Starting my 3rd year of living in mom's back room (I'm 44 years old)during the 5-day workweek and commuting 200 miles roundtrip on weekends to go home and see my wife.

Sick of it, but the small rural town of St. James and the surrounding area in southern Missouri just doesn't have a job I've been able to find in over 2 years that will pay our bills. Trying to get them down but everything keeps needing repairs. Over ten grand right now to fix all the plumbing and fix the walls and floor damage in the bathroom. Enlarging it and remodeling it while we're at it.

So, Wal-Mart is building a new centralzied Distribution Center (not a store) in St. James next year. Will employ 2-3 thousand people full-time. Full-timers get decent benefits I hear.

I know absolutely that next year, they want to hire ME. And I can move in with my wife full-time and commute 10 miles roundtrip instead of 200.

YEEEEEHAH!

-- Robert Addison (FarmerbobMO@netscape.net), July 31, 2000

Answers

Hey Bob! Hooooray for you! That sounds like a good deal. Wallyworld has a D.C. close to here. It's located at Olney, IL and employes a bunch of people. The wages are good but some of the work is hard. Not much tolerance for missing work, I hear. All in all, it is a big help to our local economy. Good luck and I hope it works out for you. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 31, 2000.

Jobs are good. Found an old metal lawn chair on the side of the road last week, it need to be refinished. I had $2 my pocket. Left the local hardware with $10 worth of paint and stuff. Try that at wallyworld. Walmart and HomeDepot have their place, but to save 4 bucks vs the traffic etc, support the local guy!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), July 31, 2000.

Hey Bob,it's great to read some good news!God bless you and your family.Hope it works out great. I have my own praise for Wal-Mart:just recently learned they are now carrying a special section just for nursing mommas! ~Tracy~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), July 31, 2000.

Amen on the nursing mama section Tracey! Love it!

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), August 01, 2000.

My future son in law's family drives trucks for Walmart; keeps them busy and well supported. He'll be working for his Dad, and one of their favorite sayings is, "buy Walmart!"

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 01, 2000.

I guess it depends where you live, Robert

There is a Wal-Mart about 15 miles from us that everyone loves. Ironically, when it went in, it totally destroyed a small strip mall about 1/2 mile away. Most of the employees there just transfered to Wal-Mart, so there wasn't much dislocation other than the small merchants that were swallowed whole by Wally.

Chardon, Ohio is the county seat of Geauga County. It is your typical turn-of-the-century mid-west county seat town. Very picturesque with several thriving small family owned businesses. Wal-Mart wanted to build there and got shot down so fast, the only unemployed people in town are the politicians that supported the move.

So Wal-Mart sniffed the air a little further south in Middlefield, where I live, and got a much better reception. That was, until the state highway engineers came in and told the town folk the required highway expansions, the number of homes that would have to be moved, property easments, plus bridge and culvert expansion, water, sewer etc.etc. The crash you heard was the sound of people's jaws hitting the floor when they got the price tag.

Don't get me wrong, Robert. I'm happy you found work and Wal-Mart has a lot to offer at great prices. Just don't try to build one in my neighborhood. I'll drive the extra distance, thank you.

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), August 01, 2000.

New Wal-Mart = small town business center dying out. Good bye to perhaps generations old small businesses. Just my opinion.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), August 01, 2000.

Robert, I'm glad you have a job---but I support Ken S. 1,000% I have been one of those small business owners that walmart did away with in several areas I have lived in! Along with many other friends who lost their businesses!!!!!!!! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), August 01, 2000.

I live in Sw WI near Prairie du Chien. Wal-Mart has been here since I moved out here so I don't know what happened before, but not they seem to co-exist with many small busnesses. The computer store in town just expanded and there are a number of small clothing and shoes stores in town,( but we still don't have any real restaurants! ) Wal-Mart is open 24 hours which helps a person like me with an odd schedule at work. I also have to thank them for donating the broken bags of pet food to my small Humane Society. Without the food donations I don't think I could afford to take in the abandoned animals and find them new homes.

-- dogs (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), August 01, 2000.

THANKS EVERYBODY!

Your posts were automatically sent to my e-mail and I responded by e-mail to most of them.

As my son would say, this Countryside bboard is waaaay cool!

-- Robert Addison (FarmerbobMO@netscape.net), August 01, 2000.

I always price the cost at "local" businesses (some owned by out-of- state folks actually) and places like WalMart and Lowe's. I have often found items for $70 at WalMart and $135 at the "local" place. Don't know about you, but since I have to drive 10 miles to get to any store, I can just as easily go to the ones that let my hard earned cash buy more. Its a matter of economics. Another example is the pressure canner I bought at WalMart....I paid $80, my new sister- in-law tells me that the one she wants, like mine, sells for $199 in the "green" company catalog she has. I can't afford that kind of mark- up.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), August 02, 2000.

I also like to buy locally. However, when I can get a fence charger from Jeffers, including shipping, for $20 less than basically the identical item at the local Co-op, I buy from Jeffers.

The businesses in the area which are staying open are basically those who don't compete with Wal-Mart. Shoe repair, custom frame shop, print shop, computer services, high-end clothing, restaurants, flooring, jewelry, law offices, tavern, tailoring, small movie theater, insurance, dentist, travel agency, real estate agencies and barber shop. Of three pharmacies, one went out of business. One is independend and the other in a Fred's (which went into where a RexCo (or whatever) went out of business. Sorry to see that happen since they had the cheapest beer prices in town.

When I bought my farm nine years there were only two local real estate agencies, now there are about one-half dozen, with the new ones being national franchises. Are they hurting the older ones? Yes.

Time to get off my soapbox on Wal-Mart. I just don't believe it has been an overall asset to this community.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), August 02, 2000.

Ken, I hear you. I was one of the ones signing and circulating petitions against the behometh called WalMart and Sam's Club. It came anyway. Each day I have to decide how to vote with my dollar. Just today I found another item that is cheaper on-line, even with shipping, than a local (30 miles away) specialty store. Yes, I will order on-line.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), August 02, 2000.

Did you all know that Wal-Mart is now the largest employer in the USA? It recently passed the federal govt. FYI

-- Melissa (bizemom@netzero.net), August 03, 2000.

We have a Wal-Mart Super store three miles from our homestead...

Wal-Mart has been in our county for about 20 years, opening the Super store four years ago.

There are some full time jobs with Wal-Mart here but it appears the majority of their workers are hired on a part time only basis so they don't have to pay them benefits...they also hire a lot of part timers during seasonal times such as Christmas and then let them go...

Lots of the folks who work here for Wal-Mart do it part time to supplment some other job they have. But good luck on your job. If they hire you full time that would be great.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), August 03, 2000.

FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T RECEIVE MY REPLY,

All your posts were automatically sent to my email, and I responded to each one by email reply instead of posting here

Several came back undeliverable, so if you didn't hear from me, then my email server wasn't compatible with yours. I did try to answer everyone.

-- Robert Addison (FarmerbobMO@netscape.net), August 03, 2000.

TO MELISSA, YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR SOURCES. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT THE MILITARY ARE ALSO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, I.E., THE ARMY, AIR FORCE, NAVY, MARINES, AND COAST GUARD (AND, I ASSURE YOU, WE ARE PRESENT IN MORE PLACES THAN WALMART)? THEN THERE'S THE MILITARY RESERVES. THEN THERE'S THE CITY/STATE, WASHINGTON,D.C.--THE MAJORITY OF WHICH IS FEDERALLY EMPLOYED. THEN THERE ARE THE FOLKS ON WELFARE. THEN THERE'S...AND... NOW, YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR NUMBERS. THE COMMENT WAS INITIATED EITHER BY A SMART POLITICIAN OR A STUPID WALMART EXECUTIVE--OR A CITIZEN TRYING TO INFLUENCE WALMART'S IMPENDING MOVE INTO HIS NEIGHBORHOOD, EITHER WAY. PLEASE UNDERSTAND, EVERYONE, THAT I SEE A NEED FOR EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES--IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT, JUST AN OBSERVATION CONCERNING FALSE INFORMATION THAT I BELIEVE THIS FORUM'S READERS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF. THANK YOU.

-- PAT O'BRIEN (ZUMENDE@AOL.COM), August 07, 2000.

Posting in all caps is considered yelling on the internet. Please don't yell at me I am sensitive.

Considering someone on welfare as a federal government employee is QUITE A STRETCH, or is it?

-- Ed Copp (edcopp@yahoo.com), September 30, 2000.