These days, nearly every city of every size has some combination of well-known "Big Box" stores and smaller franchises. These businesses offer value and give us a sense of comfort when we travel. We know what we'll find there.
But downtowns offer something different - a sense of place, or at least the place that once was. Because many downtowns have lost their retail stores and have turned into service centers. That's OK, because we all need those services, whether they sell insurance, offer the latest hair styles, or dinner on the town.
We're lucky here, because our local downtowns have retained more than a smattering of retail, along with those essential service outlets. In Marinette and Menominee, you can buy a book, a fashionable sweater or handbag, a piece of unusual jewelry or a home decor item. The merchant you buy from is your neighbor, your friend, your friend's neighbor, or the spouse of one of your son or daughter's teachers.
When you buy from them you are ensuring that 68 cents on every dollar you spend stays here in the Marinette and Menominee area. It goes to other local merchants, to non-profits, to church collection plates.
It builds community - that sense of belonging to something bigger, in our case, a lovely little town that happens to straddle a state line.
True, downtowns don't do what they used to do: Give you a chance to see everyone you know out shopping. But they still retain that sense of place, that unique feeling that says Marinette, Menominee, Peshtigo or further afield.
So in these waning days of the shopping season, please visit our downtowns as well as other local retail outlets scattered around Marinette and Menominee. There's no better way to recapture the feeling we had as kids, the wonderful feeling of wishing Merry Christmas to someone you know who happens to sell dishwashers or bracelets or paint - or whatever.
And remember that shopping doesn't end on December 24!
But downtowns offer something different - a sense of place, or at least the place that once was. Because many downtowns have lost their retail stores and have turned into service centers. That's OK, because we all need those services, whether they sell insurance, offer the latest hair styles, or dinner on the town.
We're lucky here, because our local downtowns have retained more than a smattering of retail, along with those essential service outlets. In Marinette and Menominee, you can buy a book, a fashionable sweater or handbag, a piece of unusual jewelry or a home decor item. The merchant you buy from is your neighbor, your friend, your friend's neighbor, or the spouse of one of your son or daughter's teachers.
When you buy from them you are ensuring that 68 cents on every dollar you spend stays here in the Marinette and Menominee area. It goes to other local merchants, to non-profits, to church collection plates.
It builds community - that sense of belonging to something bigger, in our case, a lovely little town that happens to straddle a state line.
True, downtowns don't do what they used to do: Give you a chance to see everyone you know out shopping. But they still retain that sense of place, that unique feeling that says Marinette, Menominee, Peshtigo or further afield.
So in these waning days of the shopping season, please visit our downtowns as well as other local retail outlets scattered around Marinette and Menominee. There's no better way to recapture the feeling we had as kids, the wonderful feeling of wishing Merry Christmas to someone you know who happens to sell dishwashers or bracelets or paint - or whatever.
And remember that shopping doesn't end on December 24!
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