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OUR HERITAGE VERSUS A BIG BOX
VIEWPOINTS, 6/14/09: The Wilderness battlefield--Ferry Farm--Wal-Mart battles, by Bill Beck
Date published: 6/14/2009
THE THREAT of While every effort was made to influence the Stafford County supervisors, we quickly realized that our best hope for success was to force the corporate heads of Wal-Mart to see the damage they were doing to company image. By timing the announcement of their plans shortly before George Washington's birthday they revealed an utter lack of sense of history and also provided us with an enormous opportunity. On Feb. 22, 1996, the "Today" show did a live broadcast from Ferry Farm. Cessie Howell, her Labrador retriever at her side, discussed the value The show was the beginning of a barrage of media coverage that included The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Fortune magazine, CBS, CNN, several D.C. and Richmond television and radio stations, Nickelodeon, and a letter in The Wall Street Journal. The Free Lance-Star provided superb coverage and powerful editorials. Through it all, the Stafford supervisors held firm in their support of the Big Box. While the 2009 Wilderness campaign against Wal-Mart is getting national publicity, I sense it is not as comprehensive as that which Ferry Farm received. I doubt that this means the Civil War is less compelling than George Washington's youth. My fear is that it is a symptom of weariness on the part of those who care deeply about our heritage. The majority of the Orange County supervisors seem to share the myopic mind-set of the 1996 Stafford supervisors, most of whom never won another election. Far too many local politicians allow their thirst for new revenue to block any thoughts of sustainability, quality of life, or issues of national significance. This is despite the fact that a broom bought at Wal-Mart is simply one not sold by another local store. How will the 2009 Wilderness battlefield campaign end? I hold little hope that the county supervisors will rise above the temptation of the fast buck. Having shown no interest in dialog with preservationists and adjacent landowners, it seems unlikely they will show regard for future generations. The guns of the Wilderness need to echo in Bentonville.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 6/14/2009
Unbelievable
(posted by
FormerVirginian
, June 16, 2009 6:03 pm)
Translation: I want people to pay higher prices to subsidize less efficient retailers. I would rather people pay more for a limited selection of outdated stock than have Wal-Mart in town and everyone then have more disposable income.
Beck must go! Out of downtown now!
(posted by
mbarker12474
, June 16, 2009 5:19 pm)
Beck's Antiques should be picketed and forced to close. It is a travesty that Beck is allowed to operate his pretentious boutique on sacred historic grounds, in the heart of beautiful downtown Fredericksburg. Only the top 1 percent of rich can afford to by the overpriced furniture stocked by the elitist Beck. There is no societal good in allowing Beck to run his ostentatious business on this hallowed site. Beck must go! [/sarcasm off]
one shopkeeper blasts another
(posted by
mbarker12474
, June 16, 2009 4:56 pm)
This is just sweet. The sanctimonious elitism is just too much.... Here we have one shopkeeper, Bill Beck, who operates a business in antique furniture and old books on an historic site, telling another shopkeeper, Wal-Mart, that the latter is a dastardly fiend for having the audacity to set up business in a tiny, tiny, tiny corner of an historic location. Then the elitist Beck declares that he knows better than millions of Wal-Mart shoppers where they should buy their merchandise. Arrogant liberalism.
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