

I was born, raised and spent most of my life in Humboldt County. There are folks who buy shampoo at Bubbles, but the average family that uses the biggest container of the least costly shampoos and soaps shop at CVS, Walgreen's or grocery stores.

Small health food outlets sell vitamins, sure. The monster-sized containers of generic multi-vitamins available at Wal-Mart are affordable and more in line with what people who want a supplement as opposed to a committment to health-conscious lifestyle would buy.

The argument that Wal-Mart's business practices are shady can go on forever. Folks who can't afford to shop at speciality stores in Humboldt County just want to be able to buy the cheapest goods they can, cheap goods that people flock to the Fairfield superstore to purchase at all hours of the day and night.

The area most densely filled with low-income housing is located not far from the Bayshore Mall in Eureka. So, a Wal-Mart store would be as popular and affordable to folks who need alternatives as it is in Fairfield where local businesses have died and the economy is an absolute wreck.

The folks who shop at speciality stores, locally-owned stores, in Fairfield aren't the folks filling the Wal-Mart parking at 10 p.m. most nights. So, I imagine that
small businesses in Eureka would keep their clientele and that folks who can barely afford toilet paper and dog food, let alone a DVD for their kids once in awhile, would consider Wal-Mart, Target and other chain stores that might be alive up there.

Obviously, those people who own or have reason to support small businesses are going to fight Wal-Mart. Heck, they're fighting the idea that Best Buy might move into town. They'll try to sell the idea that Trader Joe's or Cost Plus World Market would somehow help Eureka's struggling economy everybit as much as something like a Wal-Mart.

People who would shop at Wal-Mart, maybe get a job because they'll take what Wal-Mart pays and live with the sketchy benefits, don't really have a voice. For whatever reason, they don't have much time to spend online debating the merits of locally-owned businesses in a town where the mall that was supposed to save the economy is standing nearly vacant.

The Wal-Mart superstore in Fairfield is busy all the time. Regular folks are in their shopping for things they, often, couldn't afford elsewhere. I imagine lots of kids are wearing school shoes purchased at Wal-Mart, for instance. The Fairfield market clearly demands a Wal-Mart.

Up in the Humboldt County, the folks with the most juice seem to like the idea of keeping things as they are. Local business owners and folks who buy their shampoo at a speciality shop can afford to live in what many insist is God's Country -- and look down their noses at people who'd shop or want to work at Wal-Mart.

That's unfortunate because God's Country wasn't intended only for people who want a certain type of business, a limited amount of pricing competition and the ability to pass judgment on chain stores that could help their neighbors get by and live a little bit easier.