Monique Lillard: cord to the cloud takes just a second to kind of all right, I think we are recording my name is monique lillard and I am with the University of Idaho library doing an oral History project about the.

Video store that was in Moscow Idaho it was known as Howard Hughes video and excuse me, and then known as mainstreet video.

It is Friday may 14 2021.

And I am talking to someone, I want to first say, have you signed the waiver release.

Cody R. Moore: I have.

Monique Lillard: Okay, and can you state your name.

Cody R. Moore: cody more.

Monique Lillard: I right great and tell us what are your first memories of the video store here in town.

Cody R. Moore: When a boy I they go back I they're not the.

Just to be chronological I think they go back quite a ways I don't know how long that store has been in that location, but I am personally I grew up in pullman, and so I do remember going there.

Is a kid or something long time ago, but but more more to the point when when my wife and I decided to move to Moscow and make a career change to go to law school.

Video stores, one of the first sort of places that I stumbled into in downtown Moscow and it was one of the.

One of the unique features that made downtown Moscow so special to to a lot of us, myself included, so yeah I would go in frequently probably not not every week but but more than the average person and and get movies and.

And then, when we had children they're still young my daughter my oldest daughter seven, but when we had kids we would take them to the video store quite regularly, and so they had a little bit of a weird.

Experience you know they would they thought any more going to the video store isn't isn't a regular thing, but my my kids would ask their friends if they go to the video stores to and, of course, nobody did.

So.

Monique Lillard: Now, are you remembering the store.

On Main Street or the one that was on I think fifth and Washington across from the food co op.

Cody R. Moore: yeah so the very I do remember a faint memory of the fifth and Washington store.

a long, long time ago, I assume, but I, you know we didn't come over to give movies, that much so.

Monique Lillard: yeah so it's mainly the one on Main Street you're thinking of.

Cody R. Moore: yeah yeah yeah right downtown yeah.

Monique Lillard: What do you think of the collection.

Cody R. Moore: um.

yeah it's great I don't know what to say about that other than it was immense I mean later obviously we'll discuss I think I discovered, it contains 30,000 DVDs I had no idea was that large, but no, it was just so great it the.

Like any video store if you went to get a new release you might want to try to get there earlier or get there first but that wasn't the main draw for me, the main draw was being able to get older films and a you know great collection of.

sort of arthouse films and classics and westerns and in some foreign films as well, and so I actually.

that's mostly what we kind of consumed, and I, at one point I think a little notepad APP on my phone just to make a list of movies, you know, I was there and so i'd have about 25 to 50 movies in any one time because.

When you're in there when you're in there, there was a lot to browse through so I would take notes.

But yeah the collection was great.

gosh you know it's the fun atmosphere is good little Community store, you know I think I won the.

raffle once you know where you got to put your own little selection of movies up there, you know the homie little classic movies store where the general it seemed like the people in there to really sort of knew their stuff so it felt like a little bit of a.

You know, a movie story you'd see on on seinfeld show or TV or something.

Monique Lillard: Right so did you ever go to the other video stores in town.

Cody R. Moore: i'll never know loyal to no.

No, I.

I think growing up in Poland, I absolutely did I absolutely did I mean it was a.

yeah but not in Moscow so much, I mean we would just you know I would on the weekends and stuff and pulling out right down to strongest every weekend.

Monique Lillard: It was just a part of those kids.

Cody R. Moore: But not over here.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah Okay, and I was gonna ask you, your favorite section, but I think you just went through.

A lot of your favorites there are one that really stands out or.

Cody R. Moore: No, no, no, I.

I can't think of any know, as I said, though, I mean my late before it closed, you know the last few years were mostly on the weekends, I would bring a kid with me and they'd run around the store and pick some and I would pick some i'm just fun.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah so were you aware of the decision to for the group of individuals who owned the store.

When they started saying you know, we need to sell the store to someone and then that became the process that ultimately led to the Co operative being formed, we did that really into your consciousness were you part of that are aware of it.

Cody R. Moore: No, I mean, of course, as a.

As a person who pays attention you always kind of wonder, you know how does this business model continue to succeed without a lot of intentional supportive our Community, and so that was there, but.

I wasn't aware of anything behind the scenes until well never really until I got involved, from a legal perspective but.

But I was aware, when it was starting to move toward the cooperative but i'm sure at that point, there was already a lot lot done behind the scenes yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and.

What do you think.

This is sort of a general question, what do you think caused the demise of the store.

Cody R. Moore: well.

Of course, some of mine.

Some of this will be pure speculation, of course, but I think it's sort of a multitude of factors, I think.

The business model is a tough one it's outdated and it really takes.

People that you really have to kind of convince people that this is a better way to consume movies, and things than just clicking a button or on your phone or the TV so i'm sure that's a big part of it.

And and that's something that I tried to do I don't mean to go off topic here, but that.

is something that I loved to do, I mean we would try to get our own I had some I had a couple of accounts that I just had money on trying to get my employees to use it and try to convince you know there's any small business any local small business, especially.

serves several functions it's not just whatever the product or selling or service they're providing it's.

it's that social interaction and you know as a small business you'll often get to know the the people that run it in the owners and that kind of a thing.

And so there is something about getting out of your House, you know, on a rainy day or something going to movies story there's just something about it is a genetic why you just can't it's but it's there and it's undeniable and you kind of have to lead people to that.

And I certainly try but but that's in the end of the day, and maybe that's not enough and maybe the market just wasn't there um.

I don't think that's the entire entirety of it, though, because one thing that is great about Moscow in the downtown is there there's just one of every kind of store that doesn't exist anymore there's a toy store and a shoe clinic and a.

In all historic movie theater and record store tapes I mean there's they do still exist, these stores that are businesses that are pretty.

outdated.

And so, from my personal experience, which is derived from two portions one is a customer and one is, from what I witnessed when I got involved from legally.

I don't.

I think it was mismanaged and I think that you know there wasn't much marketing going on, I mean at a point I couldn't.

I couldn't just go on Facebook and see what new movies were there, and you know that's just kind of stuff that every small business has to be.

well equipped for and that's not a moral judgment on anyone involved, but that's just the reality that's that's what you have to do and those things weren't being done and.

When I got involved later, and we can talk about that, whenever, but when I got involved.

Legally, representing the building owner.

It became apparent that significant bills weren't just weren't being paid that the obligations weren't being taken care of and that's certainly not a good sign of a proper management.

it's it got to a point where they were so far behind that it was probably pretty obviously insurmountable and.

A well run business doesn't get to that point, there are conversations with the people they owe money to there are decisions that are made before.

The decisions is forced upon them by a lawyer or a building owner or whatever, and those things weren't done, you know, I think, I think, to a degree.

Whoever was running it that got it, you know there's volunteers involved so again i'm not trying to make moral judgments or anything like that, but.

But steps weren't taken to to sort of mitigate the.

You know, to sort of stop the bleeding early on, and I think that had more people been involved.

Had the Community.

Had the people in charge reached out to Community members that were vest that were invested that had means or or resources to try to maybe solve a problem, maybe it could have frankly I don't know if it would have but perhaps it could have been.

saved had some of those things happened and so it's obviously easy with in hindsight, to go back and say what you could have done, but I don't feel like it's nitpicking to say you know some things could have been done differently and the the organization cook them managed in a more.

professional manner.

Monique Lillard: Well, why don't you go ahead and tell us about your involvement and how.

How did you get involved in at what point and let's just say you're a lawyer so go ahead and describe kind of where you are.

Cody R. Moore: yeah Thank you.

Monique Lillard: Good one, of course, but yeah.

Cody R. Moore: Well, everyone I.

Hope you yeah i'm i'm a attorney here in Moscow near downtown Moscow from West progress more and I practice.

quite fair without breaking down the percentages.

civil litigation real estate and.

Some business type things but but civil litigation real estate or private majority of it and so it's not uncommon that will get a call with.

let's say a landlord, whether it be residential or commercial that has an issue with the tenant or vice versa, you know we'll get those calls.

And in January of 2020 we got a call a new intake and the way our intake system runs the front desk just emails it out after doing an initial conflict check to the attorneys and I just see video store.

Like not eviction but something to that effect and it's been i'm uh i'll say this with a little with my tongue just a little bit in my cheek but.

I mean it won't actually kind of hurt I just because because of my because of the because I love the store, you know, and so, but I thought you know i'm gonna you know what we'll talk to this person and we'll see and.

You know, even when you're representing one side you can still sometimes come out with a.

solution it's positive for the Community are positive for everybody that kind of a thing it doesn't always have to be you know daggers out, and so I I.

saw I was contacted by the building owner and the long and short of it was is.

The building owner had been paid rent and something like six months it actually, I think, been longer than that she had reduced.

They had reduced the rent to try to help the video store and maybe partial payments of a couple hundred bucks were being made.

And I think rent was something like 2000 so I mean just it wasn't it was adding up and, in addition, the the store owner also was one of the earliest the building owners, excuse me.

Also, so that sold the business to the video stores, so there was another obligation under that that was either do or coming to and wasn't being paid.

And so, initially, I gave some advice and without getting into too all those protected things and we gave the video store notice that they needed to.

become current because, frankly, in my experience, when a tenant becomes.

That far behind you know just in number of months, six months or so, you know behind in rent it does you know it becomes a problem unless they can.

quickly come up with a solution, of course, if they can quickly come up with a solution, why are they six months behind in right that's that's that's why I say that's why I said earlier, this could have been if the bleeding couldn't stop earlier, you know, maybe something could been done.

At that time, to do the building owner was also in a position where they needed to probably sell the building and it becomes difficult to sell a building with a.

With no one wants to buy a lawsuit or no one wants to buy a tenant.

it's not saleable, and so we provided them with a notice, I think the owner did directly under the lease I think there was a 60 day requirement to to say your rents overdue.

and

The expectation was that we would hear something that some conversation would occur to try to solve this problem, and I think that was in January and by the beginning of March, we hadn't heard anything, and so I sent a letter on March.

2 to the board President for the Moscow video co op effectively saying we sent this darn near 60 days ago we haven't heard anything this letters and attempt to implore you to try to you know, engage in some conversation.

Additionally, this building's been sold and we received a response back effectively saying like you know we're sorry that you don't feel we're communicating.

We have till 60 days um.

Well, we should have some answers on the next few days, but you know, again we haven't heard anything for six months, and then 60 days and you're not having a lot of confidence.

And so frankly I reached out to other I looked up who else was on the board and we reached out to the other board members and they quickly said oh gosh yeah here i'll talk to you and we understand the problem and and we started getting to work on on problem solving.

um unfortunately at that point, I from my experience the leadership for the for the co op was kind of a you know and they're the when I say leadership, I mean the volunteer board.

I think they were they didn't have the bandwidth they didn't have the numbers they didn't have the energy or the resources to or they just didn't have an idea of how to fix it and or the ability to fix it and so at that point.

You know, I think it felt a little bit like they were asking us what to do.

In terms of what do you want us to do and said well the building is going to be sold, and you know we want, we.

My client myself, nobody wants this just to like dissipate into nothing.

So let's try to figure something out, and you know you talk to your board, and please come up with something and I think at one point they were planning on doing like a sidewalk sale for for DVDs but there's 30,000 of them.

And so it just it just wasn't going anywhere frankly and.

On the other side of it, the buyers of the building were trying I can't speak for them, because I didn't represent them, but I believe they were even trying to be helpful at the point they were.

At a point I think trying to figure out a way if if the video court store could just stay there for another six months, while they figured it out.

But coven hit and impacted everyone's finances abilities, whatever in the building owners can no longer offer that and we in the video start kind of Mr window to try to capture on that and so um so.

I reached out.

i'm also on the board of the kenworthy performing arts Center and the movie theater that's a couple of doors down downtown Moscow and I brought this to the attention of my board.

Is a vague concept.

Because it was clear that my client.

needed to have the video store move at that point, let alone the $20,000 plus that was owed to them, but in order to close on the sale of the building, which really needed to happen.

It couldn't be full of all of this stuff, and so the kenworthy agreed initially to just be a good neighbor basically and and accept the movie so they could just be dropped off there and then you know figure out what happens after that.

And I think within the span of a week, though, that we developed our I developed along with my client with her.

consent, obviously, and you know I had to recuse myself from a board vote and on the kenworthy but.

I effectively we came up with a solution of sorts.

which was in the Moscow video caught board agreed to it, which was that.

The video co op would.

Would assign back all the collection that 30,000 DVDs to the building owner.

And as settlement for what they owed her and so and we put together a formal settlement agreement and everyone signed it.

And the the owner of the building thought for a moment about gosh can I sell all these and make the money back and that's that's quite a process, you have to almost someone by one on eBay and so.

Instead, what what she did is she donated them to the kenworthy performing arts Center, which is a 501 C three nonprofit and.

was able to you know, to make that charitable donation and then the kenworthy was able to accept them, and so it was a way to solve the video stores problem because.

They couldn't they didn't have the bandwidth to get it done on their own, we tried and they try and it just wasn't happening, it the it partially solved my clients problem.

because she realized she wasn't going to get paid what she was old, but at least she can make this charitable donation and you know I don't know if she ultimately do their taxes, but hopefully got a benefit, hopefully, that was beneficial to her and it.

And i'll get to in a second she wanted to preserve the collection and everyone involved wanted to their core and so and then for the kenworthy obviously.

The camera they didn't know exactly what what they could do with the collection, at that point, but the camera the sod is it as a benefit because a it's a movie theater and a.

offers just a lot of lot of different services, the Community they're pretty much tied to movies so there's you know potential to get a collection there but but, frankly, the main conversation on the Board was.

The kenworthy is a pretty well run organization healthy and was in a position to try to.

maintain that collection, you asked earlier what I knew about it, and I didn't learn until that point that was 30,000 which I think is like the third.

biggest on the west coast or the Northwest or something like that and we're just learning all this in real time, mind you bet last March.

But when we learn that, as a board and the kenworthy learned that we kind of paused and said, you know we've got to try to preserve this and let's figure out the best way to do that and by preserve I mean keep it for the Community.

Okay.

So just before just during right when covert hit and right when the city was locking down.

You know I personally bought boxes took them over to the video store so they could move it we brought them dollies and everything and just tried to be as helpful as possible.

And they got everything moved over to the theater and the boxes filled up the entire lobby and filled up the rows the I always have the theater and it became just from a physical.

volume perspective it it kind of put a reality check on the kenworthy.

There had been discussion about trying to run a movie store out of there or renting another space and it just became apparent we don't have a place to keep these and.

So, after that, the plan was developed with the kenworthy again focused on.

How we could keep it within the Community, there were several meetings and what we determined and what we did.

Was we came up with a multi faceted plan, because how do you define community, what does that mean, does that mean just giving it.

To a library, does that mean giving it to several libraries, you know what is our communities, it just Moscow is it genesee is it home and what is it.

And so what we determined is that there are a lot of people like myself like that that might want to come by their favorite movie that they ran in once a year, or whatever you know and and then we.

began reaching out to schools, libraries.

etc, and the camera they put together a plan.

And I think this was the staff, obviously, but you know to sell them by genre in what from, from my perspective, and everyone i've talked to.

In a really fun way so it'd be like hey here's the SCI fi collection and then people that are just SCI fi lovers can jump in there and and that's exactly what happened, actually, it was kind of like people waiting for the.

You know, for the clock district 12 to be able to log in and by the whatever cyphy collection and I heard from from friends and patrons that were kind of disappointed when I went to go get season.

Five of mystery science three and it was missing, but I was still fun, you know, and it was just I don't know it was positive.

And um you know, on the institutional side what was interesting though is we didn't get a lot of kind of immediate response from libraries and schools and that kind of a thing.

At the end of the day, I think the bulk of them that weren't sold went to the library obviously and and that's great um personally I I it's kind of debatable I.

I i'm pretty happy with that result I would have also been happy if some went to Community libraries, I really don't know and Oh, and of course the camera they kept a pretty good collection of its own, which the public can.

Can rent when if they want to rent out the theater we can do, special events with them, I don't know if they kept the criteria I think they kept the criteria I think we kept the criterion collection um.

But all that to say.

That plan that was developed.

There were a lot of moving parts.

And, of course, as an attorney i'm representing my client.

And I think I there was no issue there with with in terms of the representation, I think that my I was happy with it my client was happy with it.

But there was another level of thinking that we all sort of put into it, which was, how can we also solve these other problems that are out there, and how can we benefit the community and that's what I tried to do and that's what we tried to do and it um.

And things work out in mysterious ways this was also during coven which we didn't predict and we didn't predict and we didn't know how long things would be shut down the kenworthy we just went through a chair innovation campaign that shut us down for two months at the end of 2019.

People were clamoring for it to reopen we're open for two months, and then it closed for an unknown tbd we don't know when it's going to reopen.

Well it's still not fully reopen and were a year later, so having those films there with no income coming into the kenworthy being able to sell what we could actually.

Help help preserve that historic institution in downtown Moscow, I mean it it really did it, we were able to weather the storm of coven we fingers crossed for coming out of it will be able to reopen.

Maybe this summer, this year, but at that time we didn't know what was going to happen and it just.

actually being closed gave our staff and our volunteers, the ability to get in there and sort through an organized the movies, because that's the other than movies more organized they had the.

That was like a that was like three weeks or a month of kenworthy staff organizing the film's just to be able to get them out to the public and.

And so it all kind of worked out in that way.

I do understand there are people that were not.

They had a different opinion you know I do understand that.

You know I think there was no I don't know if he's Professor but Dennis West.

Who was involved with you, I think.

sent I wasn't even aware of him, but I received one or two really long emails that.

were addressed to like the City Council the mayor, the President of the university and it was kind of like the the tenor of it was how could this happen.

How could these movies be privatized, it was kind of couched in terms of privatization versus public use and discussing, you know that aspect of it and.

And I wanted I believe our executive director, with the kenworthy reached out to him and we didn't have much back and forth, as far as I know, maybe one or two emails I never heard from him or we never had a sit down conversation, but after he responded to him.

explaining what the process was and everything I basically just told you in a much shorter version.

um.

You know I didn't hear anything, and then we got a call from the Daily News kind of say hey we're looking into this, you know as something nefarious going on, and you know at the time.

This interview this conversation is a little strange but it's you know we got to be act.

strange because we're in a small town, and again I don't have any moral judgments against anyone running the video store.

But, at the time when we got a call from the newspaper everyone on camera the side of it anyway was we didn't want to.

We didn't want to feel we want to throw anyone under the bus, I mean I was it and in retrospect, I think I just want to lay it out there factually.

But we we you know I didn't when I talked to the The interviewer I just kind of said, well, I can't talk about the how things went about, but this is what we were doing and I think that kind of lack of transparency.

To public didn't help you know I think people were just left to wonder, and there were a lot of statements being put out that the movie store.

donated it to the kym worthy, which of course wasn't quite accurate, it was a debt settlement, which was then donated, and so I think a lot of patrons of the movie store therefore felt like hey why didn't we get a chance to have a say on this, or why didn't we get a chance to.

You know, do things differently, and I can totally understand that respect that.

And you know if, if I can.

critique my own role in it, it would have been trying to.

have some sort of communication strategy that did that.

and letting people form their own conclusions, you know that that would have been fine, so I just I think I think that wasn't wasn't great, but overall.

Now I was proud of what we were able to accomplish it's not perfect, the whole thing was imperfect, but you know.

I was, I was proud of it yeah I.

Monique Lillard: Know you've explained it really, really well.

we're most buyers of those movies local people.

Right so yeah.

Cody R. Moore: yeah I really think I think i'd have to ask the staff, I think there were.

So, when you say local you mean presently local, but I think there were, I think what was interesting there were, I think there were people that kind of grew up here and then moved away and had that nostalgic attachment.

And they so they're not currently local but again that's how you how do you define community and this personally, what is community, but your memories, I mean that that's yeah, so I think I think I couldn't give you a percentage, but certainly most yeah.

Monique Lillard: Right right well and i'm counting all that local broadly read is fine and are you at liberty to say, and I understand if you're not how much money did the can wear the makeup though so it's $2 a movie set right.

Cody R. Moore: That I that I.

Monique Lillard: I can't I don't I actually can't remember I don't.

Cody R. Moore: know, I think it was too, I think it was too.

And off the top of my head I should know this, but I don't know.

Monique Lillard: we're interviewing Jamie hill who.

was involved with, and she probably will know that so.

Right yeah yeah.

Just because I want to make sure it's super clear, given that this is your chance to just say as much as you want to say you know.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: So somebody whom we've already interviewed pat angle was part of the original group of owners and she was probably the mover and shaker on this process of trying to sell the video store.

She was also the owner of the building with someone else right with.

The name Gary myers daughter so Gary myers had passed away untimely and he was one of the moving forces so there was always an overlap in ownership, because Gary myers and pat and some others owned the business and Gary myers and pat on the building.

Cody R. Moore: I think right.

Monique Lillard: But there might have been some other people in there i'm not trying to just sort of set this question actually.

But.

She was pat let's just take pat here was owed money.

As the seller of the business because she'd never gotten the full payment for the business she and others, and she describes in her tape how that money shook out, but she and others and then she and at least this one other person also were owed rent right.

Cody R. Moore: that's correct.

Monique Lillard: And so the rent was just forgiven essentially that that was never reimbursed reimburse that the videos went for what she was owed on this door or was it all kind of.

Cody R. Moore: It was all i'm.

sorry to interrupt.

No, you know you're 100% correct.

There were two yeah so there were two debts owed you could look at it that way, one was on the sale of the business I think 10,000 or something was left.

And the rest was unpaid rent and again it was about six months of rent some partial payments have been made so let's just say, I think it was about 10,000 there.

And, and so, yes, all of that was globally dealt with in a in a settlement agreement, so the transfer of the videos effectively just offset that 20,000.

Plus, whatever other you know fees would have occurred, it had this move forward.

And that was it that was the trade off had this and we not done it this way um.

Unfortunately, we were really getting left with the only option of.

The only option being to file suit That was really the only option we have left and have we done that you know, then the bills and everything would have you know the debt would have been even higher, and of course nobody wanted that from a Community standpoint either so yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: I understand it.

Anything else you want to say about that well actually how would you describe just a little bit more.

So my recollection is that the store physically closed.

Cody R. Moore: yeah.

Monique Lillard: I think, on the day before, or maybe the Friday before everything closed because it coven right so when we envision those next few weeks downtown is pretty much empty everyone is sort of bewildered and astonished at this whole covert thing going on.

And what was the timing in terms of the new buyers want to buy the building, they want it completely clean, but then here all these movies and shelves, and all this stuff Okay, can you give us more detail about that process.

Cody R. Moore: yeah and like I do want to caveat this like i'm.

Everyone in there, telling a story they make themselves the.

The everyone loves a good here on air and when they're talking about themselves, of course, right.

And I don't i'm not trying to do that here I mean I was trying to structure something with all of this, that would work and I thought okay here, I can I am in this position where we can do this, but there are a lot of other people that help.

And I say that because in this place to I mean it was just came down to.

Back of bandwidth or whatever mismanagement I don't know what to call it, I don't want to call it, active mismanagement, like in that sense of it being intentional but.

But.

The few people that were remaining and trying to do something to get this moved along for the video store where exasperated and we're kind of doing what they could do and that's how I think that's a fair way, to put it, and so, when things were getting near the end.

The timeline was very short, it was probably a week between when the Kennedy said, we accept the movies, we don't know what we'll do it, or you know.

If they there's no settlement agreement will just let you park them here, there was like a week there between that and the movies needing to be moved and so once that once the Kennedy said we take them.

The video store.

Later, like the next week still had moved in, and so we had to go get by them boxes and bring them stuff and get them dollies and help that happen.

Because I think the alternative was like going to the dump or dumpster diving or something to find them and it just was you know guys, we have to get this done and.

So that process, probably looked like this it probably looked like a couple of people involved with the video store trying to make it happen, while also trying to do whatever their lives demanded of them, otherwise.

And then it involved me probably calling and.

You know cracking the whip a little bit I don't know just put it just saying you know this has to happen and then also trying to find solutions like i'll go buy the boxes myself Okay, so there was that sort of dynamic a little bit of tension, but trying to get to the same goal.

i'm.

The boxes were moved to the kenworthy they weren't well organized, probably, given the time again, it took the Kimberley about a month to get more organized.

um but then there was just a pile of stuff and all the shelves and everything left and part of the deal was they were supposed to move it out.

And so I had to I went and inspected it when they said hey we're out.

And I saw this pile of electronics and other things and I just I walked in and I shook my head and I called my client called the realtor that was involved.

And everyone's going no I can't be there, I mean they need it move, you know.

And so, again, I had to call the video store representatives and kind of said this just can't work and and they're exasperated they don't know what to do, and you know it's it's and i'm.

I don't have anything to say other than you have to like that's compliant with the terms, so they moved out the little stuff but they left these big giant shelves that we're supposed to be moved and, at the end of the day.

The buyer the building, you know my client landed at wound up paying, probably at least several thousand dollars to.

Have that cleaned out to be able to get the sale done and get this done and that was unfortunate because that wasn't her obligation um.

Or it shouldn't have been her obligation, the video store should have handled that but they didn't and there's probably several reasons for that, but that all occurred.

The timeframe just kept getting shorter and shorter and shorter and then codes back there to saying hey are you know the city's kind of getting shut down, we have to get this done and so those last few items were.

Things needed to be moved after you know the videos are all moved out, but now the story has to be cleaned up that was probably all within the last like two days before the video store.

You know, became known as that it was shut down right so i'm.

Probably redo that portion because that could bend about one minute, but hey sorry.

Monique Lillard: No, no, I know, on the country, it was really vivid.

It was really good, but the way you just described it, I can I have, I can make a statement to you and I can't remember if I told you this when we've talked before, when I interviewed Sandra Kelly.

yeah said that some of the shelves and stuff that we're holding the videos are now at the new food pantry that.

They have the sprague and tabitha and she said so she had sort of your reaction of, so it is staying in the Community, you know, in that sense, in a sort of a transforming sense.

I have another question from a different interviewee who shall remain nameless just he probably wouldn't mind, but he would love to buy some memorabilia That said, either Howard Hughes video or Main Street video co op Do you know what happened to any of the signs or.

Even the papers, or I know for a while we had little stickers you could buy to put on your car.

Cody R. Moore: Can where they didn't get any of that.

Okay um.

Actually, they tried to deliver the old poster signs.

yeah big and heavy had lights and the camera We said we guys we can't take we don't have room for it, and so I don't know i'd have to ask the video store people, I have no idea.

Monique Lillard: i'll ask them, I think I know a couple names of people I.

will ask if they actually because that sign would be exactly what he would be willing to buy so.

Cody R. Moore: yeah it.

You know, to um.

I don't know when was the last day, I wonder, I think it was like march 25 or sixth something like that.

And I referenced earlier, you know communication strategies before it was shut down I I did try to say hey we should have the kym worthy at least you know, not necessarily from pat from from a client's perspective but.

These other two pieces should probably have a unified statement, but I think what happened was the video store.

You know the volunteers are helping move stuff out, I think, at that point, I don't know these got it done lock the door put a sign up, and I think it just said hey we're close for code and and and you know you can go down, and so that was a publicly out there yet um, and so it wasn't.

It was a little weird it was a little like being in on a big secret obviously you know when you know it's about to close um.

I may have rented the last movie actually i'm I know I did I think I rented the last movie from the from the video store.

I was down there any way and I don't remember when they close, but what was it nine or something or 10 I thought well i'll just go in at 945 and so that was a little bit.

odd and poetic and whatever for me personally, but um it wasn't weird I mean that whole it was a strange ending is sort of a strange ending to the whole thing.

Monique Lillard: I was in there, that same day, because we all knew this covert shut.

shut down, so I rented some movies and.

Connor, who was the manager and Lauretta were in there.

And they looked at me and they said we're not telling most people, but will tell you, because you were so involved, she said, the shoe stores shutting for good, she said, the dilemma was if you say to people were closed everybody nobody's going to return the movies.

Cody R. Moore: And that's right.

Monique Lillard: You know and and.

At the time, I know, especially.

Lauretta was thinking, the collection would stay together if it was at the kenworthy in retrospect that isn't right, but you know we could.

Have no well.

Cody R. Moore: She cried.

Monique Lillard: On that you know she and she so she didn't want this collection to just get dissipated by people who, by chance, had had said that they were.

Right had rented, and so I think that's why that sign was kind of oblique I think it said turn your movies in at the kenmore they.

Cody R. Moore: are so that's right.

No, and I appreciate you.

There was a year ago and I can't I don't remember all that, but I think that's that's now that you say that that's 100%.

that's That is how I remember it now, because that was the discussion is, you know how do we yeah because we're I think there was a worry that everyone would.

Not everyone Moscow it's a pretty good Community most people are responsible nice, but you know if they don't have to return it would they and then you know yeah does that affect the How does that impact the collection, so no I think that's 100% right yeah and smart very smart.

Monique Lillard: yeah was smart and I just want to say that you're not the only one to feel kind of hazy I felt that way, and my diagnosis is that it's coven I think the complete stranger not having caught Kofi I thankfully did not.

Cody R. Moore: But no yeah.

Monique Lillard: Just just the complete weirdness of coven I think it kind of affected us it gave us a stress response that makes it hard to remember details least that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it.

I think it's true I think so.

Because you're not alone, a lot of people are kind of what happened, what day.

Cody R. Moore: yeah well that part now because it's i'm really glad the signs specific you brought up because, as I was jabbering on there about like.

I don't know why we did it or why it was done that way and I in back of my mind, I thought there's probably a purpose but.

That that's it and that no, I think that was so it was oddly you know there were parts that were kind of well thought out and orchestrated I mean the whole concept really was, but it was.

You know just imperfect like it wasn't you know there wasn't time to do the sort of.

The given it swan song and kind of.

Monique Lillard: yeah I think a swan song would be a good idea, but I don't know how to do it anymore, but a lot of people have wished that.

And this is not to the kenworthy I think this is to.

The leadership of the co operative of just I don't think the people who had actually paid money to be so called the owners I don't think we ever even got an email maybe.

Maybe I can't remember that I.

didn't think so.

Cody R. Moore: yeah no I don't think so, and I did wonder about that, but again, that wasn't.

Monique Lillard: It wasn't just you had enough hats going yeah.

Cody R. Moore: Well yeah I mean now i'm crossing a lot of in so.

How are you, I am a member.

I am a member, right and like I said early supporter and as we talked about before we went on, you know I.

I voice my support for this from day one, but no I think again, I think that's the aspect that I, if I have a regret that's it.

It was just hey and I don't know if that was my job I don't know if that was my job as an attorney for the person, certainly not maybe for the kenworthy I do think you know.

there's probably some share blame on that, but just the communication um could have should have been better and clearer and if that.

You know a lot of times when mistakes are made or failures occur it's just laid out there, you know, and I don't know you know I think everyone's trying to there was some degree of not just getting it done and not not communicating it.

The only comment I have on the kenworthy is.

You know kind of, in my view.

kind of a perverse way I think it's just the people talking and things, but like somehow became like a villain in this, at least at a point in villains probably too strong, of a word but and it just.

I don't think that's fair I think that's if that is anyone's perception I would love to.

feel free to give them my contact information not not to have a not to like challenging to a boxing match or something, but you know we're not going to go Hemingway on we're just.

Just to be able to discuss it, because truly the leadership of the kym worthy to staff it with the conversations are, how can we.

How can this be positive for the Community and and what can we do and we don't have unlimited resources and unlimited space, I mean I would have loved it if we could have kept that together and an open and functional store, you know.

Monique Lillard: yeah you had everybody.

Cody R. Moore: A lot of work constrained by reality, too, and that.

So I would anyway, I would like to everyone to know that I mean you.

Monique Lillard: know I think that's very helpful and to offer my two cents, although this is your interview but i'm gonna.

Cody R. Moore: throw.

Monique Lillard: My two cents, because here they here they come raffling.

It has to do with expectations, you know, and so I think an early.

rumor or version of the story that went around is.

we're closing the store but we've saved the collection, the kenworthy is going to keep it together and what the source of that was I don't know if it was hope.

hopeful statements that were made, or just hopeful visions inside people's heads that then got articulated.

or just all divisions we've had all this time for the store and so, then when that didn't happen it's just that differential and expectation that I think.

i'm not sure it's too late for the kenworthy to you know sort of retrospective for the year for the coven time I think they'll be times, the only trouble is you risk opening up a whole big.

boxing match, as you would say people come in and throw darts at your process but there's probably room for a well crafted.

short comment on wow these videos did so much and they were purchased by so many people who have ties to this area, and you know, but I mean i'm not i'm not offering to draft it.

Cody R. Moore: you're not what I retired.

Well, no you're not retired you're.

Monique Lillard: Just yeah no I.

Cody R. Moore: Know you're doing this.

Monique Lillard: Well that's true now, this is the second career.

Cody R. Moore: yeah like your npr interview.

Day.

Cody R. Moore: I agree with all that.

I agree.

Monique Lillard: I mean you know it's a hard choices, and I can see, given some of the it was borderline acrimonious I thought, because I read the newspaper stories, I think, was built the Daily News, and the Argonauts.

With Dennis West comment and yeah I it's not worth stirring a bunch of that stuff up again that could just die with Kovac germs yeah.

But you know.

So I think that's a complicated question but.

Cody R. Moore: Well, but but that maybe you know, but to your point into what we said earlier, you know, maybe communication fixes out, I mean i'm in the conflict business.

And a lot of it does just come down to communication, you know I don't know if Dennis West because well and i'll you know we didn't reach out I ever talked to him, I would still welcome a conversation today but.

You know I don't think he didn't i'm assuming he couldn't have known any of this too, so it is the perception, it is oh my gosh this is happening and then people make a lot of assumptions and that's just how humans operate I get it.

yeah um so yeah yeah yeah so but, but I just but I don't think it's fair for the I you know I think the root of this problem was a combination of a business that's hard to make go and.

The structure of the management or whatever you know it just wasn't run as way you know it's a hard business to run and maybe the manage meant didn't have the bandwidth to do it, you know I think that's the root of this and I think we tried our best to to make lemonade.

Monique Lillard: yeah no yeah absolutely.

Oh, you just said, oh I also say that this is what I learned from you, this time, that if you had told me this before I didn't get it, but I just will say it again, to make sure that everybody listening way deep in the future when they listen to this know.

The Ken where they started off saying Okay, you can use our space, just as a holding space, which is the ultimate good neighbor thing you know.

And it would be ironic indeed if then somehow that rebound against the kenworthy and i'm not i'm not saying it has, I have not heard a lot of stuff oh that bad kenworthy not at all.

Cody R. Moore: Not at all, and I just think.

Monique Lillard: Little Oh, I thought they were gonna keep it together, you know that's the kind of reaction that.

Cody R. Moore: yeah.

And I yeah yeah and I didn't when you and I talked the first time before this I didn't remember that I had to go back through and and look at my emails and I found an email to.

To my client to.

whoever else just saying hey good news, the kenworthy is agreed to do this, so we can at least get out of here to get the sale moved along, even if we don't have a deal figured out how to reconcile this but.

yeah so that was actually again, you know you kind of jumpstart your memory that was the term used in our meetings in the kenworthy it was OK let's try to be a good neighbor here.

We all like this place and then to answer your question or your comment more directly or to comment on your comment yeah I think there was hopeful thinking.

I know, I was very careful in how I phrased anything, because by profession, you know you sort of have to be in those things you don't want to make promises you know you you're not sure.

But I certainly do think the hope, initially, without any sort of feasibility evaluation was maybe we can rent the space next door, maybe we can keep it we don't know I do know at least on.

The people that were.

involved at the core of the kenworthy.

That was what was said now you go to the next level of people discussing it and I don't and maybe that message gets filtered to how they're gonna keep it, you know, and so I can.

get it.

And yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: it's just life it's just people yeah.

All right, let me ask you some general questions if you have a few more minutes do.

Cody R. Moore: You absolutely.

Monique Lillard: Alright, so you said something about.

trying to convince people that going to a video store and renting a movie is a better way to watch movies, what makes it better.

Cody R. Moore: it's not something that is specific to a video store.

Your life is I don't know how to quantify it, I was gonna say quantifiably improved but let's just go with that it's quantify proof.

If you if you frequent local small businesses.

Because you meet the people that own them you meet the people that run them it's not just supporting the business, I mean well, it is, but you help keep those businesses there and.

Everyone what they love about Moscow is the downtown and if these old business at the things we like about it, if we don't support them, they go away and they're not there anymore.

And you can't just say I love it, but I don't but I don't want to spend my money there because it's inconvenient or it's a little too expensive well you know prioritize what you care about you know and, for me, that means yeah i'm gonna.

i'm gonna convenience is overrated and it really is it really is it's not.

it's easy to click a button and watch a movie but and it's easy to it's easy to do a lot of things, but when you sit back in and think about how you feel about it.

You might have a negative you certainly don't have a positive feeling, but when you go into a store.

And you know, not every time, sometimes you just don't want to talk to anybody sometimes you just want to get the thing and I get it, but on the REG on the from the day to day, I think the social interactions the physical space of places being out and fresh air, even for a minute.

All of it.

equates to some you know pretty pretty big equation or it's a lot of ingredients that make a delicious do to improve your life, and that is a place like that.

was a big ingredient, and I can take my kids there and we can talk about movies, and they can say oh what's this one and there's a you can grab one Toma cred, to put it back and there's just there's an experience there.

And I know they're kind of modern mindset is is sort of against that because oh man, if I could just have more time, if I could have more free time.

yeah but then you spend your free time like binge watching something you don't spend your free time doing anything intentional so at least this frequenting of a downtown places.

You you do, and you do have some improvement, even if you're not realizing it and I fully believe that and it does keep our Community here, it keeps our downtown here um.

yeah it's great plus just downtown just downtown Moscow it's little it's convenient it is convenient because it's so small.

it's accessible and nine times out of 10 you run into someone sometimes you don't like that sometimes you don't like that, but sometimes you're having a bad day.

Sometimes you've been spending your weekend binge watching netflix and it's probably good for you to run into your old law professor, you know it's not there's just so much benefit there that I hate to see us lose and the video stores big part of that yeah yeah that's.

Monique Lillard: Very well put Thank you, thank you.

Okay, so what's your funniest or happiest or weirdest memory of the video store anything come to mind.

Cody R. Moore: Besides, since the end I mean I was.

Monique Lillard: I was trying to be as fair as.

Cody R. Moore: Well, when I won the raffle or the the not the route, you know they had the.

Monique Lillard: trivia contest right.

Cody R. Moore: Maybe a contest and I get what it is, but I have to two memories um that's number one I guess the weirdest or the funniest I want and I didn't.

know I didn't I just don't I think they needed an answer I think they needed my movies, like the next day.

And I hadn't done it, you know, because when you win the trivia you get to put your cody's selection up on the board.

Right right near the checkout stand, so I just said, I just went in there and I quickly picked out like 12 Nick cage movies, and it was just Nicolas cage, no, no, no, the good ones either just the bad ones, and so that was a little bit fun for me um I also went in once and said hey.

good time of year for watching movies, for me it just makes me want to a little bit is like early spring and I think it was St patrick's day and I asked what's his name.

hat.

Monique Lillard: been hard CAP.

Cody R. Moore: yeah as bad because I really like Ben and he was like the quintessential movie store guys.

You know, he just said hey give me a good St patrick's day movies, like you ever seen the Boxer you know john Wayne the Boxer and I hadn't i've never seen that and it's got this like 20 minute.

kind of comical dance fight scene, at the end and it's great it's great and.

It was just a random recommendation like that, where I just was so sold on the place that was early on, you know, so it wasn't funny, but I still remember it just like that's why you go to a movie store the guy tells you what yeah.

Monique Lillard: Exactly that's it's totally cool.

Do you remember when you won that trivia thing to remember what the question was.

Cody R. Moore: And i'm asking because I.

Monique Lillard: Never in my life.

Did I know at all what the answers were to those they were so hard.

Cody R. Moore: You know it's right there because i'm in the same boat, I I thought I knew all about movies, and then.

I was proven wrong by those questions um.

Monique Lillard: that's just the way I thought I thought it was good to know these and then whoa.

Cody R. Moore: It was something like name someone who's won like a best actor.

And I kind of guessed it was Anthony Hawk so I didn't fully know it, I just guessed right.

Monique Lillard: good for you good for you anything else I should have asked you anything else you want to say.

Cody R. Moore: um no i've talked a lot and excuse me for running on.

Monique Lillard: On the country it's.

it's really been helpful you provided new information and some great insights so.

Cody R. Moore: No, I.

I know I don't have anything else to say it my only comment would be it's a shame, it went away.

It is and it's a shame we couldn't keep the collection together and I don't know if there, frankly, would have been a great way to keep it together, I haven't seen the how the sausage was made at that point.

But I will come back to this concept of Community and a small livable Community like we have.

I would caution our Community when these things go away, you know your money they replace them with I mean it's going to be perfect, you know.

These are hard stores to put back in yep because of the business models, and so we need to do our best to support all of those other stores and the movie theater and everything downtown so that they do stay there, and that when new.

Good little stores come in that we're doing the same, you know we can't just we can't we can't just hang up our.

Our.

Our local commitment when the when the good old ones go out, we need to keep it going because that's what makes this can that's one of the things that makes this Community really great.

Monique Lillard: yeah I certainly absolutely agree with you and yeah yeah.

Cody R. Moore: yeah you know you can always get.

Monique Lillard: You can always find cheaper prices than what you'll find downtown except i'm not even sure anybody does shoes i'm glad you mentioned that shoes cassettes really pretty extraordinary yeah.

Cody R. Moore: It is it is yeah yep.

Monique Lillard: All right, well, I i'm going to say thank you officially feel hold on just a second and i'll stop the recording and all right, thank you.

Cody R. Moore: Thank you.