[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

And make sure the town is big enough to have a Wal-Mart.

I assume you're being sarcastic. "Wally-World" does nothing but decimate small towns....absolutely kills the local economy and the other mom&pop proprietorships.

I won't shop there unless I absolutely have to get something done or buy a product late at night. Can't stand 'em.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

I assume you're being sarcastic. "Wally-World" does nothing but decimate small towns....absolutely kills the local economy and the other mom&pop proprietorships.

I won't shop there unless I absolutely have to get something done or buy a product late at night. Can't stand 'em.

Not at all sarcastic. Far from it. Stillwater loves Wal-Mart so much that it has two of them. Yet, after that and the strip malls, too, Stillwater's downtown is not doing bad at all. A new bicycle shop recently opened there. Lofts are being made available to rent above some stores. If a town wants to do okay with a Wal-Mart or two, downtown entrepreneurs are simply going to have to open up stores that Wal-Mart wants little to nothing to do with such as used merchandise, bars, nice restaurants, furniture, professional services, like watch and clock repair, and so on.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Not at all sarcastic. Far from it. Stillwater loves Wal-Mart so much that it has two of them. Yet, after that and the strip malls, too, Stillwater's downtown is not doing bad at all. A new bicycle shop recently opened there. Lofts are being made available to rent above some stores. If a town wants to do okay with a Wal-Mart or two, downtown entrepreneurs are simply going to have to open up stores that Wal-Mart wants little to nothing to do with such as used merchandise, bars, nice restaurants, furniture, professional services, like watch and clock repair, and so on.

Sallisaw is a much smaller town than Stillwater, which is really more like a Suburban city (smaller version of Norman).

I'm sure Fort Smith is big enough to handle a Walmart (or two or three) without it affecting everyone else, but the point still remains for the smaller towns/areas.