Hadley Hoover’s latest book,
Hidden Crossing, contains an economic
development scheme that’s really ingenious.
Hoover is the Minnesota woman
featured in a Journal article last fall when her first book, in what is
becoming a North Dakota trilogy, was published. Hoover spent part of her
childhood in Wildrose. Both novels are based in the fictional town of
Prairie Rose, North Dakota.
Though Prairie Rose is inspired
by the real Wildrose, some of the things that happen there stretch the
imagination. Prairie Rose is a little bigger and a little more populated
than Wildrose, so it’s plausible that a nationally ranked golfer could agree to
participate in a charity tournament there. In the book, this coup is
pulled off the only way it would be here—the golfer’s wife is an old friend of
someone who lives in town—now that’s realism.
If the real Wildrose can
attract 10,000 people to town for a fireworks celebration, there’s no reason
the fictional Prairie Rose can’t hire a roving crew of security and clean-up
men called the "Caravan Crew" to handle the crowds generated from a
golf tournament.
How many townspeople wear
themselves out and miss all the fun because they have to work at these big,
small town celebrations? If there were a caravan crew available, small towns
from Fortuna to Flaxton could hire them to move tables, peel potatoes or do any
number of chores that typically fall to a handful of overworked residents every
time there’s a Jubilee, Centennial or All-Class Reunion.
While the caravan crew is
seasonal, and there’s the question of how a small town would pay for the
services of such workers, another of Hoover’s plot devices is even more unique,
and maybe, more plausible. At first, the idea struck me as completely
unbelievable, but the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became.
One of the characters in
Hoover’s book sets up what is called the "Saturday Store." He
buys an empty storefront, guts it and hires local contractors to put new
sheetrock up along with some basic store fixtures such as shelving and display
racks. He contacts specialty stores from larger cities asking them to
bring a selection of goods to town each Saturday. Five percent of all
sales help to keep the store open.
Crazy? Not in Hoover’s
Prairie Rose.
The developer is careful to
invite stores offering merchandise that is not in competition with local
retailers, and in the book, at least, the excitement and traffic generated by
the "Saturday Store" stimulates business up and down Main
Street. In the book, people come from near and far to patronize the new venture,
rather than heading to Minot or Williston.
As I was reading the book, my
initial skepticism turned from "It would never work," to "What
if it could work?" What if stores in big towns could be persuaded to
give the idea a try? I’ll bet there are any number of products people use
around here that are simply not available in Crosby.
How many women, for instance,
use Estee Lauder, Lancome, or some other department store cosmetics and will
not be happy with anything else? A quarterly visit from Marshall Fields could
handle that. How many teenagers insist on name-brand jeans? Would a
"Gap" or a "Tommy Hilfiger" outlet be willing to haul a
selection of teen togs to Crosby for a single-day free for all?
How about a "Saturday
Store" filled with Rubbermaid goods, from small trashcans and storage
containers to large outside garden storage sheds? Or the entire line of Fischer
Price toys? Yes, there may be some local stores that offer part of a product
line, but wouldn’t it be worth the experiment to see if a specialty store’s
visit actually boosted sales at other businesses?
How about a selection of ladies
handbags? Shoes? Fine jewelry? Think back to the last time you would have been
more than happy to buy something locally, but it wasn’t available. Our
small town stores do a remarkable job, but our small population simply can’t
support a full-time venture offering a full line of every item we might some
day need.
Wouldn’t the main floor of the
Penney building be perfect? Maybe it’s a pipe dream, and maybe it wouldn’t be
worth it to the out-of-town stores. Anybody game to give it a try?
Among the many things that are already available in Crosby are Hoover’s
books. You’ll find them at J. Co. Drug.
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Hidden Crossing
