Aloha, everyone!
I'm really grateful to be a resident of the Walla Walla Valley, and I'm especially looking forward to contributing my share of good citizenship by spreading words of sincere appreciation for the wide spectrum of small businesses in the local area.
The rural sprawl of wineries and surge in small businesses have been responsible for bringing more traffic to our picturesque valley. Once known primarily as a wheat farmer's haven and a penitentiary town, Walla Walla might very well have remained just another mundane stereotype.
But thank goodness that isn't the case. In fact, the pride of southeast Washington has, in recent times, made quite a definitive statement. The proverbial mouse that roared, as it were, is making a name for itself...not just regionally, not just nationally, but on a grand global scale.
Which brings me to the point of this review. Like the initial wide swings of a pendulum, it's comforting to know that changes, even and perhaps especially good changes, can blend in nicely with and serve as complements to the longstanding, deeper, and secure roots that color the character of the local area.
The Country Store in Walla Walla is vital to this community in that it is a perfect resting spot for the wonderful memories previously stored in great-grandmother's trunk in the attic, or in the old red barn that looks like it could fall apart come the next wind that sweeps down from the majestic Blue Mountains, or on the antiquarian bookshelves of ivy-walled college as well as personal libraries.
For a mere pittance, enterprising entrepreneurs can rent store space for their beautiful old-fashioned wares, rich with area history. When their items sell, a percentage is given to the store, and the private parties pocket the difference. A great win-win scenario!
And the rest of us have at our leisure this wonderful museum of rural Americana that is simply jam-packed with vintage nostalgia.
We are so fortunate to live in this valley.
Thank God for The Country Store. Just as its very name suggests, there is great value in simplicity.
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