I don't know if that necessarily needs to be recorded. That's no I don't think it really does so, yeah.

Okay. Okay.

Are you ready, I think so. Okay. Yeah.

If I can hit this record button.

And I want to do record to the cloud credit to the cloud. Right.

Okay, we are recording, okay that's interesting so on my end it's just this teensy little thing but it does say it's recording so yeah, my mind to actually.

So, Okay.

Welcome to interview. My name is going to some I'll be interviewing you today.

I guess first question is have you sign the waiver relatable. I have, yes.

And would you mind stating your name and describe your relationship with Howard Hughes video and the video store call. Okay, I am Monique Lillard, and I was a longtime customer of the video rental place when it was Howard Hughes.

And then I was part of the group I think we called ourselves the steering committee that talked about what to do with the couple this out a little bit actually what to do with the video store.

When Pat was kind of pattern Kelly and Deb were kind of done with owning it, man. We there were meetings at my house to decide what to do. And then, ultimately, it was decided to make it a cooperative cooperative and so I was on the co op board, definitely

remember that that was as a customer. On my way out, I got to go to one meeting at your house and yeah.

Cool.

So I guess the first question is, How and when did you find out the video store was in town.

I'm not sure.

When I found out it was in town I remember it being there as far back as I can remember I came here in 1987.

And I was renting videos video tapes first and then DVDs.

Probably the whole time, more and more especially once I got married in 1993.

And, but before that also.

And I always preferred Howard Hughes video.

The store I remember is the one that was at it, I think it's Washington, fifth, it's across from what's now the co op. Right, yeah.

Yeah, so it's either in the streets, or was it the smaller Washington street address store, or was it the bigger fifth street address. I think it was the fifth street address.

Okay, trying to remember that Washington, I don't know if I was in that when I maybe was but the one I really remember vividly was the fifth street address for a while, what's now Co Op was guard sports and then it was some other sports store.

Pardon me, Herman's I think Carmen's here right yes yes yes Herman's right.

And

there were other video stores in town, I'm pretty sure that was tr video which 1.2 of them. Yeah, okay.

I remember one over in the East what's now the east side mall, but I might be mixing up some stores because I virtually never went there, I went to Howard Hughes video always question if you rented other stores and stuff.

I know you could rent at Safeway, which I might have done once or twice just on a whim because I was right there.

And I loved.

Howard Hughes, video, and I would take people there. I'm from Los Angeles and I had lots of friends in the entertainment business and I remember I took some of them there and I said to them, standing there.

I love how things are organized here.

For some reason it matched my mood it matched my personality.

Director wall, the actor wall, the Featured Actor.

Then just the various designations of the different movies, and just please meet from the get go, so I always liked it.

My question is what you just said what what made it unique come out. Yeah, yeah. And I,

for a long time, including after Howard Hughes video moved to Main Street.

I think my husband and I seldom rented the new releases. We went to the movie theater a lot, especially before we had children but even after we had children like first round movie theater first one movie theater right then, you know, the number of movie

theaters dwindled, and they started playing.

I guess I would say movies not really for grownups movies for kids and for teenagers, you know, loud, violent, or, or, animation, or both. Right. and not all, not only and I, I soon as they open the movie theaters again I'll be going back to the movie

theaters, but it was only relatively recently that we would rent a lot of new releases.

I remember again at both of those Howard Hughes stores, there was 99 cent night. And that was one of those things where my husband and I would read the newspaper with a movie review or we go to the theater and see previews, and sometimes we'd look at

each other and shake our heads and say that's only for 99 cent Night In other words, that's a pretty mediocre movies and then of course the worst category was not even on 9999 cents.

Yeah, exactly.

did you keep a list.

Like when you.

A lot of people kept list when he would see trailers and stuff. Yeah, I. It's funny you should say that I've only kept list since I've had a.

I guess a smartphone, like an iPhone kind of a thing in the notes section. I keep a list of movies I aspire to be a really organized person and I wanted to be the kind of person who would keep a list but I always would write it down on one piece of paper

and never have the piece of paper when I was. And then even that list is a bad list because some of them, I'd see and then I wouldn't embrace it or I think well I really had a move it down so I remember that I was.

Yeah. Anyway, boxes full of movie lists that I've jotted down some scraps of paper and right right now I have a stack under my TV of movie reviews and stuff and I'm supposed to look at that when I go on Netflix.

Yeah, yeah.

So did you mentioned how often you visited the store. Well, I wish I could remember when I would say for the last 10 years, 15, years since about 2005, we would certainly go every week, sometimes more than once a week.

They would have great specials.

I don't know what it was.

Three for the price of two, and it was very complicated five, five and five days for $5 and then it was five and five days for $7 and then it was five and seven days for $7 I think, but I'm not only was kind of complicated just on a weekly basis, but

it kept changing and over the years. Right, right. And we'd get more and more and I'd sometimes I think it's almost as if we're gluttons or something you know, because we, I was guilty of that, you know, and I took the public library you know it's just,

hey this is free or close to free, and I might want to watch it and, you know, I loved every section of that store, I

loved old movies, still love old movies in fact I have not subscribed to Turner Classic Movies, or the other went but I might I just might, You know it would recommend.

I think I probably.

I have, I have cable.

Turner Classic Movies is by far the best channel out there, because there's no commercials.

In the within the movies and the selection is incredible. Yeah, there's no bleeps or blurs or anything like that. I probably will do it. I actually have a friend who likes it so much that she actually went on the Turner Classic Movies cruise, that they

did oh yeah so that's pretty hardcore. But my joined the wind up. That's a good day I got my younger son laughs at me because he claims when we're in a motel room.

Well I guess I should say that so.

But at the end of the 90s. I had two children, and my husband and I wanted to keep them away from network TV mainly from the ads and just there's just lots of vulgar violent materialistic stuff that we wanted to keep them away from the end of the story

is that might have backfired but anyway that was the, that was our idealistic parenting thing. And so we said, okay, we're not subscribing to cable TV or whatever you want to call it, yeah no dish no cable.

And that's part of why we got so many movies from the video store and they were all from Howard Hughes, and so we would get kids movies.

Later, one of my son's just adored a Japanese animated fellow he's famous Merc our. Can you say, Miyazaki Miyazaki. All right, there we go. And, yeah, like spirited away and those which I think is one of our Studio Ghibli or give lineage.

Exactly, yes and at the main street store they were right as you were about to check out they were right kind of here and that sort of little corridor that.

Yeah, the little hallway bottleneck. Yes, the bottleneck right.

I loved.

I love musicals, so I'd get musicals.

I thought that a proper upbringing of my children meant that they would have seen certain movies and so I got all sorts of old movies, I mean really old movies that I'd never seen like Shane and stuff like that, and movies that my husband and I had seen

as children and then movies that we'd seen as young adults as my children grew up, often to pick myself up I try to get a comedy.

And then, drama, the foreign films, especially at the end, oh my gosh that was a good collection. Yeah.

We had an incredible collection there towards definitely, definitely Criterion Collection to invite Yeah, I just reveals I'm a bit of a low bar I didn't love criterion movies as much as I just loved old movies I don't mind schlocky old stuff I just think

it's fascinating and I've often thought that that, in some ways, some of the most valuable movies in that collection, were the ones that aren't famous aren't very good, but just sort of what, what did a bad movie look like, you know, what an everyday

movie look like, and then the TV shows, as the whole world started going to more and more TV series. And to this day, I actually prefer the video or DVD experience to Netflix.

This will sound crazy but Netflix gives you a brief second of the credits, and then they're on to the next one, unless you have to Russian on my Roku it's sort of a complicated thing to watch the credits and you have to make an effort.

And for some reason that's too fast to me I'd rather savor it i'd like that little time for the credits and time to. It just goes a little too fast for me that I'm sure I could I do deal with it it's not it's not ruining my life but I really prefer the

the stack of DVDs I really liked that, so feel so if there was one other section I was going to mention Oh, there was one that they called

murders and thriller or Africa what you called. My husband and I always called it the Violence Against Women section.

suspense is violence against women but I didn't see as many of those although I love mysteries I love, I love a good mystery. So, I mean, as I say, I think it was virtually every section of that store had something for me so it was cool.

Yeah, cuz that's, I think what I mentioned is that the uniqueness of just the sections and the made it unique from other videos. Right, right. So really it's two things it's the vastness of the collection.

Plus, the somewhat quirky, but it just fit my personality way that they were organized. But the other thing that made it unique to answer that question is, how knowledgeable, the people in the store were about movies, you know, Ben Hardcastle, was there

almost the whole time that I was going there you were there other people were there.

And you all just loved movies, and you knew movies, and you gave recommendations I know I finally learned Ben has a slightly darker sense than I do. Yes, but that's okay I got to know that children's movie.

Watch out. Right, right.

So, and maybe you'll interview my husband at some point.

He goes a little darker than I do but you know our kids grew up on the Nightmare Before Christmas so if they ever seem dark, you know why, but it was best Right, right, right.

But, if I may contrast that to. Well first of all, obviously red box which I've never used in my entire life that I don't understand it, I do keep that discourage you throw it away, in which case it wasteful I don't even know what it is yeah you you rented

it. So if you brought it back the next day, or however many days you rented it know late fee and then I would just like crew late fee every day.

It was about Redbox or, or how to box. No, I didn't even know that you have to.

If you didn't return it. they would just charge your card.

$30 or for the price of the movie, and then you would just get to keep it, or whatever. Yeah. Well No wonder they make money, I mean they're still, I think I've still seen those red boxes if they're charging 30 bucks every time people forget to return

them, you know, after a certain amount of time. Yeah money making operation but I've never done it, obviously, and Hastings.

I'm sorry if somebody watches this who's worked at Hastings but I found that place solace in terms of movies and books, the people who work there didn't know about them and didn't care about them.

If you ask them a question, they'd look it up on some computer, and it wouldn't answer anything. And I never intentionally rented there are never made they made it an object of mine to rent there for a while they ran a Pokemon club, and my son wanted

to go to the Pokemon club and so I'm just stuck there for an hour and so I'd wander around and look at stuff which is where I got this impression of them, but I always contrast it to Howard Hughes video because of the difference in the people who worked

there, and upset me. When I saw more and more people going to Hastings, you know, and people would give me some answer like yeah but it's cheaper I don't even know what they preferred more new releases, is one thing it was right.

Yeah. I didn't care that much about new releases as at the end. That was our main source of watching all movies, was the new releases that Howard Hughes, or Main Street video but that hadn't been what hadn't been how we'd spent 20 years or whatever it

was. Yeah.

So yeah, you kind of link it up a few my next questions you've kind of answered in that, like, How important what was the video store to Moscow.

I can, I can start a little bit more in terms of our lives, the video store was very important. It was the primary source of our small screen entertainment fact just about, well, it was the primary source of our small screen video entertainment.

My husband buys many more videos than I do. I always said Why would you buy it if you can just rent it and then we don't have it around you know but he he loves opera videos and filmed plays and some things that didn't weren't carried at Howard Hughes,

and then he also, when he really likes something he likes to own it. Okay, so we, but other than that to our family. The story was very important.

I thought to the town. It was important because it was kind of a meeting place, you know when when everybody was renting videos, you would go to the video store.

I often refer to it as a video parlor I don't know why I somehow thought that's what they were called for a long time that video parlor so I tend to our sounds cool.

I like it, I like it but you'd see everybody, everybody who's anybody is it the video, you know and what are you getting in you'd stop and have conversations in that very Moscow way that we do.

My mother used to laugh coming here from Los Angeles she said well you're, you know you save a lot of time from driving but then your errands take forever because you stop and talk to everybody.

So I'm thinking about the same amount of time but I prefer the social way to the driving way so I did think it was important and then toward the end.

It was a rarity to have a video rentals place and so that became kind of special also.

Do you recall kind of how it.

I know you touched on it earlier but just kind of describe how it changed over the years. Well, of course between the larger store in the smaller store.

Parking was an issue, someone and I think it might have been you as a matter of fact Bo said to me, Well, what I'm telling everybody is just park as if you're going to the old store, and then just walk down, down a few more steps and you're at the new

store I think it was you and it was funny but just seeing that little thing to me, helped, I thought, Okay, why am I grousing, that's fine, that's what I

do x on the old than the mainstream stars nice having those two access doors. Yes, it was such a smaller store. Yes, Yes, and then to return it.

I think the old store there was a shoot in the back that you could use in the alley, I think so. It wasn't in the alley it was at the corner of Washington and Fifth Street.

Okay. Okay, there we go, I knew there was something, you had no, you couldn't like drive up to it. Okay.

part and then walk to slide it in the drop. All right, all right. Okay.

I did always try to use that alley between Co Op, and the Kenworthy building.

However, sometimes I'd get trapped in there by some big food truck. Yes, co op and I'd get the fragrance of the composting.

And then the people smoking outside of those hours alley, but I know the guy who manages John's alley and so he would be out there smoking but then you know I could hug him and say hello, back when people could hug each other.

Yeah.

time ago.

Yeah.

Yeah. Cool. Yeah.

So I guess you kind of mentioned the suit would you say you.

Since 1987 is when you first started at seven is when I first came here, and I would have started renting, and it would have increased in the mid 90s and it would have really increased in the two.

After 1999, and then going through to the end. Okay, that's when my children were small. Okay.

So, do you think, to you, who was the most important person at the videos.

I would have to say the person behind the counter. So I don't have a name, necessarily.

Except that, if I think of the person behind the counter, something about the times I was in there, it would have been been Hardcastle, he sort of personified. The quirkiness the knowledge of the, the knowledge and the love of movies so it all would come

together, certainly other people including yourself would fit in there also. Yeah.

Yeah, he, he worked there a long time, often on and as did I and we would have little competitions on who could name the movie quickest when somebody was just describing it oh funny yes and I think I probably done that a lot and I've seen you to look

each other and then I bet you were having a contest I never realized that that's hilarious. Jackie what section it was in you go grab it. Yeah. Yes, yes. I don't know I'm unsaid competition with Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, so, I guess why, why do you think the video store struggled in recent years.

Well, I'm

competition from hugely corporately funded other stores Hastings is the one that most comes to my mind.

Probably tr I you know I can't remember if there was a blockbuster here or not I'm not sure. No, it was a there was a video is called video and video land, and movie gallery, it was out my safe right okay it's that one.

I think it was preparation. Yeah, and then Netflix started with, you'd send off in the mail for the disc.

And it was just more convenient and it might have been cheaper I don't remember. I'm not sure it was cheaper because you guys had some great deals but probably for the new releases it was cheaper I would guess but I wasn't really involved with that.

So, first it was the combination of maybe cheaper prices. And as you said more selection, especially on the new releases, not more possibilities but just on the new releases more they'd have more copies and all of that.

And so I think that was part of it.

Then streaming started streaming on Netflix and I think more and more people.

And I'd say this is part of the alienation of our society, you know, which is epitomized by having a zoom conversation, but

didn't want to go out right and just, you know, why would I have late fees. Why would I have to remember to pick it up and then remember to return it.

Especially if it's going to be hard to park. When I can just sit at home with my feet up and just find it at home.

And I understand that I'm, I'm as lazy as the next person.

I think I valued the sociability of going out, I like to go out and see people both other customers and the people behind the counter, but a lot of people really didn't know.

You know, and then it starts to snowball. So then the hours of the store, start retracting because it costs money to keep it open, but then people say, well, but heck you know I needed it open at noon because that's what I'm walking past there and that's

what I want my life to sum up my lunch break and it was a very good move.

Possibly too little too late, but it was a very good move to go to a seven day rental instead of a five day rental because that way you could just sort of think okay Wednesday's my day I returned movies, and you know before we started recording we you

reminded me of something, but maybe we were recording I'm not sure.

It's something I didn't track very much, but there were people who knew exactly when there would be the new releases come in, and when they would go down in price.

After they off new release and all of that and I think a lot of people were tracking all that but of course with Netflix or even with those other stores.

You didn't need to track it as much you know you could you could be sorted just to just get stuff algorithms was right there and so until you know we didn't have a very good online presence, if any, except for Facebook towards the end, but yeah, just,

it was inside the store that you would have your new list of what came out that Tuesday and then what dropped, you know, Just off new release it would drop off of new release into the five day seven day rental.

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, yeah, so, and then I actually thought coven could have presented a great opportunity for the store.

Everybody was staying home.

And I can't remember it's only a year ago but I can't remember what those closing rules were. I don't know if the store could have stayed open and had somebody inside but no customers, and you could have called in what movies you wanted.

Yeah, but ideally to do that, you would have some sort of a computerized list that could be on the database, and online and Lauretta explained in detail actually in her interview, why that was really really hard to do.

I think I hadn't really understood this until a couple days ago when I interviewed her a website, and a database are not the same thing. Right, so you've got this list of movies and then you've got this website that people can get into, and then they've

got an interface that nobody wants just an alphabetical list of movies you want groupings and cross references, which it gets harder and harder and harder.

The algorithm thing was kind of a game changer. You know, that's enough. Yeah, yeah. I don't love, I just despise the algorithms. I despise that they're as good as they are really compassionate leader like, yeah, yeah you want to see all of those guys

Yeah, yeah, you want to see all of those guys right but but I like a randomness, also you know I like just walking in and what, you know, some colors would jump out at you.

I think it was Melinda Schwab of the co op, who talked about marketing, and she pointed out, you know, you alternate. So the movies were largely

largely stacked I don't have a good book here so that you read the spine, but sometimes they'd be like this. But if you alternate what those are, it'll catch people's eye, just the alteration, or just moving things around so shifting one or two down and

then flipping a couple things out. Right. And certainly, as I since I now use Netflix, the descriptions on the back of those covers were much more helpful than this teensy weensy little thing on Netflix, that describes the movie, but if you watch the

trailer on Netflix then sometimes it ruins something about the movie so I, yeah. Yeah, and I also a ton of a tangible person I liked holding the box in my hand.

But, Yeah, maybe I'm also a little sentimental.

Yeah, yeah, no, I know a lot of people were, that was one thing they didn't like about the video store was, how do I know where something is like, yeah, which title I'm looking for, I have no idea where to find it right you guys always knew.

Yeah, other than asking us you know what if you didn't, again if you're feeling like I don't want to see anybody. I just want to watch a movie. Right.

But if I didn't have to go downtown. I wouldn't exactly, you know, and I'll also say, I worked at the university, and I live in the fort Russell neighborhood and so I always was going right by downtown, it really would be a different story if you weren't

naturally going downtown.

Yeah. And at that point, you know, having it closer to whatever grocery store people were going to would have made a lot of sense. That's why Safeway having that rental in their store and they kept it open a long time.

Yeah, and they didn't have many movies, I can't believe it was a huge moneymaker for them. But I, my bed is, it was just enough to make itself viable.

Yeah, I mean, feel free once you record on, I think that's an interesting idea maybe I should do that. Maybe in the future, that's just like a brief. Yeah, thing.

So when I start recording I'll just say a little like, okay, yeah.

You ready. Yes. Okay. Okay, did a little pause there. I forgot to mention on the top of the interview that I mentioned my name but I knew somebody didn't mention that I was a long time employee of Howard Hughes video.

And then for roughly about seven years. And then, I was a manager of how to use videos through the different kind of incarnations when it was at the bigger stores how we've been describing it in the main street store for, I managed it for about seven

years. So, just wanted to get that in this area.

Um, so I guess one part of the process was the cooperative would cease to be Howard Hughes video and it became the mainstream Video Co Op. I wasn't around for that anymore.

So I guess my first question is how did the idea, develop.

Well, to go back a little bit.

I know my husband and I were aware.

Oh, probably even as early as 2013. We were aware that video rentals, were starting to taper off, we were, we would sort of think I'm so glad this place is still here and we'd worry about it there were fewer people in it.

Of course it was in the smaller location.

And then the dreaded day I saw a piece of paper taped to the checkout counter. And it was in big letters for everybody to read, and it said, the owners of Howard Hughes video which is what it would have been called the owners of Howard Hughes video are

thinking of selling the business, we would, we're very committed to keeping the business going but we need ideas about how to make this happen.

And I can't remember if that was signed by my friend Pat angle, or if it just said the owners, you know, call this number and then there it is my friend, I had not been aware that she was well I guess technically she and her husband Neill, Franklin.

And some other people were the owners of Howard Hughes video.

I'm going to interview her and I don't want to steal her Thunder but in a word.

Howard Hughes the appliance store had owned.

Okay, they were appliance store. They sold those called video VCR VCR, and then started renting videos, and then you went through this in years right, then the sold that off, and a group of people bought it, and then, alas, one of the most vibrant, members

of that group died and untimely death to cancer. And so then the other members of the group or at least some of them, bought his shares.

And then they ran it. And then, so Pat Patricia angle, was one of those, and her husband Neill Franklin was actually my colleague at the law school. And then the other two were Deb Reynolds and her husband Kelly, more.

Yeah, yeah. And, but they were getting tired or entire, you know, and Pat and Neal moved to Sandpoint in Arizona there they live both places but neither of which is Moscow.

Yeah, yeah. Pat owns the building.

Deb and Kelly, somebody was going to school and they were thinking of leaving Moscow also and they didn't want to be running it from afar and I learned later Kelly was actually doing hands on stuff like fixing leaky pipes and maintenance man, basically,

in the main street store. Yeah. Yeah.

Right, two apartments and to office buildings or yes this is upstairs, you know, my acupuncturist was up there forever.

Karen yeah yes he was, he was taking care of all that stuff. Yeah, I mean the space where the video. Video parlors I was for the video store was was it had been a restaurant a delicious restaurant called Loris kitchen I think was tapped to Morris to treasure

Loris tea and treasure. Thank you very much. Yes.

Laura's.

And then it was a tattoo parlor.

To parlor. Had it been Payless printing also maybe across the street. Oh, I'm Gary Meyer was the friends with Pat and Neil, and Devin Kelly. So Gary did on the building.

Oh he owned that building. Okay, okay. Carry on the building. He passed away as well. Yeah, I don't know if you were talking, I was talking about him.

Yes, Gary. Yeah.

Yeah, he, he also owned the Royal motor in Rome watering little bit down.

Yeah, he was a huge proponent and getting the ice rink here so that was he. Okay, well, I want to mention that because he was a big proponent of that but he yeah he owned it when the following moon was in there and he said hey I'm buying this video storm

and a half, you guys are going to have to.

Oh, okay. Get out of there. And what was the name of the tattoo parlor what falling moon. Right, right. Yeah, we moved in and falling moon moved a couple doors down by greens cleaners, with ours.

Yes.

Yes, that's right, that's right. Yeah, yeah. Now I've got not forgotten what your oh yes so okay so here it is. And I think it would have been let me, let me put my glasses on here I made notes, I went through a bunch of things on my computer, which included

a whole lot of minutes and notes, and I also did a quick scan of some old emails so I have a few dates here. Let's see.

It might have been.

In September, or possibly june of 2015 that I saw that note and I remember I was almost sick I thought, oh gosh I just don't want this place to close.

And then I found out it was Pat and even before that I thought well, they can meet in my living room because I've got kind of a large living room. And so I said, you can meet at my house.

And that began, quite a series of meetings, 567 meetings. Pat would always bring delicious pastries to it was one of those meetings. Yes, yes. And people would all sit around and talk and had all sorts of ideas and we kept getting off track because people

would start talking about movies and and all that kind of thing.

But among the ideas that were being thrown around was first of all, isn't there some individual who has enough money to buy out the existing owners, and then just start running at him or herself or another group of individuals.

And so then we start I think well how about a small group of individuals I remember there was an idea where everybody would throw in $2,000 and I think it was, I want to say it was like six or eight people, I'm so sorry I don't what I don't remember right

now was the amount of money that they needed to be bought out I'm not sure what that was but don't know this, I think it was, well, I probably shouldn't even say because I don't know for sure.

Yeah and I could double check my notes and want to say 60,000, but I think so too Maybe 3030 and 60 around or somewhere I agree with you, I think. Yeah.

And I could look at my notes and then talk again or else you know whoever's reading this can, I'm going to be donating my, my notes to the library and so it'll all be in one place so they can just read the notes that I think that this is in there.

And then the interview with Pat, and possibly with Kelly and Deb, will give us more information about that too so yeah anyway.

I remember I actually wrote a bunch of people sort of feeling them out, would they spend $2,000 on this or would they know anybody who would. And the answer was, and I think this is telling by 2015.

Everybody thought, this is a dying business, it's not going to last. This is a relic. And so, throwing that kind of money in was not, you know, I don't think any of us has just $2,000 they can just press play money, and I know I kept thinking.

Because I have all these friends in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles and West Los Angeles Hollywood, and I actually mentioned it to them and posted on Facebook a few times I thought, come on.

Somebody could I do know some people who are thousand bucks. Yeah.

Howard Hughes himself right the other Howard is you know but obviously that person did not materialize.

So we thought about selling shares and thought Oh gosh, but then actually not at my house but Pat talked to Belinda, who was running the food cooperatives, who is very much dedicated to the cooperative model.

And so we decided to move in that direction of, let's make it a cooperative.

Then came a bunch of decisions should it be a for profit Co Op, or a nonprofit Co Op, and there was some interesting trade offs there. And here.

Andrea had one recollection and I had another and the answer exists on paper, and those papers, went from Andrea and me to Lauretta and lower this still has them so we will find out the answer.

I think we were a for profit Co Op cooperative, which is allowed, you don't have to make a profit but you can make a profit.

We were a little optimistic. And there was something else there was something about reporting it was easier.

There was something easier about that.

It may be that eventually the co op after I was off the board, maybe they eventually went to a nonprofit, so that they could get actual contributions, because if you ever get a chance to listen to what Lauretta and Andrea said and I would say the same

thing. By the end we were starting to just concentrate on what an incredible resource. All those movies were, you know, Netflix and all those other sources at there a private corporation, they own nothing to anyone, there's no First Amendment, and for

whatever reason, they can just say, that one's gone, and just throw it away. You know, they can do whatever they want to it I think they can color eyes, they can do anything they can Bridget, I believe they can do anything.

I know that they can just flip a switch and have it be gone, because one of them. This last summer for a few days just said okay. Gone with the Wind is gone.

And you thought, oh why, you know, against racism, you know, and I get that there's some problems with that movie, and with a lot of other movies.

But God. Come on, you know, and granted Gone with the Wind is so important that it got undergone. Right. But, oh, and and you know it can be for any real reason not just one as I would say good as wanting to fight racism, It can just be, because they

perceive that nobody likes it anymore or who knows you know that bothers me. I saw the thing on turner classic movies about this exact thing and it's because they look at it as it's a part of history.

Regardless if you agree with it if it was good or bad or, you know, doesn't it was a part of history was made, and it should. It should be then people, I agree.

Now you see you're really convincing me to join turner classic, classic movies because that's what I felt about this particular video collection, and again, including those ones that aren't good enough to be called classics that are just weird dumb fringe

movies, but somebody bought that's cool to the classics to when you say, say the word classics you think, black and white booger.

The point where night movies from 1980 can be considered. Yes, you know, yes, 70s for sure, you know I don't like the timeline, or what the criteria is for to make something how many years old, it has to be but I don't know but you know when I was speaking

with Lauretta, and again for the purpose of this tape she was the head of the cooperative board for many years.

And she was saying that just last week, she wanted to see all the President's Men, and some other movie like that. And then she thought, where am I going to find it.

Yeah, maybe it's in one of the libraries. So, Robert parrot might be watching this and say I already have it called up on our on our catalog, maybe I don't remember seeing it but that doesn't mean it's not there.

Yeah, yeah, you know, but I know it was at Howard Hughes and then mainstream video. Yes. Anyway, as all of us more and more we're thinking of this story is really a local resource and Andrea did a second interview mainly to say that she considered it

like a library. We began to realize, you know what, this should be nonprofit people should just be able to make donations and if you could get a tax deduction.

I think there are some people who would have donated 1000 bucks, you know, and it wouldn't have taken that much.

And this is the question of, some people do you remember, it was people could donate $200, or they could split it they could pay in chunks but the people $200, they became a lifetime member.

Yes, it was.

Yes, 250. I'm not sure if which it was I can't quite remember again it'll be in these papers but yes, so that was going good for a while, like people were going to do it.

That was the downfall actually easy if people could just pay the 200 or 250 whatever it was.

Home Free.

But we gave these other options with really good intentions.

This is student town students don't have a spiritual hundred bucks, there are a lot of people in this town who don't have huge incomes, we didn't want to shut them out and you know a lot of those people were renting videos because they didn't want to

afford cable and they didn't want to afford Netflix and all this stuff.

And so, we said okay you can buy in for something like $25, and then you're supposed to pay regularly, but then they didn't pay regularly. So, at one point, as I just was sort of flying through note so this

will hold on let me just say, See here

by about by 2017. We already had our Co Op idea going pretty great guns. By February of 2017 there were 213 owners to the co op. But see, they weren't all in at $200.

So then we started having good deals for owners, and then the people behind the counter had to be the bad guys who kind of said well you know you're not up to date with your fees.

But then people started dribbling away, you know, and that was why we couldn't, I mean I think by the end we all thought.

We need to pay off Pat Kelly and Deb.

Then just run this place in a breakeven mode, and if only we could have done that. And if we could have continued with the low rent, I think the store would still be open, but we couldn't get enough to pay them off.

And then, Pat, who was getting wearier and weary of the whole thing, because they had a lot at stake and she was incredibly generous saying okay well will lower the price.

Okay, we don't have to pay this or that this month and on and on.

And then she wanted to sell the building, and the new owner and I still don't know who that is. Who wants to buy a building where your main a thing isn't a profitable.

Yeah, I mean nobody, nobody wants that. So, that was, that was a big problem. But you know, I know Lauretta was really big on saying you know maybe this ought to be in a different location, location with better parking, a location that's closer to the

university toward the end they were saying you know maybe we should rent a few DVD players because computers started being made that didn't have the drive.

Sure.

I remember when I heard that, that probably would have been in about 2015 and I remember my students. I was talking about the the video rental place with my students and they said oh I love that and then they should open I don't know how I'd watch it.

And I remember getting that same sinking feeling in my stomach about that of, oh no, this really is kind of dying out here. Yeah.

You know, I'll say there was one other option we explored, and that was to have the food Co Op by the video Co Op. I really wish that it happened to. Honestly, I remember hearing about that.

Honestly, I remember hearing about that. Yeah, and Melinda granite past the board, and they said no.

And I will find out I haven't interviewed her yet, but I think that they had the same feeling that we're everybody add which is you know by a dying thing, it's a dying industry yeah it's dying industry and you don't spend 60,000 actually brings it but

that's a lot of money, you know, 30 or 60,000. Also, those are a lot of money. Yeah, Yeah.

So, we decided to go with the co op.

I remember some of the people on the board.

Were really optimistic they said this isn't going to be a problem.

So I think we needed. 200 people to pay $200 something like that What does that come out 40,000.

I don't know that they had a number and they said that's not a problem. And I remember thinking, because I'm a pessimistic person I smile a lot but I'm a pessimist.

Like most lawyers.

And I thought, I don't know about that, you know, there is not that much money in this town, and they're not that many people who are quite as sentimental as maybe I am and who, you know, as I said, a lot of people were just enjoying staying at home and

using Netflix online and. And then it didn't happen.

The convenience convenience.

Exactly. But people may have taken it for granted to, like, yes. And once it was gone, it's like, oh, well, where am I going to get. All right. And I remember Ben and maybe you or somebody figured out, you'd have to join 11 or 12 streaming services, and

you still wouldn't have all those, that was me talking about that.

Yeah, I guess, just touch on what you were saying is,

as Netflix was getting more prominent, and it's going to streaming their selection was small.

Oh, yeah. The convenience was kind of outweighing the collection.

And then, but our collection was still there still human.

And then it just eventually. Their corporations their libraries gotten bigger, which eventually just hurt us yeah so yeah i mean that just happened to me, my husband and me on Netflix, I discovered something I'd never known was there.

That was the story of the Gospels. And then this thing starts flashing up saying you have to finish watching this by March 31, and my husband and I thought they didn't even continue it through Easter.

I mean, you know, come on. And besides, why does this go away you know and I guess the answer is bandwidth I'm sure there are reasons right PBS is another one.

You're just about to start watching something and then it's vanished. Then they have some premium which we even bought the premium thing.

And I don't know on Roku it's like, we cannot find some stuff. Yeah, I don't understand it well I'm not super patient if it hasn't come through I'm not super patient with technology stuff, and it all irritates me.

So, I'm unhappy.

you mentioned the things. Netflix, the big free there was like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime their library started getting bigger and better.

But now it's starting to become segregated again. Yes, and it's becoming more like cable that's, you know, exactly tips such expensive cable. And then, not to mention one of the treasures.

And what was funny was at the very end of the main street video being in existence I suddenly thought I should watch all these Disney shows because I had somehow missed a whole generations worth.

After my kids were got bigger that I've never seen frozen have never seen frozen to I've never seen several of those, and I was starting to take them out.

I thought I've never seen frozen I've never seen frozen two I've never seen several of those, and I was starting to take them out. And then the store closed.

Yeah, I thought, I am not paying money to Disney to see those waves I have some problems with Disney anyway, I think it's insidious and problematic, and I am not buying their plus thing.

If I do, I'm going to see Hamilton for free, and then cancel it.

Now you can use this date but bad faith purchase there but but I thought gosh, that in some ways was the biggest resource of all, you know, to be able to see that for the same price as you know something else.

Anyway, anyway anyway anyway, about the business deal so we

started raising money on this cooperative venture, it went quite well at first.

The transfer happened, I think it was January of 2018 we had this grand opening as Main Street Video Co Op.

I remember the Chamber of Commerce came wearing bread and we got a newspaper story and Mr. Howard Hughes who had originally, I guess, opened the store and own the appliance store.

He came down and it was a very nice event.

And then we realized there was this stalling in this in the getting the money from the owner members, which I think they're better called owners, technically called owners rather than members.

It then became confusing. There were the original owners, Pat, Neil, Devin Kelly. And then there were the co op owners owning shares. So, sometimes, as we talked we'd get confused about that.

So then we started a whole lot of more ideas member Jamie Hill, did a Kickstarter with an adorable video that she did about the story be great to get a copy of that video As a matter of fact, we started selling merchandise just to make money meaning mainly

candy. I think it was stuff like candy and popcorn and stuff, and soda pops.

We started hand billing I remember walking up and down the homecoming parade.

We had tables out of the Saturday market trying to get people to join, but everybody who walked by was from out of town, or they were already members or then they said look we just use Netflix, you know who's all this time out in the rain and all the

stuff I don't think we got a single membership out of it.

We had a fabulous party.

That was organized by Kristin Atwood, and I'm going to interview her about that and Mitch Lopez, of castle Lopez gave food and Breakfast Club gave us the space and it was just fabulous was huge that party, but it was people who are already members for

the most part, you know, yeah, we're, we're getting any new, we weren't getting many if any we had a raffle basket to try to draw people into the store and somebody I think it was Melinda.

Maybe it was Kristin would put together these beautiful baskets to try to get people to do more.

We talked about getting the marketing class that UI to help us out i think that i think that might have worked sometimes but not others.

I know I got Heather, Nikolay involved, she published this great home and harvest magazine.

Yeah, I remember it was my birthday.

They used to work with.

Oh okay, I'm not surprised that she owns the florist shop also she's very busy. And I think because it was my birthday I had a little extra nerve or something and I was at The Breakfast Club having breakfast and I saw her and I recognized her from her

picture in the magazine. Yeah and I rushed over and I said, won't you get involved with the video, just out of the blue Yeah, she was very nice about it, considering I just kind of came whirling over.

And then she designed a new logo for the store me just see if I've got.

Yeah, I think I, I've done that. We tried really hard with this.

Oh, I know we went to the Kenworthy for Oscar night and tried to get people to buy memberships then we were always talking about various possible partnerships with the movie with that with that Kenworthy.

And I think we even maybe had a section or something movies that had been shown at the Cannes where there were there was a pledge every movie that shown that the big screen at the Kenworthy the video store will get or something like that.

because we're just a few doors away from each other.

That's kind of the same ethos it's people who had a slightly retro spin to themselves who would want to go down to the Kenworthy and watch the movies and appreciate the beauty of the Kenworthy building.

Once we turned into cooperative with a board. You know, we were very much a working bored.

Oh my gosh. If you look at the minutes.

We were the ones, and by which I really mean Melinda and Lauretta and Andrea.

They were getting the workers comp insurance, they were making sure the rent was paid, they were oh gosh we all spent so much time talking about the outdoor sign.

I always wanted to, I said I would donate a sign in a big Canvas sign that just said video rental here, because it was sort of dark and then we were actually.

Yeah, we actually they're saying no, look at the lights are out and you know there was that triangle area.

And I know some of us on the board, really wanted that cleaned up and spruced up, and I think the people who are managing the store, are kind of like yeah it looks good enough so it was just sort of, it was just different thoughts.

There was a vibe with, you know, this is more when I was there and stuff that anybody who worked there, they just like they're like we're just a dingy video store they kind of have that mentality, but there was that there was sort of charming I kind of

liked dingy personally, but then there was this other part of me that wanted like spotlights out there hey we're here, we're here, we're here and. And I think when you were there, there was this beautiful old console TV.

Yeah, somehow you got it to play movies, but then that broke. And then there was just this console TV that was getting dusty dusty are

loved, loved playing movies on that way because it just popped you absolutely, it was such a great marketing tool because it was just like I said I remember TV show stores, you, you're probably not old enough to, you go to it out front of a TV star they'd

they'd have old 20 televisions all on the same program.

And just as a parentheses. I know someone

who was in salmon, Idaho.

And there was a TV store, and he was a big football fan he was a kid.

And you know that famous Hail Mary, pass that was thrown by I think his name's Doug Flutie. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Boston College, Boston College right this friend of mine was standing in front of the TV store.

When they showed that and then they showed it over and over and over again he said he was just in delirium because it was just all over the place this great past so just that's.

Those were the days, going way way back so.

But, so I just I guess I want to stress

that we were really a working bored, I mean we had people hand drawing signs and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, we met, I think weekly or monthly.

First we met at Old World in the back room.

Then we met upstairs, at the food Co Op.

But, which I thought was fun I like going behind the scenes so you can go upstairs there's a meeting place.

And then one of our members had some mobility issues and she couldn't really get up the kind of difficult staircase. And so a few times we met in the store, then there weren't even enough chairs to sit on I mean it was, it was rough stuff.

It was a working bored.

The food Co Op was really generous apparently one of the principles of being a cooperative, is that you cooperate with other co ops. And so, I know they gave us the free services of their graphic designer.

They gave us, or else sold at a very low price I don't know exactly computer hardware.

Oh, and then another thing that especially Lauretta but all the board spent so many hours on was the computer and you know I think a lot about this the computer at the rental place was an old dos system would crash crash crash.

And when I was there that's what we use. I never was a part of. I think a Windows.

There was a window. Yes, Kelly, one of the owners he would fiddle with that. That old system. And it actually had some benefits that old system but it wasn't supported and all this stuff so it was, but it didn't crash and it wasn't supported anymore but

it right. It was amazing for looking stuff up keeping track of things like yeah it was a loss program but. Right, right. And so then, a new program came in and we had a contract with somebody, but then there was some disappointment.

In terms of that person not.

Okay. I'm back.

put it back on if you want.

Okay, we're back after water break right okay good this time I brought my water glass So hear me swallowing probably

Lauretta actually just spent time inputting on to this new system because I don't know something wouldn't speak to itself and, you know, all of that stuff.

So, you know, it sounds like you guys I mean, The more just put a lot of.

No no lack of effort and I guess no lack of effort. I do think.

I think there was an exhaustion factor.

I wasn't on the board at the end in. I haven't the state down in.

Let's see so January 18 was the grand opening, and then I went into a meeting on year, 720 2018, January, official name change.

And then, in July of 2018, I sort of Walston to a meeting.

And there were two people who wanted to be on the board.

which is good news, but then suddenly, we realized that there weren't enough formal seats on the board.

And I remember looking around the room and I thought well we need Melinda, and we need more data, and we need Andrea, and we need this person and we want these new people.

And so I thought, Oh, I'm the one I have to go. And so I resigned. right, as you know, to make room.

This is all volunteer basis, it's all volunteer.

Nobody getting paid nobody. Right.

But

I you know in my heart I felt as if I was still involved with the whole thing and I found some emails even that I was sending and sometimes people would contact me about things you know Pat finally contacted me.

Thanks for just hard you know there were the sale papers that were trying to go back and forth and Pat said I still don't have them. And so even though I was off the board I said to Loretto, so where are they and she said well I think it and I can't remember

what the answers were but I think this person hasn't noble I think this person has them so just, it's people who had full time jobs, weren't getting paid.

Love to the store, love the town love Main Street love movies, and we're trying to make this work but it gets more and more exhausting you know and just in the last few days as I've been doing these interviews.

It's been a little upsetting actually I guess they were sort of desperate for more board members, and I would have come back on the board and I actually said if you need me I'm here but I think I had said that two different people earlier and I think

forgot when they really need it so that's, that's just sort of hard to hear. But, you know, I always think it's awkward about being on boards, board members, always say, We're not supposed to manage the place.

That's up to management.

But I guess I disagree with that I sit here and I think look, I'm. If I think that TV in the front is to dusty at some point I have to say that you know i think that's just being like, what do I just like a somebody who's just sitting there watching somebody

somebody else mess up, you know, it's like, no come on let's talk to each other.

And frankly, when I look at these minutes. That is management, you know, we were managing it so Morgan's input is just as, just as good as an owner's input.

Right. Yeah.

Yeah. Can you go does that TV. Yeah.

It should be the same, or even I mean I did find this TV is just, it's a very minor thing but at some point I said, I'll come dust.

Then somebody said, we're not supposed to be saying things like that it's interfering with his. Yeah, that's not you, it was somebody else interfering with his management, you know, and I thought, Well, I'm just trying to be helpful here I get that this

person's busy and beleaguered at what's important is the movies and they don't really care about this, Dustin, you know, I knew I could control was keeping it clean.

Yeah, yeah, you can show people not wanting to rent I can't control people getting mad about late fees. But, yeah, and we had a lot of time, you know you have a lot of time to stand around so, yeah, that whole time enough to lean enough to clean type

type thing but that's a good motto I like that. My home here, like, Yeah, I guess. ward. The.

is.

It would be hard though because some people couldn't make it to a meeting other people have other functions that I see how the board was started to span a little bit.

Yes.

Do you think that's what ultimately kind of fell to the wayside.

Like, okay yep, yep, sorry, go ahead and enter that and I have another question. Well,

the real reason it fell to the wayside is that people weren't so interested in renting movies in person, like that that's the real thing.

I think that the exhaustion of the board members, possibly even the manager, you know I can't remember if your eyes are going to interview the last manager I can't remember who's going to do it but you know I'd love to hear from him and I wasn't there

I wasn't on the board. I really enjoyed him and thought he did a lot of good stuff.

Connor, Connor, was the last manager and I don't know, I'd be really interested to hear what he says.

It was like there at the end.

And how much maybe sales were dropping off I sort of think they were.

And then comes coded.

And again, maybe, maybe the store had to shut down or touched down for a while, or maybe it was just that not nobody was going to be allowed inside but oh my i you know i just think it was sort of a trifecta there of what happened.

Yeah.

And,

you know, I was always pushing for more marketing.

And that also, or advertising, whatever you want to call it that also was difficult, you know, it costs money to advertise. And I'm not I you know I had a 10 year job with the state at the university.

Okay, I am not a businesswoman, and the business people on the board, said, you know, advertising doesn't work that well you know the question becomes, where do you advertise, you know, and I noticed when Devin Kelly were more hands on showing up doing

the books and Kelly.

Her husband during the maintenance and stuff.

She was like yeah we can spend money on marketing.

But how do we know if it's working, you know i mean like where do where do we put our dollars you know because we were so strapped for cash, where do you put your marketing dollars basically and is it worth it.

And is it worth it and how do you track it and I'm sure a marketing major would have an answer to how do you track it, but I remember we tried all that student.

Oh that student. So funny. Just a split second, go ahead, the name of it there's like a student coupon book that is that what is that thing called.

Yes. Survival survival guide or yes survival kit or Survival Guide, and you can do it there.

We. I know sometimes went to the, there's sort of an opening movie playing night of fun. It has Palooza in the name, you know, at the university and we said we should have a table there you know.

Yeah, I remember.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I personally when I was on the board I was obsessed with communicating with our Co Op member owners, right, I would send out emails.

I was the only one who seemed to think that was important and I noticed as soon as I got off the board. Nobody ever heard anything I think there's some people who still don't quite know what's happened, really, you know,

I don't know if that would have made a difference or not I was all please, I enjoy doing that kind of thing. And I don't know if more communication if we'd sort of said hey SOS, we need help.

Now, this is a serious, you know know if it would have made a difference, we were kind of that way to when when I was managing it, and Dennis Kelly on that.

Neither we weren't really savvy, I certainly wasn't with marketing, Facebook, you know, Instagram, social media, any of that stuff and I really think if somebody would have taken the reins on that.

Yeah.

When did you when I was there for maybe when it was the co op and the board.

Like if you kind of hit the ground running with that. Yeah, along with being able to, maybe, stay open past that are shut when we shut down for coven.

If you were to stay open, let me just get those 14 days out of the way and then start back.

That's what I was hoping I mean I was in there, on the day that the shutdown was announced for the next day.

And that was when Connor and Lauretta told me that it was shutting for good and I mean, I remember I said what you mean shutting for coded know shutting for good.

You mean closing completely. Yeah, I mean, classic does our movie director What is it Oh, if we got it in one taker it's just, oh, and I guess this is a but you know I've had this stomach ache for five years that oh my gosh I don't know how long this

is going to happen, you know, but it was, it was pretty devastating to hear it. Of course, I do want to say Connor was good he would post the movies on Facebook and post little comments.

And I kept feeling as if Laura and I were the only two people who even liked what he posted, you know, and I tried forwarding stuff he posted and or whatever, sharing are those words that you know i don't know i'm not savvy and, and you know, Jamie Hill

knew a lot about all this stuff, and she had a better sense Facebook, talk about algorithm that's a game unto itself to, how do you get yourself to the top of people's feeds and I certainly don't know me.

She's the one that took over managing when I left. Oh, okay. Yeah, She was assistant manager Kenworthy.

I knew she could help me with all that Facebook.

We did get it off the ground a little bit, give a shout out to Mitch Lopez So you mentioned earlier. Yes, yes, we would send out our new releases for Tuesday on Facebook.

Mitch would like it and send it out to all everybody following him on for Casa Lopez.

Okay, yeah, that was really good. That was really good.

You know, it's i doing these interviews and you know what i'm not sure we've had on this interview. So, Bo and I do these interviews. We're both, we're each interviewing certain people for the University of Idaho library oral history project and doing

these interviews has brought back for me, I think how much I loved the store, and how much I really mind that it closed.

And then to add insult to injury in England 360 which is part of the Moscow Pullman Daily News, because they had an editorial saying all these people trying to save the video store, they're just ridiculous I because I had my, I had a rebuttal letters

that I sent in about. I'm so mad about that, because that was about three years ago, that in there England 360, a completely different person at the store.

That's something about the last blockbuster store in America and it's somewhere in Oregon as just that could have been us wherever we could have been last video store.

Then, on my computer, there's something called pocket that pops up stories.

Something else about oh how great it is about video rentals and video game rentals also, it gets me in sense because I have this fighting feeling inside it maybe it didn't have to close but people tried so hard.

They did their best. They tried everything they could think of, and these are people who know much more about marketing and retail and business than I do.

So I'm not only sentimental I'm also probably a little idealistic and pie in the sky, get so pessimistic.

Why, yeah, yeah haha. So, when it when it closed. It was when was it right, I think it was March March when they shut down, whatever the day of the shutdown.

Okay, I want to say the shutdown was announced for Monday and it closed on a Friday or it closed on a shutdown was announced on a Friday for a Friday and I went in there on a Thursday or something, it was used again you are no longer on the board when

when that is no longer on the board so there there's a chunk of history, I don't know, was the board still together it was it dismantled it though no no the board was together and the board, I think probably effectuate did that.

I will be interested to interview Pat, because I had always thought of it as the co op owning the movies but you know, Pat had never been paid off.

All for you know supposed to be a sale. And so perhaps she retained a title to the movies, and the movies were sort of averaged at $2 a piece in terms of value.

You know the criterion one two are probably more expensive. I want to point my ears for this. Oh, why not just selling off the selling. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That was another bit of bad news.

When the Criterion Collection went online. I remember thinking, Oh no, because that was worth coming in for that was a huge blow. Yeah, that was a bad.

That was bad.

Yeah. Yeah, it was. It was our most expensive section in the store and our least rented section. Yes, I know. And I don't know.

This is why I really want to listen to what Jamie Hill says, I think you're going to interview her i think i think but I was like, I don't know where these movies are, I know that the University of Idaho has some, I don't know if the Moscow Public Library

has some I know the Kenworthy kept some, and I know for a fact that normal people like me, I got some.

I think like you I tried to track how the Kenworthy was selling them, and somehow I missed a chunk and then their movies I really want it, they were just a couple of it's actually it's TV shows kind of obscure one called American Dreams in particular

I would have paid money for that one. You know, and it was gone. So, Well, that I've hack once covert over and I really kind of get back into these libraries maybe I'll find it there but, yeah, maybe it'll come up to when we interview.

Jamie. Yeah, what, maybe what still left and right. Right. I know that that particular shows gone because when I finally said oh no oh no a Jamie Jamie I've missed a whole lot of stuff and I gave her a list and she very kindly, And I don't think she did

this for everybody. She went through and said no, this one's gone this one's gone this one's still here.

One of them I had the.

Okay, I paused it, so Okay, all right. I'm back.

Okay, we're back. Okay, so, you know, I don't know if you mentioned this when I interviewed you when you go in the store, you'd see a bunch of boxes that were the original boxes that the movie came in, which I didn't grab actually just now.

I'll colorful and with blurbs on the back.

And then you take that empty box to the desk, and then the people at the desk would bring you see, does it show it does show I think, Yeah, this plastic case.

And there's a number here. Yeah, that number matches the number on the box and matches the number on the disk actually handwritten on the disk. Yes, right here, Okay, open up discussion there you go.

Yeah. Okay, great, great.

And so if you would like us. Well, like me, my husband always put them back in their case I would sort of have them scattered and then rush and put them all together, you had to match this number, with this numbers, which nobody did and we didn't fall

people for that. Yeah. DVDs took over VHS people wouldn't rewind them. So then when we got five jewel cases over to those back. They'd be in the wrong ones and then we'd have to set them aside and make sure we put them in the right ones, because those,

the number on the display case, there's the number that's on the jewel box number on the desk and that's the number we typed into the system. And when it printed out the invoice for you to sign that's it showed that number and the title of the movie so.

Okay. That's right. Yes, it did. Yeah.

And for a while, you'd keep a profile we'd have separate pieces of paper right and you'd keep a copy of what we'd rented right there with those little print they were sort of a little half sheet.

Yeah, yeah, they were all thrown away once I saw him out in the alley. Yeah, we got like I think for accounting purposes we had to hang on to five years.

Okay, Yeah, yeah. boxes and boxes of invoices.

Five years ago. Yeah, that was another reason, so that's why one reason to it was really hard for me I think I mentioned this in my interview, was it was one thing was really hard for a video store was you had to not only have the display case out front,

which took up room. You'd also have the display case in or the jewel case and the disc in the back, which took up even more room, and it just kept growing, they never dwindled.

They just kept growing and growing and so that was see it was running out of room in a video store. Yeah, yeah, I can see it, and libraries run into that too.

Questions are a little on the lighter side. Yes, okay, you have any closing for the clock portion of this. no i don't i don't at all no okay because you, you kind of touched on the pluses of the co op, the drawbacks.

In retrospect what you would do differently.

I think we basically touched on all that stuff. So, that was good information because I was information.

And I wasn't really a part of that a whole lot so it was nice to hear.

So, do you have one of your happiest memories in the video store.

You know, I don't have a specific memory I have.

I remember the happy feeling I had in that store and I think it was,

you know, it was warm yellow, white, that were comfortable light fixtures there were all these movies around there was anticipation, there were friendly customers friendly people behind the counter.

Fun discussions, a light feel I remember I'd sort of waltz in and grab a bunch of movies and sign the thing and so happily.

Not literally skip out but pretty close you know in my heart I was skipping out the door. So, because I don't think I have one particular memory but it just the whole thing is a very pleasant

thing to remember.

Um, one thing I'm gonna, I think I'm going to ask people because I'm. Can I want to know like, like, like I always ask people about their best theater experience.

And that's not really something you can do at the video store I don't know if like movies stick out that you rented one time, you know, something like that.

Oh, yes. Oh, I almost forgot to tell the story.

In 1995, I was very pregnant, as they say, with my son,

who at the time we thought was a daughter, that's a whole nother conversation because there was a little miscommunication between the doctor and me But anyway, that was going to give birth at Griffin, and you know you got all these birthing classes and,

And you know I don't know if it would have been a DVD player or a VCR is probably a VCR and 1995, and they said you can bring in a movie and watch it if you want.

When you're in labor, you know, because sometimes labor stalls out or whatever and you know if it makes you feel more at home you can watch a movie.

So I took that very seriously with the idealism of a young first time parent and I thought,

probably cry I'm sorry, I thought, What movie do I want my child to come into the world to.

And I decided it was Charlie Chaplin.

And so I went to Howard Hughes video.

And I rented. I don't even know what I rented, whether it was modern, that probably wasn't modern times that would be too cynical, probably his early, there was a great little collection there of his early.

Maybe the kid or gold rush gold rush and even just a bunch of shorts he did. There was one that in fact I follow up with that but. And so we I ever saw idealistically marched into the hospital because I actually walked from home to the hospital because

I was trying to get my labor going and I don't need to give you all my labor story but trying to get that going.

And there I had my video and I thought okay well watch that and of course you don't watch movies when you're in labor, actually, you know I we turned it on and it was just as Duncan said Mac turn this off and I honestly have no memory of it.

But, but then I remember so let's see this would have been probably eight years later I by then had two sons, eight and six, and they end their friends came over and then their friend's dad came in to pick up the friend, and we were watching Laurel and

Hardy moving from the same kind of collection is trying to chat minute chaplain.

where Laurel and Hardy are trying to deliver a piano up a really long staircase, and the course, it keeps sliding down, and one of them Stan Laurel I think it just keeps tipping his hat to some lady and it was classic Laurel and Hardy.

And I looked at the people who were watching the movie I was standing in the doorway, and my, my two sons, their friend, and the friends Father, we're all watching the movie.

And they were so happy. They were laughing so hard, and I thought, This movie was made at years ago, and people were rolling in the aisles then and they're rolling in the aisles now and so it sort of epitomized to me the best of movies right there.

See I am sentimental.

Little neat story about Charlie Chaplin because you mentioned, you know we're probably getting a little. That's all right. It's good but what I'm fine, I'm speaking of that little console movie in the front window.

We were playing I was playing a Charlie Chaplin movie.

And apparently this is all from the mom was telling me this, that her little boy was mesmerized by Charlie Chaplin and like instantly became a fan. Oh, that's great.

I guess the next weekend.

They were at the farmers market.

And like there's somebody there doing face painting, and the kid wanted a little mustache.

But the senior was really confused and didn't want to give the little boy a mustache was explaining this to me She's like, I had to explain to him, of what this was white why he wanted that mustache.

That's funny. That was kind of a DOD Hitler's, it's Charlie Chaplin.

Yes.

That's funny. That's good. So, did you have something up. Oh yeah, we loved watching last. And we, we, when we watch TV shows we would have to wait for them to come out on video and so sometimes it took a really long time but oh gosh last I think really

yeah TV was a whole separate.

Yeah, again, like it was just out of control and for a video store like that so it was hard to keep up with.

I'm sure it wasn't how to make the choices and, Yeah, yeah.

There were some other series like that they're not coming to my mind right now but just just pure family joy, you know, watching together as a family.

Yeah, we ever frustrated with late fees.

family face Yeah, yeah.

Us woman we embraced you know we loved people got into like I know I had it out. Okay.

Right. Had it out lost it.

Once mine got stuck in the VCR because the VCR broke or something like that or, or, there was a power outage or something and I remember they said it's okay you won't get a late fee.

Once my son ran up a really high late fee and that was the only one where I thought, Oh, it was something like $43 and I thought, that is a lot, but I really didn't blame the store.

Yeah, but I didn't leave the store so that was that was a weird when I first started working there and it was a soda crude $1, a day, and they had it up for 100 days, they would have to pay $100 late Yeah, and I was always that was always, I would police

it, you know, I would say, Hey, I'm sorry you have $100 late fee.

But then I'm started as I became manager I started thinking I'm like you know that's not right. You should like that like Redbox does just charging for what the cost of the movie is, or maybe a little more because we're making you know we're making money

off of it.

Why would you go out and get a used copy will take will accept that too.

Well I've wondered about that I had wondered about that. Did you ever really have $100 late fee or were you just exhausted. We had a huge one there's someone there for three $400 just because they just, they got missed, they would just keep accruing late

fees and because not a lot of times we would just check them in and put like a D, like, like destroyed or an L for a long mosque or something like that.

Rs for stolen, so that we could do print outs and see which, if we when we need to replace it, you know. Yeah, yeah, I can see that. But then we sometimes those $300 they would just accrue.

Then when you checked it in that $300 on going somebody account.

And there would stay.

Yeah, because but those people did not come back in, or did anybody ever come back they would end up an employee just doing their job would say I'm sorry you have a $300 late fee no managers there so you have to stay at.

I'm sorry, you have to pay it and they say well I'm not paying it, they leave, and we probably never see him again. Yeah, yeah.

I remember, with the VHS tapes, they would be in a black plastic case and then finally, there were little signs on the both the tape and the casing if you leave this in the sun, I guess it was the tape itself.

That's right, yet right you had an old melted went up, would you charge people for that. If you leave them in the sun in the car they melt and it would vary I guess I'm, who was managing at the time but I was more on the side of just being lenient, you

know like, just just trying to get a cop that's all we want is just, we want the title back, you know, so if you could just pay for us to buy a new title or get us a new time a new movie.

Yeah, we accept that. Right. Yeah. There was one manager who then went on to work at Rosario and she was stricter about things, she was. Oh, That's right.

The other thing was, every now and then I got frustrated when there was a strict person.

I don't remember when you were supposed to, well, and at the time I never could remember when you were supposed to turn them in by five or six or seven.

Right. And I remember with her. I brought it in, let's say 605 that I said, Oh, I'm sorry I'm five minutes late, and she said it was actually do it five, but I'll let it go.

And I thought, I mean I because I, my first reaction is that of oh I'm sorry I'm sorry.

Come on,

you know, depends if it's a Friday night it really could make a difference because you said somebody way if it was a nobody. That doesn't know it's late fees is such a weird little slippery slope sometimes it's like if you're the manager, the owner and

all your employees are deleting late fees, you know, giving him You see, you're kind of like, why are you doing that, you know, right. Sure. There's this fine line of being too strict to leave I had we had that with the CO operative because we wanted

to have benefits to buying in as an owner, and so the most obvious benefit was no late fees, but then it was like but wait a minute, we do make some money off this late fees and by that I mean when you're down to trying to sell candy bars you you are

really looking for your nickels and dimes, and that became complicated. You know I in fact that's a great question for Connor is, how did how did all that get mad at especially at the end.

So, yeah, yeah it was, it was, that was a thing too is they were due back by five we had an hour grace period till six.

And then, but then we got rid of that.

It was just by the, you had to get it back by the day was due by the time we close the store. Yeah, that I could understand better it was easy.

And then her late fees kind of started getting smaller and smaller.

Yeah, yeah.

I don't miss that aspect of the video store this charging fees. Yeah, we're not getting our movies back you know that was really.

How much was there if that not getting your.

Oh, that's too bad. You think malicious or just people move people forgetting people, new they relate return them and then we lose them as a customer because they were like well I have a late fee there so I'm not going back.

Yeah. Nothing like that or. Sure, or malicious just didn't rent a bunch and just know they're not doing them back and, yeah, that's like that. That was an issue with the store closing for good is.

They told me as sort of a special exception because I'd been so involved but they didn't want to announce it that day, because that's practically like saying come in here and rent all these movies and never return them.

So, yeah, and employees, we as employees we got free rentals. Oh nice, but I would always have to police the employees, like hey don't take a bunch out and leave them keep them, you know, right, but even I was guilty of that sometimes I take five or six

home and I want to watch him it's like keep them and, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, there you go. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so I'm going to start asking people to, I guess we can do you can define movies you can do one but what are what's your favorite movie and when there's some of your favorite movies.

So you're asking me my favorite movies. Yeah.

Oh, gosh.

I always have such a hard time with favorites because I use I swing a lot with mood and that's part of what I liked about the store.

My favorite movies, you know, there are certain classics there's certain musicals that I love there certain TV shows that I love it you know I'm fumbling for some of these.

Oh, just I mean Downton Abbey lost.

Oh gosh.

question I'm sorry, but

I could talk movies and.

Can I, I can you know in categories that I, what would be an interesting thing for me to think about her What are the movies I took out over and over again.

And some of those I eventually bought or asked for as a present. You know one thing from a, for example dingy dingy run from a the.

Gosh, I loved that series, and I love.

So funny I might send you I'll send you an email around. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

So was there anything we didn't talk about that you think we should add or not right now I don't like your, your backgrounds getting darker and darker Oh, here yeah that's right there, that help better, a little bit, but yes yeah I look as if I'm candle

lit or something is all really, you can't even see oh that's funny. Yeah, it's on the wall or. Yeah, yeah, I could turn on light but I'm not sure it's worth it.

So, yeah. Okay, so nothing else.

If I come up with something else I'll, I'll do just what Andrea did with me I might just say, Hey, can we talk just another 15 minutes and just wanted to add a lot of people might buy or you lack of a better phrase getting their juices flowing and then

they're like, they get off and they're like I wish I would have talked about this, I wish to talk about that. Yeah, yeah you wake up in the night and think, oh wait I didn't see that like I really would have been modified forgotten to tell you about that.

Taking Charlie Chaplin to the birthing room for what it was worth.

This song is there anyone else you would then we should you think we should speak sequence that you can think so I've.

I don't think so but I'll let you know if I do, and we'll divide them will continue to divide them up so, yeah. Yeah.

Good.