Kenton Bird and Gerri Sayler recount their memories about the Howard Hughes Video Store. Bird recalls the location of Howard Hughes appliances and when Howard Hughes Video moved into the old bar (Moritz Club?) location. Bird says he rented two videos per week. Sayler remembers Howard Hughes Video Store as a great experience and place to have in town. Bird worked for the Idahoan Newspaper downtown. He also says the main street location was better organized. It was easier to find videos, especially by genre, and the staff was incredibly knowledgeable. Sayler expresses how important the video store was in providing providing the town with an avenue to have popular culture. Bird remembers the video store as a community meeting space. When the Co-op formed, Bird and Sayler bought a membership. Sayler's belief is that as soon as streaming became more popular, the video stores were going to experience a slow death.

Monique Lillard: And it seems to say it's recording, so I will say I am monique lillard I am doing interviews, on behalf of the University of Idaho library.

Monique Lillard: to form an oral history for the local video store known as Howard Hughes video and then known as mainstream video co-operative today is June 7 2021 and I am sitting here with two people who will introduce themselves in just a moment.

Monique Lillard: First, I want to ask you both and i'm going to turn this to you now so go ahead and adjust it but look the way we want to go.

Monique Lillard: Very good Okay, have you sign the waiver release, yes, can you introduce yourself say your names i'm cancelling bird and then his wife carrie sailor.

Monique Lillard: Can you tell me and either one of you can start talking first how did you first encounter the video store knows how to use video.

Monique Lillard: I first came to Moscow in 1972 as a freshman at the University of Idaho and I have left and come back for different times and I suspect that.

Monique Lillard: I first encountered a V eh sm Betamax video store located on Main Street in the 200 block near and I think it's where the colors creek winery is now that wasn't video store after it was created in store for men, there was another vhs beta store on North main near what is now.

Monique Lillard: I think it's the Polish the animal wellness and surgery Center.

Monique Lillard: And there was a third one on the pullman highway where the laundromat is.

Monique Lillard: sort of between asbury and lily street so for a time in the 70s and early 80s, there were multiple video stores operating in Glasgow.

Monique Lillard: And I was a vhs person either a beta person and I probably have membership said, all three of the stores, but focus mostly on.

Monique Lillard: The one on a mainstream of precursor to main mainstream video I can't remember what it was called and then I remember when Howard Hughes appliance was located on North main in what is now norm slack up in.

Monique Lillard: West side of North name and then, when they move downtown to the former works.

Monique Lillard: Fifth, street at Washington.

Monique Lillard: moritz was a legendary beer bar and very popular with students in the 70s and 80s up until the point where.

Monique Lillard: I have raised the drinking age from 19 to 21 So if you can find that date that's sort of a turning point in what happened to drinking establishment soon Moscow.

Monique Lillard: So the demise of works club after the drinking age was raised, created the vacant real estate, to which Howard Hughes moved downtown it was very exciting to have another sort of large anchor retail TIM it downtown and so Howard Hughes have the entire.

Monique Lillard: Half block from the alley to Washington street for appliances and at some point they took the portion on East side of the building.

Monique Lillard: Facing Washington street, which I think is now the yarn underground and that portion which was up three or four steps was the video section and.

Monique Lillard: Your.

Monique Lillard: lighting any perhaps.

Monique Lillard: 80s or 90s.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah and so that was probably the first time, and I think that was maybe the end of the vhs era and the arrival of the DVDs because the.

Monique Lillard: The vhs would take so much more shelf space and and I think at that point that the vedas were on their way out, but they probably still have vhs cassettes.

Monique Lillard: Through the MID 80s, maybe 1990s Okay, and then at some point they move the appliances out to the poem highway and what I knew as a student as a modern way grocery store, which was run by Jim and jeanie Casey.

Monique Lillard: and modern way.

Monique Lillard: And it was a neighborhood grocery store that survived by selling a lot of beer to college students.

Monique Lillard: And someone Howard Hughes move their.

Monique Lillard: movie appliances there and I believe is still owned by Howard and don frye but they they expanded the videos into the the main floor where the appliance has been, or what I remember, was the the bar area of marks.

Monique Lillard: So, at some point there, I would have been a.

Monique Lillard: fairly regular page from so maybe I have this backwards, maybe the videos were downstairs first and then up on the industry side because the history side would have taken much less for space.

Monique Lillard: And at that point pre Jerry I probably would have been a.

Monique Lillard: Two or three videos per week person.

Monique Lillard: And so i'll let you.

Monique Lillard: pick it up, then.

Monique Lillard: And I think I don't remember anything other than that video store as it Howard Hughes video, is what I remember.

Monique Lillard: It may have been another.

Monique Lillard: configuration, but I always thought wow This is just fine to have this store with all these videos we can shop for whatever we want whatever movies, I grew up loving movies, and to have them.

Monique Lillard: be able to plug into a machine at home and have your own movie I just thought that was how do we use to say the cat's meow.

Monique Lillard: You know, there was Okay, so this is la geeks voice is going to be off camera I think they can figure that out, but I better just stay for the record here, there were other video stores in town was tr there was video man that was Hastings towards the end there, there was red box.

Monique Lillard: Not these aren't even ringing bells.

Monique Lillard: Are video may have been the one on the.

Monique Lillard: Video lamb might have been out of the East side marketplace or them called the musk from all I never rented from.

Monique Lillard: Hastings I didn't I thought being mostly to soul sort of the the second run videos but, but I think just because of proximity and location, I was working.

Monique Lillard: downtown at the Ionian i'm Jackson street, and so what i'm in a logical place to return the video in the morning on the way to work and pick up another one on the way home in the evening.

Monique Lillard: I think the way it was nestled right downtown was the clincher for me it just made it feel like we were partaking of local merchants and building a history.

Monique Lillard: With their video store I know.

Monique Lillard: We have a history together at the mailing on Main Street south of the new art, because that was laura's tea and treasure and lower actually from palau's who somebody you should interview.

Monique Lillard: If you wanted to learn more about the building and I.

Monique Lillard: because she had her tea shop there with all the fancy tea pots and like like lunches and paste for us and.

Monique Lillard: And so we have a date there for for lunch.

Monique Lillard: When I came back from Colorado in 1999 I was working in this man school communication and Jerry was working in the department of theater in both him shoot.

Monique Lillard: On campus, and so I think we have at least one lunch there and I just remember Laura you knew Laura already yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and so she was sort of very attentive and and so that was the first time I had been in that building, since it was the sears catalog store.

Monique Lillard: Where it was and that's why on the back side of the building there's that big.

Monique Lillard: metal brace for because it was a hoist to bring appliances that would come off a delivery truck in the alley and I don't know if they actually took them up to the second floor but certainly to take them off the track so so that's a digression into the the space that became.

Monique Lillard: The Howard Hughes on main and then eventually the video considered writing.

Monique Lillard: Well i'm sure if you went to the historical societies photo archive and you look at.

Monique Lillard: sears and roebuck Main Street, they would have a picture of the star friend and maybe some interior shots when it was a retail store, so we.

Monique Lillard: brought in the claim that these videos as being a history of construction of downtown Moscow Moscow in general and sort of a statement on entertainment in the world.

Monique Lillard: there's a range of topics that are permissible.

Monique Lillard: Know recorded so damn I have to say that in the mainstream location.

Monique Lillard: It lends itself more to the catalog of the videos that it was much better organized than it was in the space on Washington or fifth, and it was really easy to find videos by genre.

Monique Lillard: On the mainstream location and at that point, I think that the staff was incredibly knowledgeable and the three or four.

Monique Lillard: Regular staff members who would do the staff picks on the chalkboard and they were movie buffs and they knew when things were being released and they and you could say.

Monique Lillard: Where are the double oh seven movies, and they were an action adventure, but maybe somewhere in cult classic or something else, so I found it was.

Monique Lillard: The the synergy of location and organization of the collection and in the staff.

Monique Lillard: Air movies, in your store, they have the movies, and they were willing to chat remember, I remember first learning about Japanese the anime Oh, and there was one there that to spend all kinds of time explaining to me that I knew very little about I think we just finished one title.

Monique Lillard: zooming in and they showed us.

Monique Lillard: This.

Monique Lillard: thing out and maybe you should watch them in sequence, and so, what was the one.

Monique Lillard: ventricle I.

Monique Lillard: Was.

Monique Lillard: It was a whole series Oh, we both.

Monique Lillard: can't.

Monique Lillard: describe the layout for restored one it fits in Washington you're you're saying you didn't care for it too much, but could you describe it just the record it.

Monique Lillard: It was.

Monique Lillard: It seemed like, especially when it was in a smaller space, it was too much inventory for a small space and then didn't seem like there was enough work area.

Monique Lillard: For the staff members to put the return dis back into the cases in a timely manner.

Monique Lillard: And so you would go in and they say, well, yes, that came back, but it's it's not on the shelf yeah so right, I remember narrow aisles and maybe not as logical of a layout you know, maybe there was comedy was here but romantic comedy was over there.

Monique Lillard: and

Monique Lillard: There weren't the the the interesting categories, like the criterion collection or the drama DS the Cross between dramas and comedies it seemed like the the new space allowed.

Monique Lillard: john.

Monique Lillard: gosh I know there was there was a door on the fifth street side, and then there were steps down to the main appliance store.

Monique Lillard: But beyond man I can't.

Monique Lillard: Remember it and it didn't seem like it was.

Monique Lillard: There must have been space behind because I don't think they had the actual this on the shelf and just just the cases, and so I mean that that always seem to be a logistical step that when the shop was busy that the the weights would come, while the one or two staff members were taking.

Monique Lillard: The number disk from the the archive or from the library section and putting them into cases for or check out.

Monique Lillard: So um what else about the the main streets door.

Monique Lillard: What was your favorite section oh.

Monique Lillard: For me, was German just straight up.

Monique Lillard: The.

Monique Lillard: The musicals and, as I think we got for my dad wanted to see like white Christmas and singing in the ring, and I remember getting going my way.

Monique Lillard: Which bing crosby one the best factor, for which I have never seen bring it in bring it to the moon, and all of the classic musicals were nicely collected then some of the foreign films.

Monique Lillard: The award winners would have had all the best picture Oscars together, although you know some of those would be overlap with other categories.

Monique Lillard: That award winners that and then the criterion collection, where the real.

Monique Lillard: Art films, and that was through, but one of the.

Monique Lillard: Hollywood studios right put those together as a collection and offered them to video stores.

Monique Lillard: discount if if you would carry their the whole selection and now there's a criterium channel.

Monique Lillard: For streaming video so it's whoever and.

Monique Lillard: It.

Monique Lillard: reminds me it was central gold.

Monique Lillard: star had with sharing popular culture with the town, we were all tracking a lot of the same films that were showing up on their shelves and it became a shared.

Monique Lillard: Counting down experience, I think, for a while they were still knew there was a rush to get to get the video to get the new release yeah but very excited was also.

Monique Lillard: Community meeting place because you would see.

Monique Lillard: You run into people and you would ask them well what have you seen in your life or what are you bringing back that you think we would like, and so there was.

Monique Lillard: Not only.

Monique Lillard: Between the the knowledgeable staff members and the customers, but also the customers themselves interacting with with each other.

Monique Lillard: What we're talking about this is a little off topic, but I can you give me an amazing micro.

Monique Lillard: Macro.

Monique Lillard: Micro movie.

Monique Lillard: Yes, yes, yes, I will just icon memories just.

Monique Lillard: i'm not even sure I can remember a show that I saw there, I was just taken by this sub terranea in place to watch cinema and the intimacy of it all, it was truly.

Monique Lillard: An experience but I don't I can't put it, together with a particular show it was mostly the sensory experience of being in this small space sharing a film on screen.

Monique Lillard: And even knew that there was nothing else like that anywhere else, it was a it was a one of a kind, so I don't know how you.

Monique Lillard: guys feel you'll know the exact streets that it was on, so the the micro movie house was third am home.

Monique Lillard: northeast corner and it is the former seventh day adventist Church, which has been.

Monique Lillard: 100 years ago and then have them split out on West street next to a manual Lutheran so it's just east of there and I know that only because i've been to a women once.

Monique Lillard: Again it's true so you entered on the street side, but then you went straight down, but then that was the box office and the concession stand were downstairs and there was a little tiny waiting room and great popcorn.

Monique Lillard: But then, you went up the stairs again and entered at the back, because the the viewing area, the auditorium was what was sort of smoke from from back to front and then the screen was on the street side.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah so you entered you went down bought your ticket got your popcorn and then came back up, on the other side, but so it was a very efficient for because one staff member could run the box office concession stand and then go up and start the projector.

Monique Lillard: Have you interviewed Dale graydon.

Monique Lillard: Dale and he's a huge movie fan, and let me know but Dale and I were having conversation with Scott brown on the street in in front of.

Monique Lillard: One World two weeks ago and Dale remembers coming to Moscow when he was first hired at the University of Idaho in 1996 maybe earlier.

Monique Lillard: Maybe, and he remembers the movie that he saw at the micro on.

Monique Lillard: The second night he was here and i'm blanking on the name of it.

Monique Lillard: But he found the newspaper ad to confirm that it's about taxi drivers all over the world and it's like a night a night on earth.

Monique Lillard: And so that that the micro was ingrained on Dale from the first week he was in Moscow and he can probably remember dozens of movies, you know I like to the micro because it was the sort of the second run films.

Monique Lillard: And some foreign films and some things that have never run on Main Street of the camera here at the new mark but.

Monique Lillard: The micro couldn't survive the arrival of home video with vhs and beta.

Monique Lillard: That i'm sure you could track the video sales and Rentals going up, as you track the decline of attendance at the micro.

Monique Lillard: It wasn't Bob Su Su T o

Monique Lillard: And then you know poehlman have a second brown theater in the old post office.

Monique Lillard: And that was run by jack Clark, and I can maybe check it started the micro and Bob bought it and then jack went to pomona sort of the old post office in what is now paradise creek brewery and problem which is.

Monique Lillard: The chef is Joan swenson who have been the shelf of.

Monique Lillard: swiller us, but before that the main street Delhi and the Moscow hotel.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah yeah so so so what you know, there was a time we had the four big theaters that can were the the new art in Moscow and then the Court Nova and the audience pullman and then the second runs.

Monique Lillard: Micro and old post office, but I think the micro started earlier and lasted longer than old post office and implement it.

Monique Lillard: or not.

Monique Lillard: Yes, when it was a commercial first run movie theater and Ken where the.

Monique Lillard: Partnership or corporation owned the both mainstream theaters in Moscow and both in Palma, and so they.

Monique Lillard: So they would block book the films and I don't know favorite show two films one film in each town simultaneously or maybe just rotate.

Monique Lillard: walkie talkie ministry, well, I mean I went to I went to a lot of movies, I know.

Monique Lillard: Round out the picture, then in the mall so this would be at that time there were those plexus I don't know how many numbers and effects, but they would show very much first run popular movies, although they were popular movies at the downtown theaters as well.

Monique Lillard: balls and you could hear it through, and then there was the fourth place behind the best Western.

Monique Lillard: And I can't remember what that was called that building is just sitting there and ruins yeah you know, one of the managers of the the four plex of the mall was Jeff humbling.

Monique Lillard: And so you know if you wanted to expand beyond video stores to projected films Jeff tell me about them.

Monique Lillard: bring it back a little to the video store I recollect that the video store whatever rap for movies, that have been shown in the kitchen with you, but I also think movies, the micro maybe you remember that are not did they try to get.

Monique Lillard: them I should have I have not talked to lots of people at all yeah I think I would have been a good idea I do remember the.

Monique Lillard: Like the camera the connection after the camera they became the Community nonprofit.

Monique Lillard: So, Dan I don't know how.

Monique Lillard: The weather there's anybody who would have still worked at the MIC pro.

Monique Lillard: Peter Pessoa was the micro and he's no longer with us.

Monique Lillard: To be found anywhere, he was in linkedin Troy and I don't think he's so brown but it's.

Monique Lillard: worth a try and you can just do a Google search maybe he's on Facebook he's running a movie theater somewhere else.

Monique Lillard: So we're bringing it to about 2015 now.

Monique Lillard: Did you keep renting a way into the 21st century, your mental drop off at all or did you how often which go in 2010.

Monique Lillard: Which least until 2015 streaming so well with so we started with netflix when it was a male DVD service.

Monique Lillard: And I think what.

Monique Lillard: Was.

Monique Lillard: Attractive about netflix was.

Monique Lillard: No late charges keeping them as long as you want, and so, if you forgot it behind the DVD player and found a three months later, you weren't going to be charged $100 and late fees and so, so we started with netflix before it was streaming we started as.

Monique Lillard: An.

Monique Lillard: Different variations.

Monique Lillard: At the video store.

Monique Lillard: mate maybe there were some new room yeah then new new new releases you had to turn around quickly and I confess, now that I feel guilty for every netflix DVD that I.

Monique Lillard: got for convenience sake, rather than going down to the video store but.

Monique Lillard: No, but when the it became the Co op or or.

Monique Lillard: I guess, maybe even before the name was changed that.

Monique Lillard: There seemed to be more innovative pricing and fewer penalties and maybe was there a moratorium on Lake charges certain times.

Monique Lillard: yeah so so it became less punitive.

Monique Lillard: Yes.

Monique Lillard: So.

Monique Lillard: What What else do you remember.

Monique Lillard: I was just gonna ask you about this transition so starting about 2015 we were aware that the current owners were looking to sell and there was a lot of discussion about what form the ownership should take with you.

Monique Lillard: Well, I had forgotten about Vivian kelly's involvement debbie Reynolds and Kelly more, but I do know it did Neil impact on the building, yes, yes, definitely.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah, and so they were obviously looking for attention for the building and so did that Howard Hughes.

Monique Lillard: Howard was long retired, but did dog and his partner move the video store, there was the end their videos and i'll say for the record of especially pat angle, then hardcastle and so newsome they remember this process quite well.

Monique Lillard: don frye and his partner we're kind of ready to be done and.

Monique Lillard: You know Gary Meyer Gary had the brainchild of we should buy the video store and buy the building and then there won't be the Brent question really so much, and so, for them to.

Monique Lillard: All be in the family slip speaking so let's do it that way, and so, then it moves to the main street location, and it was actually smaller.

Monique Lillard: But it was organized the bulky vhs tapes were pretty much gone yeah and because the DVDs are much more contract, so I was vaguely aware of.

Monique Lillard: The conversations and I think it was probably when bill London was still editing The co op news which was them monthly tabloid newspaper, there would have been.

Monique Lillard: No discussions, or if you're interested in in this or we're looking for a new new model and I guess, I was probably the timeline Melinda.

Monique Lillard: And Melinda sharp corner.

Monique Lillard: was one of the enrichment board members of.

Monique Lillard: The video.

Monique Lillard: I was one of the original four members and a lot of the meetings were in this very low.

Monique Lillard: Impact another digression, I will say, because I think henson was present in my front room was where we talked with the owner of book people, which at that point across the street It moved across the street and.

Monique Lillard: He wanted to sell but the town didn't want to lose the store, and so it was actually in my living room.

Monique Lillard: Right, I think that the idea of.

Monique Lillard: team charm are coming in and did.

Monique Lillard: You know the Co operative was formed, it was a slow process of getting enough money to try to find out, but then it kind of gotten focused in on the path angle, as the one who.

Monique Lillard: Was sort of the spokesman for the ownership group and they needed to get bought out was really the issue and then went.

Monique Lillard: to her.

Monique Lillard: So you have the word.

Monique Lillard: or just.

Monique Lillard: moderately aware.

Monique Lillard: But what years was.

Monique Lillard: The first meetings 2017 2018 was a lot of the transition took place yeah and then that would have been the time.

Monique Lillard: But I would have been spending more time with my parents.

Monique Lillard: It happened when I was in Colorado.

Monique Lillard: than the bucket brigade so sometime between.

Monique Lillard: I wasn't here, it was sometime between 96 and 99 and Carol public has on her website, but just a book people move from the original location on the east side mainstream between the kym worthy in the new art where which had originally been the heating planets for both theory is why that.

Monique Lillard: Why, there were space between them and I don't know if there was a cold boiler or something and and then it.

Monique Lillard: But it was book people from 1973 when I are opened, and then Bob Greene bought the former spruce Cameron, which was a contemporary more than their competitor.

Monique Lillard: and

Monique Lillard: Popular bar that.

Monique Lillard: went out of business, after the drinking age was released 21 it's about being thought that it was boarded up for a while I think yeah and then Green is the wonderful people.

Monique Lillard: Actually, it was a church after it was the spruce tavern and I don't know which one it was believers fellowship Maybe it was the spruce church.

Monique Lillard: worship in the place where people have.

Monique Lillard: been rambling just a few years earlier.

Monique Lillard: So, going back to the the video store I think one of the other frustrations with the Howard Hughes and the main street was the lack of a searchable database and the inability to know whether a particular video was in stock.

Monique Lillard: or part of the collection and whether it was checked out her could could be.

Monique Lillard: made available for you to to check out and.

Monique Lillard: To contrast that and I can't even remember what the interface for netflix was but I knew, you would would go online and you would search for a movie by a title and.

Monique Lillard: You log in and it'll be in the mail and two days and and then I think there were a couple even have five videos at a time may be or seven at a time for a little little more money.

Monique Lillard: But with the the bricks and mortar video store you've had to either physically call physically go into the shop and say, do you have this video and they say yes.

Monique Lillard: But it's checked out from when is it do back well if they bring it back tomorrow, and it will be here, otherwise they may be late, and so you could plan or you could call on the phone and often they'd say well i'm with a customer now can you call back in 10 minutes and so.

Monique Lillard: It seemed to me like that was the the technological leap that would have enable the mainstream video store to remain competitive with the netflix of least them in the pre streaming era.

Monique Lillard: I mean it wasn't a huge frustration, because you could always find another movie, but if you were looking at or director's cut of Blade Runner and.

Monique Lillard: All they had was the theater version, not the director's cut and.

Monique Lillard: You wouldn't be able to get exactly what you were looking for, so I don't know you know I answered the people that would patronize would be the film buffs the video Psalms that people that wanted to a particular movie at this time, or maybe they were going to do.

Monique Lillard: The john Wayne film festival when they were going they need at all.

Monique Lillard: TIM john Wayne westerns between 1950s and 1970 and have you have you interviewed breasts male.

: and

Monique Lillard: Female russ rushes in my department.

Monique Lillard: And he you put pronouncement me and they'd live right across from iver and.

Monique Lillard: His wife is Ryan killer.

Monique Lillard: And so russ wrote a book about john Wayne.

Monique Lillard: john Wayne and American foreign policy and so.

Monique Lillard: So, but it's called john wayne's world.

Monique Lillard: And it's a play on that awful comedy called wayne's world.

Monique Lillard: and his wife is Ryan kilburn PA El gra.

Monique Lillard: who's in sociology and they have three delightful children.

Monique Lillard: But russ is a film buff and then James.

Monique Lillard: is another ricin Bam are sort of the core of the film studies Program.

Monique Lillard: And it makes us retired and they're moving to Canada.

Monique Lillard: He wasn't film.

Monique Lillard: If you could get her before she left, but so so russ was.

Monique Lillard: You know, he, as he oh Stephen video.

Monique Lillard: And he checked, a lot of I think when the video store.

Monique Lillard: Closed he was really hiring videos out of you by library order than ordering them on interlibrary loan, but he be a very good soil.

Monique Lillard: Video that was his passion his his passion interesting now did you ever watch the special features on the DVDs.

Monique Lillard: Now, like the interviews with the interviews, or sometimes writers are some.

Monique Lillard: commentary.

Monique Lillard: From the director or from a critic are better than others, yes.

Monique Lillard: And we will often watch special features on streaming video.

Monique Lillard: well.

Monique Lillard: Like for a series.

Monique Lillard: keeping faith.

Monique Lillard: Which is a Welsh detective series on a current TV.

Monique Lillard: And so, at the end of every when you get through, you know series one episodes one through eight and then bonus episode our interviews with the actors and directors.

Monique Lillard: And when we just when finished the series three there was a little bonus feature about Welsh words and phrases that have no English equivalent but are good expressions, and these actors who are all well when speaking.

Monique Lillard: That gives me some hope because I really special features.

Monique Lillard: So I don't know if the movies would happen, but most of the streaming series.

Monique Lillard: At least on a corner and.

Monique Lillard: What we're doing it would you ever do box that we did for a while.

Monique Lillard: Either the Moscow public library or the library, I am before once in a blue moon.

Monique Lillard: But I don't even know where our DVD players.

Monique Lillard: In the door and we're so small so that's a lot right there don't even know where you are leaving screaming, yes, but we do have the gear sure, and right now I have about five video was sitting on the edge of my dresser was.

Monique Lillard: One of them was passed along at that last movie party what was being expressed on the top of the list there.

Monique Lillard: pastor.

Monique Lillard: TIM was here for that one so that's one verse wes Anderson.

Monique Lillard: ever seen it I know fabulous.

Monique Lillard: The West Anderson there's two other really filming videos the grand Budapest.

Monique Lillard: that's what makes me think i've seen and.

Monique Lillard: ya know.

Monique Lillard: What you just ask you this sort of just one more question because it's on my list here that and then i'll move to a different topic.

Monique Lillard: Did the cooperative format didn't affect your experience at all we'll even have layer as as customer did you notice anything when we bought it we bought a membership so.

Monique Lillard: So I think Initially it was like you could buy.

Monique Lillard: $50 and it was going to be $50 a year for two years and her for four years, four years.

Monique Lillard: And then I think after the first year we just went to have them paint them the remaining 115 to because I appreciate, you know fall because I knew there was certainly cash for sure, at that point, so we were weren't aware, but I don't know if other than that.

Monique Lillard: Reduce late fees, if there were any other fringe benefits.

Monique Lillard: It seemed like it was maybe a lost opportunity to.

Monique Lillard: colon at.

Monique Lillard: The cooperative owners, I guess.

Monique Lillard: And to.

Monique Lillard: bring them into the fold or give them a stake in the success of the store there were a couple of parties there was one of the breakfast club, there was still a couple episodes store do you have any recollection of those years you're very busy people know.

Monique Lillard: pretty much what's going on.

Monique Lillard: yeah I think I remember, maybe the one of the store, but the breakfast club one.

Monique Lillard: So.

Monique Lillard: The video store was causing you remember what you when you.

Monique Lillard: Oh well, it was.

Monique Lillard: Early pandemic so.

Monique Lillard: yeah and.

Monique Lillard: I think.

Monique Lillard: I learned like walking Main Street and single sign on the window i'm saying.

Monique Lillard: We are closing please return all your videos by such and such a date and then watch for details of are going out of business, sale or something.

Monique Lillard: So I don't know it was there ever ever sort of.

Monique Lillard: any sort of email at work or social media, I mean the way the food co op you know bombard you with emails and.

Monique Lillard: they're all over Facebook, but that wouldn't take a person.

Monique Lillard: Facebook page and I don't know what medical Center the actually the final manager students with Jennifer see here this week that I noticed that not many people liked it, so I think.

Monique Lillard: Facebook is so strange yeah.

Monique Lillard: Why seven page or with a group or was it about something you followed or something you'd like yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: you've kind of answered that.

: question.

Monique Lillard: Well, the pandemic because of.

Monique Lillard: The need to at that point when there was a.

Monique Lillard: suspicion that of.

Monique Lillard: yeah the virus virus could be transmitted by five touch and now, now we know about her sister.

Monique Lillard: insignificant compared to the the breath to about aerosols some particular.

Monique Lillard: Cars before then that streaming taking or.

Monique Lillard: You could have a monkey instantly assuming streaming hit the wires.

Monique Lillard: Video was looking at a slow death that's when I believe culturally and that was the reason there might have been some.

Monique Lillard: Moscow should have been the exception to the rule that it would have been a place where there was enough but following movie buffs.

Monique Lillard: That would continue to to patronize minutes I should have would have could have you know what what.

Monique Lillard: about what he just said with we could have had we had some insight about the power of that streaming to.

Monique Lillard: be disrupted or so, and also to have more of a creative involvement and marketing to get people.

Monique Lillard: to buy into the cultural what's that i'm trying to say, well, I think if you're serious about video be a part of that yeah the old technology and the Community, the Community.

Monique Lillard: Support the Community in the sense of what are the community of movie watch and having a.

Monique Lillard: place where there was a treasury of old movies, not just all these new movies on foreign films.

Monique Lillard: 100 years of cinema was there in that store and we lost we lost an opportunity not to.

Monique Lillard: So it's a lot of new static goo, I imagine, but.

Monique Lillard: Five years from now 15 years from now we'll go back and say there was a moment when we could have really held onto a piece of our cultural history and that's what that video store was about this is social history, it was a cultural history and it's gone well, it was the perfect storm.

Monique Lillard: The rise of streaming the decline of.

Monique Lillard: The the original technology in the DVD or and and the pandemic.

Monique Lillard: Because, in some respects.

Monique Lillard: People turned inward during the pandemic they didn't go to the movie theaters for clothes, so you would have thought, well, this would be the perfect time to be stocking up on videos that you would watch at home.

Monique Lillard: But we just couldn't overcome the fear that the virus is going to be transmitted I mean you'd have to do.

Monique Lillard: Put return videos in quarantine and then sanitize them before they can be checked out again so you would lose.

Monique Lillard: Even now, I had the book check out from wsu library and.

Monique Lillard: I wanted to return it in person and they said yo you can't do that you have to put it in the book drop, and we will retrieve it in three days from the book crop and will verify that you.

Monique Lillard: have returned best practice yeah, but this was a month ago yeah and you know they're the fears of contamination from the surface, I mean certainly no more than you know 24 hours they could have pulled that out.

Monique Lillard: So, so when you know that an abundance of caution.

Monique Lillard: Questions that kind of go over what you just said i'll tell you what the two are and then our last one is, do you think that the closing of the store was a loss to Moscow Idaho.

Monique Lillard: and the other is, do you think that the closing of so many video rental stores really across the nation will affect entertainment viewing and is that a negative or positive so So you see that your question so i'll ask the second one first actually.

Monique Lillard: So the world seems to be moving into streaming people have to ask for the visual play or the DVD player.

Monique Lillard: What does that do to entertainment, what does that do from the consumers point of view or any other points.

Monique Lillard: And let me just say like you're thinking kenton is a professor of journalism and mass media Jerry is an artist and he is journalist and but an apprentice, I always forget because i'm so i'm.

Monique Lillard: So a performing arts person well and marketing director for performing arts.

Monique Lillard: There, though, so these are interesting perspectives and feel free to bring them it go ahead, whichever one of you, so the first is the broad question so streaming is very much a solitary pursuit that you can stream anything you want that you can that you're willing to pay for it anytime.

Monique Lillard: And you can probably find between netflix and Amazon hulu and grit bucks and.

Monique Lillard: acorn TV.

Monique Lillard: TV series or movies from all over the world, but you're doing it on your own you know it's on demand video there there's nothing communal about it.

Monique Lillard: And what the video store offered was some middle ground between BAP isolated consumption of film.

Monique Lillard: And the theatrical version, because that as we mentioned earlier that collective nature of exchanging tips with other customers are calling on the staff for recommendations and so that much is is lost, although i'm sure people are getting on website websites and Facebook pages for.

Monique Lillard: Oliver stone films and making comments about.

Monique Lillard: You know everything that Oliver stone has ever made and but, so I think that's a cultural loss and video stores, in some ways.

Monique Lillard: are well suited for.

Monique Lillard: mainstream businesses that it was sort of a draw to go downtown to.

Monique Lillard: The bookstore you go to pick up a video and then you'd go to the ice cream store and.

Monique Lillard: buy ice cream books for to kind of co op to.

Monique Lillard: Right yeah so it's so became part of the destination.

: downtown.

Monique Lillard: So what other cultural.

Monique Lillard: experience.

Monique Lillard: races, the pitter patter that would go on in the store when you should people discussing which vidyo throwing they were get.

Monique Lillard: It don't do that with streaming you make up your mind, and when you go there's no.

Monique Lillard: Negotiating really much.

Monique Lillard: to worry about about the preservation of the films, so we saw the seller that for various political reasons, your company's owning, for example, the rights to show gone with the wind oh it's a bad movie now.

Monique Lillard: The way you know it was off for a while, was not available, I didn't know because of our in our not trying to say that it.

Monique Lillard: That way depicts black people, at least in in some ways right, of course, it is you know, so I, but then it's like Okay, then it's off our list you see it, in other words, they.

Monique Lillard: Control invested in a few minutes corporation now i'm obviously slanting was i'm a little jumpy talking to journalists does she have a slanted question.

Monique Lillard: But let me respond to that does that worry you stream well libraries will become the ultimate repository.

Monique Lillard: Which is another, but whether they'll continue to have access, or is it the question whether the technology will just in my lifetime, the transition from beta the vhs to DVD to streaming.

Monique Lillard: Some something will come on so well, we still have access to the.

Monique Lillard: movies that were on on film have they been digitally transferred to a form and the camera they doesn't have a working film projector anymore, do they have I.

Monique Lillard: Think it's all DVD.

Monique Lillard: Video.

Monique Lillard: projector was having some problems in the made stop and have to kind of thread that I haven't recollection of that and then thread the film back onto the projector where I get broken.

Monique Lillard: Rather than splice it to well what I remember, and we all.

Monique Lillard: Children and.

Monique Lillard: younger people you'd be watching a film in a movie theater and so that it would start to.

Monique Lillard: burn out.

Monique Lillard: Like a deflated balloon across the audience well and that's one of the things that the new camera has.

Monique Lillard: done they put their finger on the need to have communal watching a movie we can all get those movies or seeing that they are a movies for grownups and I hope they're going to open soon where we'd all walk in and see these movies, you know, so there is something to the communal.

Monique Lillard: Economics of it, you know.

Monique Lillard: i'll just tell you that there were about 35,000 titles that when the store closed.

Monique Lillard: And, and we were trying to do, marketing, I was on the collaborative forth and, at the time they were saying you need to subscribe to 11 streaming services to replicate what was in that store and even then there'd be some that wouldn't be covered I just I.

Monique Lillard: You know it's an interesting thing at the time and people say well streaming is cheaper and then you know that.

Monique Lillard: you're paying 20 bucks and.

Monique Lillard: I didn't have the same inventory, the video represented a huge inventory.

Monique Lillard: That we could never access and for movies, you know some.

Monique Lillard: series but.

Monique Lillard: They have movies, but they don't have the wealth of movies and i'm sure it has to do with licensing sure.

Monique Lillard: Getting.

Monique Lillard: exclusive content.

Monique Lillard: Warner brother.

Monique Lillard: to buy more and more of the streaming service in order to get movies, you could rent they're the same prices, as you know anything else, this is.

Monique Lillard: Where we are going to proprietary our way our culture, this is what happens it, and it also means people are self selecting narrower and narrower sub category, so your preferences so there's not that.

Monique Lillard: The range the Bronze cross cultural general interest movies.

Monique Lillard: yeah you just use the Greek word for the prior can you talk more about that.

Monique Lillard: Where where are we with that question, well, let me see you soon.

Monique Lillard: Culture, because what you said, well, you talked about all of these very streaming services 15 1115 that edited out before that there was one video one company.

Monique Lillard: And now everybody's trying to outdo each other with making money off of the streaming, and that means that it's being split and we're losing the movies.

Monique Lillard: The streaming services are competing with each other, we have to pay money to in list for each one of those that means a limited number of people will have all the goods and there'll be some that will get very few if anything.

Monique Lillard: that's it so.

Monique Lillard: yeah I want to say i'm going to keep hold on to that word proprietary I liked it I made that up on the spot i'm going to ask myself.

Monique Lillard: And while to build on that, while there were multiple movie studios.

Monique Lillard: are so paramount, but the video stores, just as the movie theaters before them are sort of the collection point they would pull from all these different sources and bring them together as a.

Monique Lillard: clearinghouse.

Monique Lillard: Where then customers could go when choose one from column a and one from column B, and you know if you have kids you would get kids movies, and then you brought up movies.

Monique Lillard: You would have.

Monique Lillard: sort of one stop shopping and as opposed to the model plus of the streaming services, so it became the the cultural melting pot of the world, send them a culture change together in one place.

Monique Lillard: When you're in a movie theater I go back to minneapolis when my grandmother would babysit my sister.

Monique Lillard: And she would.

Monique Lillard: Go to the Columbia heights movie theater and see a movie so it's it's the excitement and the drama of entering the theater.

Monique Lillard: it's all lit up and you look across the theater you see who is there, so become sort of this social thing you get in your seat first, you have to get the power for the popcorn get in your seat, and then the light speaking to him.

Monique Lillard: And people get quiet, there is a drama in the theater itself that contributed to the whole experience we don't get that watching netflix streaming movie now Oh, and the trailer is that.

Monique Lillard: For Newsreels.

Monique Lillard: Now capitalism, the entire 20th century and there are lots of lawsuits from the 1930s and 40s because actually say paramount pictures would have paramount movie.

Monique Lillard: theaters and they would have and I can't remember the last song to say it's sort of a bookmark to be looked up and they say you know you get a sweeter deal you get the first run pictures they were the lawsuits about.

Monique Lillard: vertical integration.

Monique Lillard: production, distribution and exhibition exhibition yeah they only be there's like.

Monique Lillard: 20 century fox on the fox theater in spokane and so was the paramount decision in 1946 broke up the.

Monique Lillard: The vertical integration, and it was in violation of London, and I trust my accent, so the theaters the film studios had to sell their theater.

Monique Lillard: And they couldn't control that so so tied.

Monique Lillard: Back to that.

Monique Lillard: channel.

Monique Lillard: are like like we did we subscribe to Disney did we pay for one month in order to watch Hamilton I haven't.

Monique Lillard: given me a lot of time and just a few more questions.

Monique Lillard: let's see here.

Monique Lillard: memory.

Monique Lillard: you're not limited to one but.

Monique Lillard: I forgot to ask a question.

Monique Lillard: will do.

Monique Lillard: I think it was just the coincidence of.

Monique Lillard: Returning a movie and having somebody else there waiting to get it as soon as you brought it back or vice versa sort of wandering the store and somebody brings the the movie back and that staff person says your your movie just came out and so that sort of passive on.

Monique Lillard: When it was a first run or a new new release and that the staff recommendations.

Monique Lillard: Which but some of those were really weird.

Monique Lillard: Because, because the staff members were younger than the customers and they have different tastes that are perceived yeah but but.

Monique Lillard: yeah so the staff picks some recommendations or I really like this can you suggest, something that is similar sort of like when you went to book people and.

Monique Lillard: Bob would reach under the counter and say I have this book and I think you should You should read it.

Monique Lillard: sort of the the video equivalent of a recommendation from the owner.

Monique Lillard: Well i'm a hopeless romantic.

Monique Lillard: fun of going to the video store as a couple was that you are negotiating right, yes, there would be this gentle pitter patter back and forth yeah so so you go to one session I could be other and we come back together and I don't know.

Monique Lillard: The play it was really miss that yeah for dating couples and it was a courtship ritual that they could could go in and say well let's let's get a video, and so they sort of discovered each other's tastes.

Monique Lillard: discovery discovering yes.

Monique Lillard: And then some, so I think that's another dimension of the social aspect that is lost, and so now video you're you're texting saying.

Monique Lillard: On ustream something tonight let's say, well, what do you have in mind.

Monique Lillard: You go back and Martha and then.

Monique Lillard: And now you can stream something simultaneously yeah from two different computers and then you come together and have a conversation afterwards and silly know.

Monique Lillard: what's test Moscow Idaho Los and you've kind of answered it, and if you want to send that out well, that is a mainstream anchor part of the destination part of the reason.

Monique Lillard: For going downtown.

Monique Lillard: and

Monique Lillard: We also lost the.

Monique Lillard: The opportunity to get those really weird and different and unusual foreign films that are still there and we would, if we have the right streaming service and we got the.

Monique Lillard: recommend attending and so Stephen Flores will.

Monique Lillard: gladly give you film recommendations.

Monique Lillard: And he uses the one at the library, what is the canopy.

Monique Lillard: Using.

Monique Lillard: And you login through your your log.

Monique Lillard: canopy with a cane.

Monique Lillard: was a.

Monique Lillard: library.

Monique Lillard: You know, I was just not quick enough on the draw to win mostly I really should have picked up all of the movies about journalists journalists.

: together.

Monique Lillard: The pandemic, we were all so dazed by, I just wanted to say that in doing these interviews people are seeing.

Monique Lillard: It our memories, or even clear and everybody has your reaction of it was just a year or so so don't feel and then you can read the process with.

Monique Lillard: I know i've done a little behind that sort of little depressed and then suddenly they were all gone and yeah it was hard, it was hard to tell me that the camera they brought up a good chunk of those videos.

Monique Lillard: They didn't they were donated can't work okay yeah and then they kept the criterion and they crept kept the French movie maybe a few others, and then they were sold in.

Monique Lillard: kind of five Sharma and that money helped sustain the kenworthy through the pandemic so that was a good use of the money, yes, and apparently people got kind of excited the science fiction books were all excited apparently I somehow missed a lot of it but yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah well, I think we were so focused on coping with this horrible disease and lockdowns and those of us that were still teaching and had all of a sudden, they have to be spending.

Monique Lillard: Hours prepping to do a zoom and then.

Monique Lillard: turn around and watch a movie or two hours.

Monique Lillard: Or is there anything I should have asked you anything else you want to say any critical complimentary and Edit normal, I think, in retrospect nice sorry.

Monique Lillard: That we didn't pay attention to the signals and the potential cultural us that will ripple for many, many years.

Monique Lillard: The stories storytelling people are storytellers and story listeners and that's what video did for us and that shared experience.

Monique Lillard: This doesn't the same with streaming justice, we do have the camera they and it's coming back.

Monique Lillard: With a showing and I think they're restricting attendance but.

Monique Lillard: that's going to provide some communal viewing of the more exotic and foreign.

Monique Lillard: films that we're not going to see at the multiplex or not likely that stream we stream hardly any movies and we're mostly watching.

Monique Lillard: Dramatic multi part series and and our focus is, as it is very narrow, especially.

Monique Lillard: British crime dramas and snapping up everyone, we can can find and a little variation on man, but English Scottish Irish Australian New Zealand.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah well anything else to say, well, I hope that before you wrap up the project you're able to speak to some of the people that we suggest to Stephen or us would be good recipe for been saying, James they'll bring with me you just turn on the camera.

Monique Lillard: And they will run with it excellent.

Monique Lillard: pause or stop.

Monique Lillard: All right.