takes a second.

Okay, now it says it's recording and that's that little thing up there, and so from time to time I get nervous, especially right after you say something great and i'll see still recording is it still recording.

you'll be free of that tension.

Okay i'm monique lillard and i'm an interviewer for the University of Idaho libraries oral History project concerning the video store in downtown Moscow Idaho.

Today is June 25 2021 and I am sitting here with three of the four members of the family, I think we're going to get the fourth Member into talk sometime very soon, we hope.

They are going to introduce themselves in just a moment.

In fact, you know what i'm going to have you do is i'm going to have you introduce yourselves and at the same time, maybe you could tell me that you have signed the waiver.

Okay, but that way you pronounce your own names i'm doing this with everybody, including people with names like john Smith, because Lo and behold whole bunch of people pronounce the names differently from the way I thought there pronounce the last 30 years.

All right.

You can adjust this get it where you want it, and then you can.

You can say who you are say that you've signed the.

The waiver and then, if you look, I think you were all your own mainly customers of the video store so good.

them I signed a waiver, and I was a customer at the store, as well as sorted through many of their DVDs of the Community.

And Annemarie full, for I was a customer at the store and I find my way for.

me around the link on the customer at the store and also sign the waiver very good alright sorry when angry and see.

How and when did you first find out about the video rental store in Moscow, and can you describe those early experiences and then, as they move on, through the years the free to stay with everybody.

I think we moved here when he moved here in 1994 and, at the time, everybody had a.

Visa is required, yes and and it was just natural you just assume that there was a video store in town and we've come from Davis, and we used to.

Like to go to a local store rather than one of the the chains, and so we we start out with whether there was a local business in town renting out movies yeah, I think, from our views as well as.

Those a store near jack in the box and those are the two places I went especially that first year right, and in that first year.

I wasn't living here yet so Neil was so when I came my just tended to go to the same place where I started, going so I don't I never really rented anywhere else.

Maybe went to blockbuster or whatever the other name of the video store in the safeway mall a couple of times, but they probably couldn't find what we wanted to tell us.

What was special about Howard Hughes when you remember the store you described it.

It was it was located at the time of the corner and Washington right and so what's the entire Howard Hughes.

empire yeah.

and

So you can go there and you could shop for.

A dishwasher or French movie.

But I.

I had to say this, it doesn't sound wrong, I mean it was always a clean store but it just had more of a homey feel, not a to.

Clinical feel like like many.

Trains do where they are everybody looks the same so.

I just thought, more focused on the convenience, because it was so cool, because just downtown and close to our place so you could.

walk home if you wanted, or is it very short drive drove there and they had most of the movies, I wanted to see, and so I know when we.

started watching the sopranos we were able to get episodes usually, when we wanted them not have to wait forever, and so I think it's really an HBO because that was right that was expensive, but we could we if we were willing to wait.

We could save a lot of money by renting.

The TV TV the vhs or the DVDs eventually.

TV shows.

Monique Lillard: And I know thinking about the transition and I don't recall, they must have continued to carry vhs is for a while, after DVDs became popular because I was being on what I and didn't want to buy something new, when we had all these vhs tapes and and so.

We must, been able to.

Continue getting movies and series yeah I think part of the deal was that the appliance storage so DVD players and video players and DVD players and you remember all that other.

There were.

More BLU Ray came after DVDs but there were things that look like records.

was just so I don't think this is, of course, there was a while before there was vhs, and so I think that was the link between the appliance store and.

selling us the movies yeah so how often and and then eventually your beautiful family came in and how often would you go to the video store.

We went quite often.

right we we would we would buy some some vhs but some things I get Disney was still releasing movies, you know every seven years, so if you wanted your.

Child to see a classic rock I have a very distant memory of that like maybe once every couple weeks you'd let me and I read one thing each.

So that is regular right.

And, and that reminds me, we also would get videos from the library, because we wanted to encourage children going to the library and we we get books and.

Then we're building it.

Last time i'm interested to get a book about a library they wouldn't give her a library cards.

The public library yeah.

Did you know that many books on tape I have.

gotten a couple of books yeah on CD from the ui library i'm afraid many yeah I started getting movies from i've got a few movies from there, towards the end of the time, as I.

Remember, we remember we we get teletubbies for our all the time at the libraries I don't know, maybe Howard Hughes didn't have the teletubbies or maybe because if you're renting the teletubbies every week, you can run a.

library worked well, but.

When can we often would you often go in as a family of four of you, or just the grown ups or just one or one come farmers market day right we went.

When when I was a kid and we would go to mass, we would, as a family go get down that's translated into family we begin a farmers market and then go to Howard Hughes or.

Maybe pick up a movie.

What did you think of the collection, so you kind of talked about it, I liked it, it was pretty broad day.

It most often read about a movie I could find it there, so.

And I think Howard Hughes started.

doing the the employees PICs and I always enjoyed looking at those and see what they liked and maybe there was someone who's tastes intersected with mine, and I think there's um.

yeah that's like.

Monique Lillard: Okay, so i'll ask each of you, and then move over what was your favorite section of the store, you might have different answers so.

I think drama and then copy that over and I liked the the war section of the lesson trial I love watching movies, like the battle of Britain or midway, and so they had a pretty good collection.

I would probably be filming or and then, as the kids are getting older, I transition to the TV section, because I mean that was that was the thing that was so great about Howard Hughes and and Main Street video was a collection of TV shows and.

Remembering that hungry when we started star trek the next generation seven six or seven yeah.

So yeah that was required viewing all.

star trek the next generation.

hello, no.

No it's just I slept so i'm gonna remind myself, not to do.

So then tell us your earliest memories now and resist the store on Chris and Washington, or the other store and my earliest memories was when it was.

crossing the Co op, but I can barely remember that, and I think at that time, you would have been giving me like animated Batman and Superman cartoons and that's the earliest I can I can actually specifically remember that So those are my group members of the store.

Okay, what do you remember from a child's perspective, how itself walking in.

i'm I mean i'm sure they were just like all right go rope.

Be walking and does, I think I was just thinking really to the kids corner and then I think, as I got older as exploring more to comedy TV sections.

store was organized I mean I feel like when you went in.

The extra section was to the right.

Behind the curtain behind the curtain.

But I am not i'm not for sure on that, but I remember, because this is a good sign.

kids hey you can roam wherever you want, but you're probably not interested in this area.

So transition to the location on Main Street good memories of the transition, well, I maintain that I moved at least one box, because I ran into real Franklin downtown and they were they were carrying boxes so i'll claim that I can move one box, but.

that's about it, I mean I liked the new location was a little farther away, but was I thought great that it was on Main Street and that's where the storefront was and.

I feel like it was bigger and maybe i'm wrong, but maybe that's just a recency bias, but I felt like it was a larger space and they can have been tori.

I feel like it was.

Better lead and I don't also don't know if that say that my boss may remember the old location, it seemed really small, but that is a big deal yeah.

yeah.

I think in terms of square feet, the old location and, and I mean the old location was first something small and then it expanded to really quite a big floor so it was a senior however they had more.

video cassettes what's the word when we call it just vhs tapes and those are bigger right and so that's that's an interesting that that's that those are your presence.

To talk about.

So that's interesting tell it felt better than it was did you have concerns about the parking and how to return the videos or i'm going to call videos and TV.

We were, I remember, and we have always been.

Good users of the co op parking lot and if we were running if we were shopping and returning a movie we would park in the parking lot and one of us would go in.

To the Co op and the other would run the movie So you can see, we didn't want to be seen as using the Co op parking, but it was a it was an issue if you were just running down in your car to return something.

You are always walking so yeah no oh yeah and we use children to.

decide when to walk this down.

All make sense.

see your reference Neill Franklin we had a long interview with Pat, and of course meals wife, of course, but since this is for this video, I just wanted to say so Neill Franklin was a professor at the law school where.

Now the honorable sending hill attendance and and reform for attended and currently works so.

When is your title assistant Dean for career development there we go, yes, yes, so that's the whole connection there just to make that clear all right so.

Oh, going to the new store, what are your memories of them after what we covered the main street store, I mean, I think the prime time that I was going there was like ages eight to 12.

Mainly summers I walked down with them a lot me your sister yes fourth number.

i'm out I blink a lot of that just too.

Late elementary school, like, I think that that aid my favorite category would have been going to like the comic book section something that's what I think about first what their age.

And then you continue to go there through, I think, even in the last few years we've been renting.

Right, they were thinking game of thrones continuing with the TV and not paying for HBO yes.

My virtual.

well.

At last.

Last oh man yeah next time there's winter and somebody's got a cold or something serious yes it's clearly the series to watch, yes, when we you you when you wanted to run game of thrones you were 16 yes, this would have been early junior year so yeah.

20 2013 we reveal our scandalous parenting.

them on the watch game of thrones and.

So, like okay.

And he went down to Howard Hughes to rent it and then I got a phone call and they're like.

i've been detained.

You still have the.

Main Street and.

We you know, we have been here who says that he has permission to read game of thrones but he's not on your characters having permission to.

They have there was a rating system for some of the TV shows Do you remember that I had to get my permission, so that you could yeah right game of thrones I think i'm going to do that, like once.

You were on the.

nose.

is gone.

So.

Do you think the store was important to Moscow and so how so.

Well, first there was basic level, I think it was important that to me that we have video store because we hadn't started using streaming services, I I I like I like what I know and so.

Right and.

And so, just to have the store was important, and then I think it was really important that it was a Community store and we have.

You to think about others, but at the forest, I recall, making sure that it happened, and so I thought it was wonderful that the Community has rallied around and show me interesting and and keeping the store right yeah right we leave where.

You Member owners co op yeah and it was it was a place to run into.

Here round Robin to a friend that apart from saying hi they might give you a recommendation and.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: And I remember, we used to.

Look, for movies, that we were interested in that we liked and wanted to own so when they were because to rent movies, they buy several copies, and then, as the hub of died down, they would sell off extra copies show reading by movies yeah every time I go there for that.

How about from your point of view, what What did the story into Moscow, I think, like a lot of summers am and I would just spend a day just walking downtown because I would have been.

Like nine and she would have been 12 or 13 so we just walk downtown and grab lunch and then go to the store and explore for a little while.

And then head back home, maybe watch thing, so they occupy their time I think on summers which it was always fun right that's right because you were free range children, yes, right now, it's called free range.

What how long in high school, so you graduated from high school in 20 2020 that's right, of course, he's a covert graduate college and graduate democrats, for the record store closed in February, March I think there's a lot of 2020 so.

It closed for good literally, the day before the governor shutdown started that started on Monday and closing on a Friday, so, but just going a little bit back from that so when you're in high school.

Video store play much into the entertainment of Moscow highly I can't speak for others, I know I had a friend who work there, at least.

But I often watch freaks and geeks at the beginning of the school year and that's been taken off the netflix I was like well, I guess, I know where to go so even that I was still using it so for me how.

You can use netflix a nice cool yes something like yeah yeah but you did we had netflix yes by this but eventually we had netflix but.

that's still would have helped us with our soprano problem came up with a lot of things right um, what do you think was the most important person at the store and not necessarily a name but just what position, who.

I guess whoever was find the more.

esoteric films and and and it really had to find collection and I I won't pretend, I spent most of my time there, but if there was something that I wanted to find.

You can find that so someone who's doing a good job, getting those titles, it was very rare that that there was a movie that we read about and it wasn't there and and sometimes you could ask, and they would look into it in and get a movie you know it seemed.

Right well, not for us to buy but also affect have to read and maybe there'd be just one copy of it, but if it seemed like something that other people might read so yeah I would say the purchaser.

All right, and you were aware of the process of going cooperative and you were Members.

Any thoughts about the pluses and minuses of shifting from a private ownership, which was a group of people, including me a Franklin and happening and some others.

To this cooperative ownership again pluses and minuses or well for me, the first plus was that good men to storm continue to exist.

And I had the hope that if it were, because it was going to be uncooperative that it might survive streaming and if there were enough people involved that that it will hang on so.

Anyway, it was definitely.

type of business that.

People weren't starting a new and, as I hoped that it would be able to make the leap to.

A niche classic type of business and and stay open so.

The cooperative nature of enter your consciousness, no I wasn't I was not aware.

That co op could have done better and I asked that question without meaningless lane people that just sort of with an eye to something else going cooperatives, but.

I don't think so I liked it very much the way it was I mean event all of mine, so I there wasn't anything I wanted.

To do differently right and I really didn't know anything that was behind the scenes right and what's great, what do you think the store.

It could stream trees yeah.

So expand well if you, you know if it's.

you've been out gardening in your yard all day and you go in for a glass of wine or a glass of iced tea and you think I want to watch.

Trying to think of some of the dark victory.

victory.

Betty Davis classic but.

He you know if you search for it on streaming or decide to rent it via Amazon and you're sitting there with your beverage and your side.

You don't have to get up and go downtown.

So I wouldn't say the audit on that I think when i'm out, and I would go there, we didn't like renting a movie at home, I think we just have more fun walking downtown and actually going through all the stuff.

Good stuff well, I think, as we got older I would check out a terrific anywhere at Main Street.

I can understand why.

This is the.

spoiler alert.

i'm not gonna watch it.

was so close to where would you.

How would you find and would you find it.

me personally, I have we have roku so there's a search feature on roku and you can type in the name of a movie and it comes up and then it tells you.

Who all is streaming it and then it'll tell you comes with subscription so, for example, this with netflix you would see comes with subscription and.

And then you can press that and we just take you directly to netflix it's alright it's so easy you're taught me something I did not know I can I can go on Google and do it, I I have.

My roku does not work well it's almost constantly every other day, we have to unplug the whole thing to have this problem where the mouth and the words are different or with.

With our elders.

Right anything you have to upgrade.

word we don't use it ourselves.

But I mean I don't always find the movies, that I want what I do that search and.

All the content and I am averse to pay more, I don't want to rent it from Amazon I don't mind reading it from a from a DVD store movie stuff store but there's Courtney that doesn't want to pay Amazon, or whoever, right now, I mean we're already doing.

That, why do we need to read so because we have HBO now and we've got Alex and season of HP and game of thrones came out so we were forced to get each year when.

We do the good work is the stores gone and I found the series to watch and we're paying for it so yeah right yeah no, I know I might I might get with.

My son louie for some reason he dislikes Jeff bezos, and so I don't do Amazon prime because he is so strict about this kind of thing and then I think he does it all the time i'm not sure i'm aligned.

To adopt a standard.

Okay, so how did you learn the video struggles closing and what were your emotions.

learned on instagram.

from home who posted from Main Street video I did not know that.

And i'm sure I learned from her, I would have to my boss at the Kennedy OK OK, and so that's where I wanted to move now is, can you describe those last days and the clearing out process from the store and then.

Getting a whole bunch of stuff in from the camera I think this is maybe then maybe you also have you visited a lot of what we're going.

To get to the.

Closing and I wasn't there for any of the boxes being moved from what I heard that employees that mainstream video just packed all the goodness.

All the DVDs were in the square plastic cleared up like okay cases and then there are actual boxes that were thrown into so they're all separate they're thrown into.

boxes and brought to the Kimberly and the aisles and stage or just live with boxes everywhere, and so we have a system that changed throughout.

But we'd have to type in each movies number, because it has a five digit number on album and then put the DVD box on the correct casing for it and then match them discard the arms, it was a long process, it just started the the cake cake.

I actually.

They know.

That Yes, they were sales so just so both if you don't mind do demonstrations, to show what the foxes look like and how that works.

So we'd have to pretend, these are the same movie this would be in a box and we just said, all the movie cases that we know belong with on top of it as the first step, and my boss would take.

This five digits of a focusing on this five digit number, I put it into the system and then, when it's ready, we would take them out of each case put it into the box and then discard them this case and this took.

The four months because there were 60,000 DVDs.

crazy I know they have.

In yeah they would be sorting also that we'd have to be putting these into the correct genre box so drama.

cult classics that there is everything and many, many boxes for this was added to the pandemic started right, yes, this started, we started doing this in April, I think, and ended in August.

But that's a plus as an employee because they can where you couldn't show movies, but to get to work on this.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: you're.

Right, so my home I work, I think I worked on a couple of days, our customers yeah I had all my.

friends.

and family.

To help with us, it yeah it was rough.

But in when looking back at it now those kind of fun, because we were just talking with each other, the entire time and it was at one point just muscle memory thing just going through everything.

Remember black currently we're talking.

To the right side, there was the area to go.

Yes, there was a box with.

A dog.

Yes, Ben stay with mathematics, do not want it.

Under 18 year old.

So do.

You think.

We, there are some of the CEOs from the cameras because they operated there's something else, because you get them in this genre box and then somebody must have type those titles, because I don't want to get access.

I was, I think I was in a depression and i'm so mad because I missed getting some things I really wanted, but I know they type things, and then they would.

Provide shower we got all the time I wasn't doing actual sales that was on my boss, and everything sometimes i'll be working chip and.

Someone named Craig will be 11 to pick up his box of movies, so, then I just go over with him and then hand it off.

Who would pick the movies let's say because I remember, they would they would send something out on instagram or.

Facebook and and, and so it say okay we're really seeing comedies and all comedy it's like musical comedies we have written yeah, and so they you know go to Lincoln bio and you would go and then you would see.

Basically, an excel spreadsheet list, and you would add the five digit number five digit number, which is all wrong right.

And you would, and so you would write you would write down your five digit codes for each movie that you wanted, and then you would submit it to the kenworthy and.

They would say okay I I got your order and these five are available and these three are not because it was our first come, first serve so then somebody had to.

pick those movies, out of the.

racks I mean they were just racks and racks of.

The white right there yeah.

In the genre so somebody had to go through with a fine yeah he says we kind of have them in an order did our best and yeah and then you would go to.

The kenworthy in the box with your name on it would be a red flag that you made to get like these are the movies, this person wants so it's but have all the numbers written down on all of them, so i'd have to.

try to find the genre go through the box find the movie with that number, because they can be multiple copies and then put it into this person's box if they're taking home boxes was anybody mad or.

i've ever come across someone went like oh I didn't get the movie I wanted it lets me.

Know cannot find so.

yeah the 1972 that's another one, we might all when you when you bring up this one will give you that oh oh.

Oh, you own it now okay.

yeah that was another thing then we'd get like a taste for these movies, and then we.

Practice them because, even if you hadn't come.

Oh, I want to get parasite where that is so, when we eventually came across it like weeks later, and how does one.

get paid in movies ever.

That was kind of like I mean what was that what was that thing I got actually paid yeah yeah.

I think it was OK there's like a line of who got choices and I don't know who was first was not be it may have been second like along with the other employees.

So that because we're they're working it's like oh.

yeah and there was a because there were some movies that were set aside for the libraries yeah and there's a criterion collection.

was kept the idea is that right.

It was yeah we raised there were some duplicates but we learned that would be the rock it's part of the.

Page to get that into the crunch right, I mean the fact that you don't know what it is we did.

there's lots of bang noises okay.

All right.

Monique Lillard: Do you think it can really kind of again, this is not a blame thing and it's not an i'm not volunteering to have done this by any means, but what if they auctioned the movie you think I would have been some excitement about some of them.

For sure.

I think so, yes, but also, it was a pandemic and these people were working so hard, I mean hours, I think Jamie was there, like 60 hours a week, just.

typing in the little five numbers, I mean.

It would have taken more bandwidth than was available yeah I mean it's I think in hindsight sure great idea but, at the time it was.

I mean I just remember Gretchen wizner they're like going through movies, and I mean become if you combine all the people will help to any point during the planning i'd say right for 60,000.

be contacting me on that, so I think.

that's fine yeah.

yeah I took many pictures i'll send you later, a little video I forgot what the auditorium look like we.

know and we you know we get that to the library that'd be great.

picture of you doing the final review oh.

that's wonderful.

yeah no I mean and just again for the record the pandemic, first of all, having done now quite a few of these interviews and thinking about myself.

Almost everybody's memory is really vague, you know, and I say to people, it was closed in March of 2020 they say, really.

You know and it's just even people who are pretty involved it's just there's some oddness of the pandemic and then we just didn't know what was happening, I mean.

In March, people thought that everything will be open in June at the latest and then here it is August and things are still happening so again asking this question about the auction it's just sort of.

Just a purely academic.

Agreement Dutch auction, for instance, I could just see people racing.

back and forth, you know, raising the bits of movies, they really wanted yeah I think that's just way too much going on over there, though we're just like right.

Where we were was it going to.

win the auction we've had a hell that line so that was that was still early days of how people were doing things, but the inventory where would the inventory be yeah there's.

room it, I mean it was the entire theater was definitely want to see the oh no, it was everywhere, like all the aisles the front, especially across see yesterday on feeds the balcony have some really my leg never we never saw that.

yeah my memory is just like oh that was last summer, but it seems like such a small thing but.

Not at the time of was months and months I collectively spent right days there but The thing is, I only spent like a fraction compared to a few other people there, but you see you finish school right you directly to my.

Colleagues, the first month and a half right like Jamie Christine bill made it way more than yeah.

Just so people can have Duffy I would, if I weren't out my own corner workout something I bet.

They fire up close where one.

A little bit of history there.

that's good that's good so more memories of that close down owner of the store that's I mean you guys will take those events all money remember it was shocked episode seven that's how I felt I felt like it was just.

Something I mean the pandemic and just barely been called it, the site.

And, and they said.

we're pulling the plug.

And we're donating everything to kenworthy and it was just.

said matter.

That was very sad about it, and I was glad that it that the videos we're going to the kenworthy.

But.

I mean, I guess, I still don't know what was going on behind the scenes, and I assume that the income have gone way down and it just wasn't sustainable so.

I don't know if I kick myself and not renting more by then, I was telling I move Louis in September so.

20 2019 so renting wasn't if we were to rent would be on the weekend and it wasn't practical for me, I can get things back in time so.

I really couldn't rent at that time.

Monique Lillard: and apparently are late fees were not enough to support the business.

Moving to sort of away from Moscow in particular store.

It I mean you think about the 20th century, when I guess was the birth of film and then movie theaters and then TV and then video stores, first the taste and the DVDs and other technologies, then streaming I tell me if i've left something out there.

And now, here we are, wherever wherever we are here in 2021, what do you think about the all those different forms of delivery of entertainment, what are the pluses and minuses.

I don't know if you've been to a theater now the injured open back up again yeah you know, and so, so we still got, I guess, we still got all of those except the video rental store.

What what again, what are the pluses and minuses of all those different forms.

But I really I do like going to movies, and I suppose on before the years out, I will start again yeah i'm not sure if i'm I think i'm probably good think i'll probably wear a mask when I go back.

Those people crushed it and they're.

Seeing right and yeah i'll be much more comfortable at the camera yeah.

The other one over there in the mall that had limited seating oh really Okay, yes, so that that wouldn't know because I mean there's nothing quite like going to the movie and being around other people and getting their reactions.

But I also really started to like the convenience of streaming and I, you know I i'm binge watching the wire now which I had never watched before and it's so easy so and and I can watch it down there, and most of them appear on the weekend I can I often don't watch it, but I can and.

yeah I mean growing up when we watch TV.

We had no control when we watched the show the show just was like it was at this time, and you saw it, or you missed it and then.

As time went on, you can record it and maybe watch it later, and that was that was a nice change and then maybe.

You didn't see a couple of shows, but you had your video recording it and you could watch two in a row, and that was fantastic and then streaming which shows dropping and you can see all episodes you know binge watching became.

Something that that happening and I.

I love binge watching.

But there was just something that the last big DVD rental is when Ben convinced me to watch game of thrones and it was spring break 2827.

or 2019 when you went to Seattle is winning team I think now i'm I was around it was spring breaking.

and

Ben and I were both.

yeah.

Road and I had some kind of a flow or something I don't want to.

Do, and so we would we would watch and.

Then we would rent our three three DVDs.

And then we take turns stumbling downtown to turn.

People.

infected people.

someone to take it on us.

But it was a goddess out of the House again it's moving yeah and.

I don't know.

Was it was just funny always remember that was very like on our Chair and couch just.

Are hot drinks yeah and I guess my fault that's my second last the last one being getting freaks and geeks because.

After been removed from at that time, all streaming services i'm like well I have our deeds to Moscow video cut back on the place to go when you're screaming versus failed yeah yeah.

yeah to save.

Money happiness funniest we're just the reason the store anything leaked to mine.

It does it doesn't have to do with renting any movies, this was.

A yogurt Tommy the intermittent when they started doing the where's Waldo hunts downtown.

I remember Howard Hughes being there the longest out of any other store because we just couldn't find him we're there for maybe half an hour.

start at the beginning and explain what where's Waldo yes, so it started in 2014.

And then I remember it was the 25th anniversary of all.

Right.

behind him and engines and some small bookstore started a let's celebrate the 25th anniversary of where's Waldo so they had like these little miniature cardboard versions in bell that big or so and hit him around 25 different local stores at small.

right but but it happened within the US, and it was yeah just.

Moscow, so they gave an area they give you like a little passport and you carry that around and once you find them in store and tell them floor he where he is you get stamped and so we're at.

Howard Hughes are lots of video or whatever it was.

And I remember Maybe it was the first that are set, because they started doing it, the next few years after because there's just so much fun, the first year so successful.

So I remember the first or second year just walking around the store for maybe half an hour, and now we can we can do this and then just finding him and it's just the most obvious spot.

So innovation.

posters in their.

Faith plan.

clear as day because we're all looking on the shelves, where we thought you would be there were several times, speaking of posters were you guys requested, so I don't know if it was for mainstream videos on our views, but they would we can really as well we do okay.

And that was the thing that mean the kids would request them and they wouldn't know for sure if they were going to get them that it was always a big deal to get one of the posters.

You got it as a feature that from 1030.

Monique Lillard: Anything I should have asked for anything you want to add.

Well i'm still sad that it's gone yeah I.

Remember, but I just liked the feeling of going in and you often have a goal, and I want to get X or y but.

You know those days you see something that you hadn't hadn't seen in years or that you've met to see for a long time and.

You just never knew what you're going to find any consult you know, as I go through HBO or netflix whatever I scroll through and and.

vacation will see something and watch, something I didn't plan to watch because there it is, but it was just so much, it was a better experience with all those titles and just do one sweet with your eye and you might see five things that.

You liked or want to see you don't if you can't replicate I can't recommend that.

story.

Monique Lillard: For that wasn't here that was it was.

It was in 90 it was thanksgiving week of 95 so Henry had moved up to Moscow and my parents live in portland at the time, and so those a year after Pulp Fiction came out.

And i've been talking with my parents on the phone and i'm my mother said sunita this book fiction, it should be watching I said oh I don't think you should watch that.

And I don't think I said it any more strongly than that but I thought it was strong enough.

And she asked a couple more times and then it was thanksgiving week and my mom color because the video store and block block but blockbuster had a sign saying we will always have fiction in if you ask for it, they must have had 20.

And so, she could she could walk away from the side or my warning and so thanksgiving when she called us we've rented Pulp Fiction and I said.

That I said okay call me when you watch after you watch it and my parents are both especially my mom.

Religious evangelical Christians, and so it just wasn't the film, they should be watching, but now I needed to know, and so I I must have called them the next day, and I said, did you watch it and there was a pause you said chichi chichi sunny why didn't you tell me not to watch.

But I knew that my my dad was primarily mosquito specialist but also Paris at all just and and there were always I mean he would tell parasites stories of the dining table there were scenes I mean knowing them I knew that there were going to be some seeds that they.

would have reacted to in in a in an interesting way as well and i'll go ahead and name the scenes So what about the scene in the.

In the pawn shop where Bruce willis is going from one weapon to a neck to the next, trying to figure out what to use didn't you think that was funny and my mother pasta know.

I came up with some other see I can't remember which one I said, well, did you think that was funny no and then I said the watch when Bruce willis tells the watch story, and you see who is in the Christopher Christopher walken come in and she passed, she said that what was soon bottle.

And you'll have to look for the watch.

This.

saw it would.

I guess, I just want to add at the at the new location, the main street location I love to the front door and the back door, I.

Thought and the return slots, which is amazing yeah in the alley really not fun when we walk to the Co operative.

But I love that you could go in either way I just like entrances, I guess, in a sense, but I love going in and hearing list keep listening for the movie they were playing.

and identify what am I right CBS around store playing the same thing right and trying to identify it as quickly as possible.

without seeing it or having to ask.

You this might be one more fun thing is that, behind the cancer, there is had a movie trivia question that if you got it right, you can put your name on her apple to get and if you Adrian name, you get your own shelf with your movie PICs that.

which I never want that.

list.

He picked it up oh actually.

I don't think I ever knew the answers to their trivia but i'll also say, because you mentioned and consistent exits there are several stores in Moscow.

Where they encourage you to walk through and the video store was one so rather than walk the long way around the block you could just cut through that store both people's another.

Night shots another and I actually sent to the people do you mind that i'm just walking through and they say, not at all I.

Look around it yeah I almost gave up, but especially the bookstore in the video store they i'm sure they got some business from.

The bike store they're just Nice, and you can just feel that they have.

You like that too.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: I know what I forgot to ask you, and this would be to every meal, did you ever go to the micro movie house yes.

I love the microphone but just a quick description of the micro just for the sake of it because.

I started to expand this into the micro little bit when I when I visited Moscow summer of 94 during the fire season, I took some days off to come up to Moscow to try and find an apartment to go and stop by the College and and ask if there is any can you do in my buddy john Lyons.

Was do for some days, he was also firefighter and he was at grateful and I picked him up there, we drove up and he said ui Grad and he told me you're gonna want to go there and I think it was a former firefighter who ran it and, and so there were such great movies there and.

Now, it was a huge shame when that close down and then to be replaced, but no offense to the tattoo world but be replaced with the tattoo parlor was just particularly painful for me.

I had an excellent massage yes, yes, so, so I should say the word church for their peers I can't draw my bring some other place.

yeah um I mean I don't know, maybe i'm cross remember it, but I just I feel like.

I think yeah I think you've been in church, but it's not where the places we went like for your first week of finalists are between your we did.

The day before my first final you came up to visit and we went and saw because I was living in California yeah yeah and I remember arguing, it was called the next day, and I said need to study music, do you need a break.

We went to the movie.

Anything else.

You know it's funny cuz most my memories are tied up now and packing everything oh yeah so that's perfect that's great yeah and i'll say with regards to the micro movie as the kenworthy is has more or less taken place as far as having niche movies and.

And so we haven't lost that although with us the atmosphere was such a cool place.

yeah yeah well i'll see this this well, we are still recording I actually said this to everybody, usually off the recording.

If you think of more things you want to say or suddenly think, oh no I said the wrong year, I said the wrong list or that, let me know we can correct it on the transcript or we can even do an additional recording, especially since Emma is going to come into you can all afford me here.

So that's all excellent, and thank you so much for your time, I think the end the recording unless there's something you want to add right now Okay, and then.

we'll ask our youngest member to be the tech guy and click off on the recording stop the complete stuff.

yeah okay great and then i'll close this.