I grew up in California, one of the last states to get Walmart. While the first Walmart opened in 1962, it didn't reach the Golden State until the 90's. I was a young teen the first time I walked into a Walmart after they had finally built one in our area. Friends from other states had made Walmart sound like the Disneyland of department stores. Spoiler alert: it isn't.
I mostly grew up going to Kmart. They had everything we needed. It was always a pleasant experience there. As a little girl, I liked looking in the toy aisles, understandably. As I grew up, I gravitated toward clothes, shoes and shampoo. Kmart had it all, including memories of going shopping with my family. Often, we would go run errands on Saturday afternoons. We would have spent all morning playing with our neighbor friends out of doors, carefree and happy. Mom and Dad would get us into the car, and we'd go to Kmart. We'd browse around the store while our parents would get the needed items they had come for (and usually more than that as well!). We were a happy family, enjoying being out together, knowing the next day we'd be in church with our closest friends. Life was pleasant. We were content. Kmart seemed especially magical at Christmastime. They would put out their fake trees, and play Christmas music. Mom and Dad would often be there buying our presents, and trying to distract us into other aisles!
When I was in junior high, we got Walmart in our town, and also a new Target (we already had Target in the state and general area, but not as conveniently close as this new one was). Target went from being once or twice a year to our regular "go-to" store. In fact, the first week we had our new Target open, our family went there every day!
Target, I liked. I would still go there, were it not for their bathroom policies (my husband and I sighed a petition in 2016, and won't go until/unless they change their bathroom policy). I always liked the feel in Target stores, and their quality products. I liked the environment, the way I felt while I was in there. It felt like a family store that had stories to tell. Walmart, on the other hand, always struck me as kind of generic. I'll go there, but it isn't my favorite. It isn't a particularly fun store to go to. It's okay. In many cases, it's convenience. The prices aren't bad. The service is usually pretty good.
These other stores kind of overshadowed Kmart in our town. People were enamored with Target and, to a lesser degree, Walmart. Kmart sort of fell by the wayside. For a couple of years, we didn't go to Kmart as often (still went, but just not as much as we went to Target). But right after I graduated from high school, I saw an ad in the newspaper for a shoe sale and Kmart, right when I needed new shoes. So...I went...and fell immediately back in love with my old stomping ground. It was like an old friend. It felt a little like stepping back in time, to a simpler part of my life. Back to the days of Saturday outings, and contentment. Life can become complicated as we grow up, and Kmart reminded me of the joy to strive for. From then on, I became a loyal Kmart shopper once again. I actually like their women's clothes and jewelry much better than either of their competitor's stores.
Perhaps the very thing that I love about Kmart stores (all of them) is the very thing that has hurt their business. Their consistency and nostalgia factor. They haven't kept up with the times as much. Or perhaps, more accurately, they were left behind in the dust. They still sell updated clothing and products. But walking through their stores has more the feel of walking through a departments store in 1988--during my happy childhood days. The association is so strong for me that walking into Kmart makes me feel good inside, and immediate euphoria. My hometown of Riverside, CA had four beautifully-kept Kmarts not long ago, and I would go to them regularly.
The last few years have been hard on my favorite store. More and more are closing. Two of the Riverside Kmarts closed, and the third is slotted to close in the next month (which would leave only one open in my hometown). We lived in South Dakota for a few years. Our closest Kmart was in Sioux City, Iowa (the nearest larger city to us, about half an hour away). Sadly, the Sioux City Kmart closed, leaving the closest Kmart in Cherokee, Iowa--over an hour's drive away (I still went as often as I could). We just moved to Albuquerque in August, and the Kmart here closed a month later (we got a lot of things we needed at their closing sale). Yesterday, I just had to have a Kmart fix, so I drove the hour north to Santa Fe, where there is a Kmart. I had a blast, but was told by a cashier that they live in dread that their store will close, like so many others have. I hate to admit this, but the future doesn't look good. I find myself sadly wondering if the entire chain will disappear, becoming a byword for a once-mighty business gone to the dogs.
I know I'm not the only person who loves Kmart and doesn't want to see it fold. Revelation 3:2 says, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die." This is part of why I give them business whenever I can. It's like voting, I can't do much, but if we all do it, it can make a difference. I am sure there are many people like me, who have memories and stories from Kmart.
Kmart is just one of several things I try to hang onto. Things that matter to me, carry memories, and make me feel the safety of another time...things that are in danger. On the point of death. Forgotten and lonely. A church I grew up at and loved became this way. Corona Heights Baptist Church. It died completely by the time I was high school. Losing it was very hard. All I have now are the precious memories that I can thankfully still share with good friends I had from there. This is really the key to my happy memories of childhood, and everything I associate with it. Like Kmart.
Several other places made me happy and then went out of business. Borders Books, B. Dalton, Bob's Big Boy (which has made a slight comeback, but isn't doing the greatest), and Mervyns were a few places I loved to go, and have many happy memories in.
The Carousel Mall, in San Bernardino, California, died a slow death. Growing up in Riverside more, we went to the Tyler Mall, which is still going strong, but I was aware of the Carousel Mall. Part of their problem was that they were only a mile from the more successful Inland Center Mall, also in San Bernardino. There was some poor management as well. At any rate, the Carousel Mall officially closed in 2017. In the early 2010's, I would go there often, walking around the near-vacant mall. I could just feel the stories and memories there. Lives lived. Families going Christmas shopping. Nervous men proposing to ecstatic women. Friends "hanging out". They had originally had three anchors, Harris, Montgomery Wards, and JC Penney, closing in 1998, 2001 and 2003, respectively. By the 2010's, there were about twelve or so stores still open, and I gave them so much business. I loved their little Chinese restaurant. When I got married, Walter and I got as much of our wedding stuff at this mall as we could (my engagement ring, having my wedding dress altered, getting my nails done for the wedding, etc.). We got good prices on these things, because they didn't get as much foot traffic, and were willing to charge much less (the engagement ring was 1/5 of what we were quoted for a similar ring at the Tyler Mall). We also got the personal touch of their gratitude. They were just hanging on, and appreciated that we thought of giving them our business for our engagement and wedding. They were delighted to be part of our story.
My point in all of this is to hold onto what is precious. Everything in this world will one day end, and only what is eternal matters. People matter. Relationships matter. Churches matter. Lives matter. Hold onto those things. Don't give up. Don't let go. Don't jump ship. Kmart is a store. No store will last eternally. But the memories from that time in my life are eternal. Time with family. Time soaking up God's goodness, and being content. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning..." Zechariah 4:10 says, "For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice..." Let's remember these small, forgotten things. Things that are on the point of death.
