Melinda Schab recounts her experience as a customer of Howard Hughes Video, and her relationship with trying to help the video store before it closed. She remembers being a college student visiting and renting from the store with her friends. Schab says an incredible asset of the video store was the ability to experience different cultures. She believes she may have had a hand in the idea of the video store becoming a co-op. Schab was also the board president of the Main street Video Co-op.

Monique Lillard: To the cloud Okay, it says that we're recording so for the record, it is Friday April 9 2021 and I am here with the University of Idaho oral History project about the video rental store in downtown Moscow.

Monique Lillard: and

Monique Lillard: I need to ask you Melinda have you signed the waiver release form.

Monique Lillard: That I said.

Monique Lillard: Very good, thank you, I just want to state on the record what I said just a second ago you can review this transcript you can make corrections, you can make changes, we can meet again it's all fine it's all fine.

Monique Lillard: Could you state your name I want to get the, especially the pronunciation of your last name, because I have a terrible tendency to misspell it so if you'll state your name and then just describe your relationship to the video store and the video cooperative just to start us off.

Melinda Schad: Sure, my name is Melinda sham and i'm the general manager of the Moscow food co op and I was a loyal patron of the video store back when it was Howard Hughes video, and I think one of the people involved in trying to save that video store for this Community.

Monique Lillard: Yes, yes.

Monique Lillard: Okay let's start with just the store itself back when you were just a customer.

Monique Lillard: How did you find out about the video video rental store here in Moscow and what do you remember about it.

Melinda Schad: So i've been thinking a lot about this actually and I, I think the first time I ever went to the video store was when it was located on fifth street across the street from the co-op's parking lot.

Melinda Schad: And I was a college student so like in the 90s, actually, and my friends just the group of friends, I hang I would hang out with at that point in my life, we would come down once a week and I think.

Melinda Schad: If I remember correctly, the video store still had that deal where you could get five movies, for five days for $5.

Melinda Schad: And so we would rent a whole pile of movies, and take them back to campus and you know, have a weekend binge or week night bender I think it situation dependent.

Melinda Schad: But you know some of the things that the video store did for me and and, as a young college student right, this is like developmentally appropriate.

Melinda Schad: I don't think i'd ever seen a foreign film before, and so I remember.

Melinda Schad: My some of my friends were really into some films that I had never even heard of, and so I had this whole introduction to this portion of the culture that I had never experienced.

Melinda Schad: Because that video store existed in our Community, and you could just go rent any movie I mean it was incredible it was it was a huge asset.

Monique Lillard: And you were at school at the University of Idaho.

Melinda Schad: that's correct.

Monique Lillard: Right.

Monique Lillard: Right yeah tried pulling your microphone about an.

Monique Lillard: inch farther away from yourself, so that yeah.

Monique Lillard: There you go see your constant there you go great.

Monique Lillard: know somebody listened to this might say I should do the same thing, but fattened sensitized to this really.

Melinda Schad: Good does it make.

Monique Lillard: It easier and consonants.

Monique Lillard: More and more explosive.

Monique Lillard: consonants when it's real close that's that's what i've been told i'm learning i'm learning, who says we're not flexible.

Monique Lillard: So you started off as a college student visiting about once a week and then, then what happened between you and the video store but, before all the excitement just us a customer.

Melinda Schad: Sure, so I don't actually recall when the video store located from being a part of Howard Hughes to being independently owned, even though the name of it was still Howard Hughes.

Melinda Schad: I don't know what the timeline for that was and I left Moscow and then came back after I got married in 2002 and so honestly I can't recall, where it was at the time I just know that my husband and I were both delighted that it still existed, so we.

Melinda Schad: Prior to moving back here so that he could attend graduate school we lived in Seattle and Seattle had a lot of really amazing independent video stores and we just felt so fortunate.

Melinda Schad: That this small community in Northern Idaho still had this impressive resource for people, and so, just like in college my husband, and I would go rent stacks of movies, and take them home for almost a week.

Melinda Schad: And then from there, you know, we had kids so I, we have a family and when they were really small, we would either.

Melinda Schad: pop in one of us on our way home from downtown with an assortment of movies for adults and an assortment of movies, for the little people.

Melinda Schad: And then, as the kids got older, I was able to give them permission to rent on my account, and so they could go rent movies on their way home and I don't know it's just kind of a family institution, I have very fond memories of it.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

Monique Lillard: Was there anything unique about moscow's video store compared to those in Seattle or compared frankly to other video stores here in Moscow.

Melinda Schad: Wait I don't I don't remember.

Melinda Schad: I yeah and I know I remember as a college student that there were more video stores than just Howard Hughes, but then.

Melinda Schad: I seem to remember accurately or not, that when my husband and I came back in the early 2000s that those other video stores either didn't exist or existed outside of our like normal kind of.

Melinda Schad: Experience we we really enjoy the downtown core door, and you know, try to spend as many of our dollars down here locally as possible, so I don't I don't know.

Monique Lillard: Ah that's fine.

Monique Lillard: that's fine.

Monique Lillard: Do you think the video store was important to Moscow as a city.

Melinda Schad: Well, I think it's.

Melinda Schad: area, I think it was an important cultural resource right, it was definitely this asset that we had, I think a lot of people probably didn't know about it, and it was this quaint little shop and word of mouth advertising was really how you heard about it and.

Melinda Schad: In the old days, at least, it was freakin frequented by college students it just it just yes, it was an asset yeah.

Melinda Schad: yeah yeah we miss it.

Melinda Schad: We miss it every day.

Monique Lillard: We all do.

Melinda Schad: That has.

Monique Lillard: A theme.

Monique Lillard: Through this yes, what do you miss about it.

Melinda Schad: Well, I mean I missed a couple of things right.

Melinda Schad: I understand that you can turn your TV on and stream almost anything that you want to watch, but there is some things satisfying in the tactile experience of.

Melinda Schad: walking through the store and looking at the physical boxes, that the movies go in and just being able to touch them and have that sensory experience and you don't get that from the streaming experience.

Melinda Schad: And then, like I don't know how this is possible, but the video store always employed people who knew a lot of stuff a lot of crazy.

Melinda Schad: things about movies, and about production and about actors and the and the history of the industry that.

Melinda Schad: A you would not know that we had that many people who were that knowledgeable about films in the small town, but you could ask them all anything and someone would know the answer and.

Melinda Schad: I don't know I just miss interacting with the staff and the the knowledge that they were able to share with all of us, and then walking through the store and picking up something that wasn't even on your radar to search for.

Monique Lillard: I i'm right here with you.

Monique Lillard: I visit do yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: So let's talk about the ownership transition.

Monique Lillard: And the process of going cooperative and i'll just let you.

Monique Lillard: Tell me your memories in your words, but how did you even find out about the whole thing just.

Melinda Schad: Okay, so what I remember is that I was approached by our finance manager here at the Co op because she was a part owner of the video store so a group of people at some point.

Melinda Schad: bought the video store from the Howard Hughes enterprise, and it was owned by this group of people, and I I no longer recall if there were three or six of them actually.

Melinda Schad: And so my work colleague was one of those people and they were looking to sell and I think the original conversation we had about it was.

Melinda Schad: That there were a group of people trying to buy the video store from those folks who owned it at that time.

Melinda Schad: And Would I be interested in owning a share of it or investing you know $10,000 or whatever, whatever it was at the time to own a share of it and.

Melinda Schad: Because I have a mouth that gets me in trouble often I think I made an offhand comment about how.

Melinda Schad: Maybe we should form a Co op and the video store could be cooperatively owned the US preserving the institution for this community in perpetuity.

Melinda Schad: And so I believe she took that idea and communicated to the other owners of the business and then I was invited to a meeting.

Melinda Schad: And we had a conversation about that and and it just kind of went from there, like this crazy idea that I had sparked some interest and a group of us got together to try to make that a reality and, of course, in the end it, you know it was just kind of an epic failure.

Melinda Schad: Which is really hard.

Melinda Schad: And I think I think there were things that I could have done differently that maybe would have led to a different outcome, but I also think that the situation was complicated by.

Melinda Schad: covert arriving on the scene and and all of the changes we've had during Dewar for the last 18 months or so.

Monique Lillard: Several several follow ups here just sort of for the record the finance managing manager you're referring to is debbie Reynolds right yeah and she is.

Monique Lillard: I know we're approaching her about being interviewed I, I think that she and her husband Kelly, are going to do an interview, at the same time, but I think.

Melinda Schad: Wonderful future.

Monique Lillard: Yes, yes, and the other person besides me who's doing the interviewing is.

Monique Lillard: bone new so yeah and I think he's the one who's going to be doing those interviews so and then i'm going to follow up with.

Monique Lillard: pat angle, who was the owner of the building and also another major shareholder in the store so just so you know that that'll all be filled in.

Monique Lillard: So it'll be good information yeah.

: yeah.

Monique Lillard: You just said.

Monique Lillard: That there was some things you could have done differently.

Monique Lillard: You also just said that it was an epic failure.

Monique Lillard: And I think i'm going to start on the first one was it a failure.

Melinda Schad: really worrying.

Melinda Schad: I don't know we managed to help the business hang on for a couple more years right, so in that regard it wasn't a failure but.

Melinda Schad: I didn't start down that road, thinking that we were just going to save it for a couple of years, you know, I was really hopeful that.

Melinda Schad: That the video store was as influential and meaningful to more people than Maybe it was I don't know it has just been a meaningful part of my adult life in this Community and.

Melinda Schad: And I guess that's why I miss it so much.

Melinda Schad: So maybe not an epic failure, but at the same time, it feels like we put a lot of time and energy into this thing and we could never get enough momentum, or I don't know.

Melinda Schad: You want to hear about the things I think I should have done.

Monique Lillard: To go ahead yeah sure.

Melinda Schad: um.

Melinda Schad: owning a owning a business cooperatively is different from owning a business as an independent person right or even as a partnership.

Melinda Schad: And really even as a corporation, and I because i'm so steeped in the language of cooperatives and the ideals of cooperatives.

Melinda Schad: I think I underestimated the bridge that we have to cross when talking to people about really what it means to be a cooperative and how it's so very different because it's not just about.

Melinda Schad: about the differences in the business model like it's not s corp vs T hort versus you know these other things.

Melinda Schad: it's really that co OPS focus on the needs of their members and are really communicate communicative to Members and they.

Melinda Schad: prioritize that two way communication, which is something I don't think we were very good at and.

Melinda Schad: I think I couldn't have invested more time in maybe slowing down the process.

Melinda Schad: and bringing people along one step at a time, instead of what I feel like now, in retrospect, was like going in guns blazing because we were on a mission to save this video store I don't know does that make sense.

Monique Lillard: Yes, yes, now so for the record, there was a management board for the co operative and i'm about to ask you what your various titles were, if you remember, but since we're talking to history here.

Monique Lillard: I also was on this board so so you and I are going to be saying we and those types of things and that's why.

Monique Lillard: But.

Monique Lillard: there's so many questions, I want to ask them to get a few out let's just get the basics down, so there was no i'm going to go back.

Monique Lillard: There were there were options between being a for profit, cooperatives and a nonprofit cooperatives Do you remember, which we picked and do you remember why.

Melinda Schad: Well, I don't even remember initially having a conversation about being a nonprofit or a for profit, I only remember us being a for profit cooperative, which is the same way, the food co op is organized.

Melinda Schad: So no.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay.

Monique Lillard: And then you were you are first.

Melinda Schad: President or nah I was so like after we got the interested group of people together.

Melinda Schad: You all decided, for better or worse that I should be the board President and yes and and I was flattered and also took that job very seriously and.

Melinda Schad: And I guess that's where my thinking that maybe I could have done some things differently comes from just that that was, but it was so fun right, it was it was fun, even though, even though it didn't work out.

Melinda Schad: We didn't know each other, this well before this experience and there are lots of other people who might have never met in our Community and and we did this thing together and I don't know I just feel like I feel like in that regard, it was really valuable mm hmm.

Monique Lillard: Now my recollection is that I didn't know anything about cooperatives and you spent a lot of time educating us on the board yeah cooperatives and there were certain number, maybe seven some number like that principles of cooperatives.

Monique Lillard: Correct and what.

Monique Lillard: One of them was that cooperatives help out other cooperatives.

Melinda Schad: yep principle six.

Monique Lillard: principles that can you state it.

Melinda Schad: cooperative cooperation among cooperatives.

Monique Lillard: There we go there, we go and my recollection is that the food co op helped us enormously it with.

Monique Lillard: Things big and small, can can you remember that, and can you detail, it.

Melinda Schad: For him, so I remember helping with some little things like that we.

Melinda Schad: did a bunch of graphic design work, initially with the original logo and so.

Melinda Schad: Co op staff, I asked them to do that work, you know as a gift, not of their time because we were still paying them at the food co op.

Melinda Schad: But we was not work for the food co op it was work for the video store.

Melinda Schad: And I remember that we ordered initial stickers like logo stickers to try to sell in that the Co op actually the food co op actually paid for those stickers as a donation to the video co op so they could just be profit and.

Melinda Schad: I remember, we were getting rid of a drink cooler and the video store had a drink cooler that was on its way out, or maybe it had already died, and so we just gave.

Melinda Schad: We just gave a piece of equipment to the video store that we weren't using anymore, and I remember, we tried initially to set up.

Melinda Schad: The video store being able to order wholesale through the Co op the drinks that were in the cooler so that the just to make it easier to operate the video store it was just one of those things are there other things that you remember that i'm not thinking of.

Monique Lillard: I think there was something about actual computers hardware.

Melinda Schad: Oh, I do think we donated some hardware you're right.

Melinda Schad: yeah forgot about that.

Monique Lillard: I think so Lauretta reminded me of that when we had our conversations right.

Monique Lillard: and possibly your computer did your computer expert help with this long discussion about what computer system should be used at the video.

Melinda Schad: I believe so.

Melinda Schad: Our former it manager.

Melinda Schad: I think, maybe yeah maybe.

Monique Lillard: yeah and we met, of course, the board met a variety of places at one world.

Monique Lillard: But much of the time was meeting upstairs at the food co op.

Monique Lillard: Right until one board member had mobility issues, I think, and so, sometimes we'd meet right in the store and they'd have to bring us chairs and we were sitting on the floor and Oh, my goodness yeah.

Melinda Schad: All right, I remember I forgot about that.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Melinda Schad: When I guess the food co op we printed a lot of things we printed all the ownership forms and and all that stuff to save on printing costs.

Monique Lillard: yeah right.

Monique Lillard: And so, this process of going co operative meant that.

Monique Lillard: owners and I do remember a lot of confusion about when we said the owners, it sometimes it meant the small group of people who currently owned it, and then we were well trained by you not to call the cooperative owners members, but to call them owners and.

Monique Lillard: Then we'd get a little confused, but the cooperative owners would buy in.

Monique Lillard: Can you can you describe that process, and maybe talk about some of the drawbacks of that process.

Melinda Schad: Which part of the process.

Monique Lillard: Well, so the buying and how much.

Monique Lillard: We couldn't even remember how.

Monique Lillard: Do people pay to fully buy in.

Monique Lillard: Sure did it.

Monique Lillard: And I just not sure.

Melinda Schad: yeah so when we were kind of forming those first initial meetings and trying to sort out what it meant to be cooperatively owned one of the decisions that we had to make was how much an equity share is.

Melinda Schad: And so at the food co op and equity share is $150 and you can buy that at one time or you can make payments and so.

Melinda Schad: I seem to remember spending several meetings going back and forth about what our share price was going to be and also what our payment options we're going to be and we landed at a $200 a share price, and I think you could make $25 installments.

Melinda Schad: If I remember correctly yeah.

Melinda Schad: And, and I seem to recall that we thought we did the math we knew what the purchase price of the business was and how many fully vested owners, we needed to be able to buy it outright and originally I don't think any of us thought 300 fully invested owners in this Community would be.

Melinda Schad: A big goal, but we had trouble.

Monique Lillard: We had trouble doing that.

Monique Lillard: I think those of us on the board just sort of instantly bought in at the full price.

: Correct.

Monique Lillard: And I I remember, and you can correct me that part of why we had the smaller increments was we were where we wanted students to buy in we wanted, people who didn't have that much cash at hand, to be able to buy in.

Monique Lillard: So what went wrong what what didn't quite fly.

Monique Lillard: The way.

Melinda Schad: So you remember, because we were on the board together at this time that there was this kind of disconnect like the Board was working hard on trying to recruit new owners, so that the Co op could form and buy the business and.

Melinda Schad: The business was still owned and operated by the people we were attempting to purchase it from, and so there was a long time in there, initially, where we felt like we needed the authority to direct the store management, but we didn't have the authority to.

Monique Lillard: do that.

Melinda Schad: And so you know we were just kind of back and forth and back and forth for a while until Finally we just had a conversation with the.

Melinda Schad: owners, we were trying to purchase the business from and they said that we could actually oversee the operations, while we were trying to make a transition, and then we felt like we were empowered to direct management.

Melinda Schad: But that's I mean that's also hard, if you haven't been a supervisor it's hard to learn how to do that too right.

Melinda Schad: yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and I i've been on really.

Monique Lillard: One other board at length and a few other short term boards and I remember a lot of discussion about what's the role of the Board and what's the role of management and going back and forth about how directive, we should be.

Monique Lillard: do remember all that and.

Monique Lillard: do remember philosophy was and.

Melinda Schad: Oh, and Okay, but I think it's important to remember that in my work role i'm the manager.

Melinda Schad: And so I have a really good feel for what level of autonomy, I need in order to run the food co op successfully, and so I.

Melinda Schad: I think I really wanted our professional manager at the video store to have a similar level of autonomy that I had.

Melinda Schad: I don't think I did a good job, communicating that to the board, and I think that that we even though we never argued and there was no like fighting on our board I definitely wouldn't say that we were aligned about.

Melinda Schad: What that vision should be for how we were going to interact with managers and how we were going to communicate our expectations and also how we were going to hold that manager accountable.

Melinda Schad: To doing the job that needed to be done, I think that's one of the places where we should have focused a little more time and energy and created some shared understanding and that maybe that would have helped also maybe not I mean who really knows.

Monique Lillard: yeah you know I looked through.

Monique Lillard: A lot of the Minutes, I kept because I was Secretary for a long time.

Monique Lillard: And we had all these ideas, we had a mission statement and a vision statement and i've ever I kept saying you know Melinda wants us to work on a manual on a policy manual and we're.

Monique Lillard: organized and ready to go with the full co op protective viewpoint, then I remember a lot of pressure from the owners who really wanted to get out the main ones didn't even live in town anymore, they had.

Monique Lillard: Some illness in the family to deal with, and of course they wanted to get out they kind of you know, with all sorts of love for movies and personal caring about us one of them was my very personal friend, but understandably they were kind of.

Monique Lillard: done, you know right and then.

Monique Lillard: Then there was just a lot of kind of people came and went as managers, as I recollect you know and.

Monique Lillard: It was, it was a confusing time and, meanwhile, you had a full time job I had a full time job Andrea I think was still working for most of it Lauretta when she.

Monique Lillard: had a full time in you and Lauretta in particular very demanding jobs of trying to run retail businesses on Main Street in Moscow Idaho you know so just to sort of set the stage there was a lot going on.

Monique Lillard: Let me just move for a minute to management and, if you want to say more about the cooperative model that's fine, but just talking about management of the store.

Monique Lillard: What management issues came up that you recollect.

Monique Lillard: And there's no criticism of anybody here, this is just what issues come up running a video store, which I think is what the whole point of this oral history is about so.

Melinda Schad: So what I recall, is that our managers, we had several I don't think that they were really clear on what their job was because our board wasn't really able to articulate that in a succinct way.

Melinda Schad: And that's on the board right that that really shows that we should have could have focused a little bit more time and energy getting ourselves.

Melinda Schad: In order and aligned and have communicated more clear expectations, with consequences to our managers, but I also think we had.

Melinda Schad: managers who weren't participants in all of our original conversations and so maybe weren't as enthusiastic about this adventure as those of us who ended up on that first board were, and I also think.

Melinda Schad: that the job never paid very well, so it was hard for us to retain a really awesome talented person, which you need in a management role of a startup getting an off the ground and.

Melinda Schad: I think running a video store in the digital age is also fraught with challenges, and you know, maybe, maybe the video store would have closed regardless of anything we tried, simply because this is a smaller town and everyone seems to be using streaming services.

Monique Lillard: yeah Do you remember specific management issues that came up.

Melinda Schad: I mostly remember the board feeling frustrated that things at the store weren't happening, the way that we wanted them to happen or hoped that they would happen and that there seemed to be some tension between the board and management, but I don't remember anything very specific.

Monique Lillard: yeah You know, as I looked through my notes, I saw everything and some of this was when.

Monique Lillard: Well, and I should ask you do, you know how long you were the president of the board.

Melinda Schad: I was trying to remember when I stepped down, and I believe Lauretta took over, when I stepped down.

: So.

Melinda Schad: I don't recall if it was before my dad was sick.

Melinda Schad: Or if it was when we got that diagnosis that it changed I just don't in the timeline I no longer recall.

Monique Lillard: yeah well and.

Monique Lillard: worry and grief about a family member can affect your memory.

Monique Lillard: yeah everything else you know and so that's part of it, I think, but I don't remember, I have not read every minute of the myths, you know, and I wasn't Secretary the whole time but I recollect the same time, but I were you on the board to the to the bitter end.

Melinda Schad: Or it wasn't.

Monique Lillard: Oh okay.

Melinda Schad: So near the very end the board decided that they wanted to formally ask the food co op for help, and it was financial help and I felt like I couldn't be.

Melinda Schad: On both teams, I guess, and so I resigned and in was the President at that point, and so I believe it was just a three person board after I stepped down to try to facilitate some additional help from the food co op but that also fell through and then and then coven really yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and I was not on the board at that time either.

Monique Lillard: So this is news to me I wasn't there to witness all.

Monique Lillard: Right so.

: Right.

Monique Lillard: Back to management.

Monique Lillard: In the Minutes, I looked at, I found all sorts of things, and again I do think the rata was President, for some of this but.

Monique Lillard: Finding workers COMP insurance finding an actual insurance for the stuff you know fire insurance type stuff.

Monique Lillard: I know a lot of us spend a lot of time saying the front of the store doesn't look good enough that.

Monique Lillard: Right lights are out the the stuff needs to be dusted and vacuum.

Monique Lillard: That kind of thing here yeah and then, and then I do think there was some tension and I.

Monique Lillard: recollect it because my attitude was I care about this place, I see this stuff and I remember, I said i'll go in there and do it and.

Monique Lillard: I think it was you who said.

Monique Lillard: No way our job is to tell the managers to find somebody to do it, you know and and I completely understand with my brain what you were saying, but it was by heart was like i'll show up there i'll bring a vacuum in my car.

Monique Lillard: And I don't know how much that even matters you know I I, I think it just hurt me when people would say Oh, is that still open, and I thought gosh yeah.

: Right.

Monique Lillard: And it's a question of priorities and again i'm not sure it matters I think they they were, maybe even kind of going for the grungy cool little funky video store look I don't know.

Melinda Schad: yeah I think that we all felt like it needed a facelift.

Melinda Schad: If I remember correctly yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah so, but obviously getting it off the ground was the important part.

: Right.

Monique Lillard: How do you think your experience as a retail manager affected your suggestions, just for the day to day management of the co op of the video co op was that a clear question.

Monique Lillard: Well, got it yeah.

Melinda Schad: i'm in kind of I think that I had a lot of strong opinions about what I thought management should and shouldn't be doing I don't think the board necessarily all had the same opinions about that and so.

Melinda Schad: I know that I remember feeling kind of frustrated that management didn't seem to take ownership, the way that I wanted management to take ownership but also.

Melinda Schad: You know that can be that can be communicated by the board that we don't want you to do that and so it's hard for me to point fingers no.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Melinda Schad: yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and you know I should have said, I might have been unclear just a minute ago um you can say whatever you would like on this.

Melinda Schad: So don't worry don't worry.

Monique Lillard: That you shouldn't say something.

Monique Lillard: What I meant was my question was not asking you to point fingers.

Monique Lillard: But if you want to you could go ahead.

Monique Lillard: So I just wanted to clear that up I wasn't trying to stifle you at all.

Melinda Schad: No you're not trying to Okay, I want to be really careful to not point fingers because it's.

Melinda Schad: it's, not a single person's fault it's you know it took all of us and also we needed a lot of Community support which wasn't there, the way that we thought it would be.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: As I was a board member.

Monique Lillard: And i'm thinking especially of you and Lauretta.

Monique Lillard: I learned so much about retail i've never worked in retail my family's never been in retail and just little things that you said, like you, I think you.

Monique Lillard: came in one day and you looked right at whoever the manager was at the time, and you said you just read something that indicated that if a grocery store moves it's merchandise around.

Monique Lillard: Their sales shoot up, and you know I in terms of a grocery store I you know I think you walk in and think oh I didn't know they had okra Pickles i'll buy so critical, so you know you get the impulse buy.

Monique Lillard: And I remember you saying that several times once, when we were actually in the store and you said you know if you just changed which movies, you have facing with their name and which you have with their spine you generate some stuff I wondered if you had now i've given the example.

Monique Lillard: Any other.

Monique Lillard: Any other ideas like that that you kind of remember passing on as a tip or even just thinking about as a tip and thinking I maybe shouldn't say this but.

Melinda Schad: I mostly remember thinking man, if I were the manager I would do X, Y amp Z.

Melinda Schad: But also, you can assume that other people think the way you think or that other people have the experience and the training that you have.

Melinda Schad: And so I remember trying to be very mindful about sharing things that I thought would be helpful, as opposed to always telling people what to do, we're trying to give advice that's really waited and heavy handed.

Melinda Schad: Because managers have to learn how to manage right they have to find their own leadership voices and.

Melinda Schad: get their feet on the ground and be able to stand up and lead that's that's a part of that journey, and you know if you have other people well intentioned or not bossing you around all the time, it can be hard to find your ground.

Monique Lillard: And you know I think what you just said is fascinating because, again, you were taking a holistic long term view of.

Monique Lillard: The co op the video co op and of.

Monique Lillard: The video store itself and of the managers journey, and you know they always say good leaders build other people up especially people who are either physically younger or newer to the experience so there's sort of that training component that's part of good leadership.

Monique Lillard: And I think that's fascinating I think that some of us, and I, I might I don't know where I am on this I I don't know, I was kind of.

Monique Lillard: i'll go with their You know, as I say, I can do this, I can do this, you know, there are people saying all paint the store all do this kind of stuff.

Monique Lillard: Which is course just a different focus and i'm not sure any of it would have made any difference, but i'm just curious, given that it's it's all past and we don't even know what managers, I know I am literally not remembering which managers did what.

Monique Lillard: Right anything that you could have said about how to manage the store and it doesn't even have to have made a difference just what whether anything you were bursting to sake, I wanted to do this, you would be heavy handed and.

Melinda Schad: there's no.

Melinda Schad: I think that I think what I what I remember feeling from all of the various managers was a lot of resistance to being empowered to run the business which.

Melinda Schad: is like runs counter to my natural inclinations, and so I I don't think I was ever able to really fundamentally understand why someone wouldn't say really.

Melinda Schad: I can just try this and then report back whether, when it works or when it doesn't work what we've learned that that folks didn't want to take us up on on those chances to make a difference.

Melinda Schad: I know that cleanliness was a very big concern and then after you were off the board, our primary focus was customer service, because the service really kind of deteriorated and.

Melinda Schad: and staff morale deteriorated and, and so I know we spent a lot of time agonizing over how to.

Melinda Schad: How to train folks on good customer service skills, but also what our customer service expectations were and whether or not you were.

Melinda Schad: asking everyone at the point of purchase whether or not they belong to the video co op and just all of those little things and it's like you need you need all of the 10,000 variables.

Melinda Schad: To all go the right way in order to succeed, and there were so many things that didn't go the right way that didn't happen.

Melinda Schad: I don't know I don't know that the board could have been any more firm in its.

Melinda Schad: Statements like hey folks it's important that we are asking every single person who comes in this store if they are a member of this business right we're we're trying to save this and we need those investment dollars.

Melinda Schad: I think I don't think that happened I you know yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah I remember standing there's a customer and just costing people saying hey are you.

Monique Lillard: There I go get I didn't have a vacuum in my hand, but it was.

Melinda Schad: back off, you asked me last week.

: yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

Monique Lillard: come back to this cooperative idea.

Melinda Schad: again.

: Sure um.

Monique Lillard: Did we make a mistake, allowing people to buy in for so little for 25 bucks instead of I mean we're aiming for 200 person.

Monique Lillard: Or did we do the right thing.

Melinda Schad: i'm not sure i'm not sure if we should have initially just gone after fully vested people and asked people to pony up right.

Melinda Schad: And I don't know the history of the food co op I don't know what the original share price was and whether or not we took payments, I only know how it's been the 15 years 1615 years i've worked here.

Melinda Schad: I only know that we've had the same sort of model this entire time.

Melinda Schad: So I don't know, and I think I think you could make a really good argument for either you know we need 300 fully vested members in order to buy this business and that's our best plan of attack, but.

Melinda Schad: Then we're pricing out low income families and people with limited incomes and possibly seniors and definitely students and and So how do we, how do we do all of this, how do we serve the entire Community, and also save the business.

Monique Lillard: It was hard question.

Melinda Schad: For sure.

Melinda Schad: yeah.

Monique Lillard: The biscuit lot of do a case study or something you know what I.

Monique Lillard: can't no you can't know.

Monique Lillard: Because, as you pointed out, and I think it's worth saying at the same time, more and more people are going to streaming there's red box at the supermarkets, you know.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah that makes a hard question.

Monique Lillard: Something went in my mind didn't came out again i'm.

Monique Lillard: Talking about the end of the story.

Monique Lillard: Well, I guess, I should ask you this question, I feel as if you've answered it, but I just want to make sure you because you.

Monique Lillard: really have a unique perspective with your knowledge of co OPS and running a very successful cooperative retail endeavor right across the alley from where the store was what do you think ultimately entered the business.

Melinda Schad: Oh that's a good question.

Melinda Schad: For monique I don't know if I can answer that.

Melinda Schad: I I mentioned earlier, the lack of alignment on the board when it came to instructing management, and I think that that was pretty pervasive and probably was our downfall.

Melinda Schad: Because we couldn't even agree, whoever was on the board and how many of us, there were I don't think there was any agreement about.

Melinda Schad: What we're really asking this manager to do and should this manager fail to do what we ask what are the consequences and.

Melinda Schad: Nobody wants to be the main person at the table, who says, we need a new manager and yet that's the board's responsibility if the job isn't getting done, and so I think that.

Melinda Schad: I think being on a board that supervises a business is much harder than being on a board that supervises a nonprofit I think there's a lot more feel good involved in being on a nonprofit board then maybe on a Co op board.

Melinda Schad: business is hard businesses hard and I know firsthand because the last year and a half, have been really rotten.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

Melinda Schad: it's hard and my board right now, I think, is suffering from burnout from coven and and trying to do their job during really difficult unprecedented times, and so it was hard for us as a board of the video store to get ourselves in order and do the things that we were doing.

Melinda Schad: And hindsight 2020.

Monique Lillard: Always.

Melinda Schad: Always yeah yeah.

Melinda Schad: I.

Melinda Schad: I do want to say that I remember thinking how cool it was that the collection was going to be donated to the kenworthy and then also feeling like my heart was breaking when the kenworthy decided to sell those videos and I think that's worth noting, like.

Melinda Schad: This was such a Community resource and I remember feeling grateful that they were that the videos we're going to have a home and.

Melinda Schad: And maybe feeling hopeful without any information about the transaction at all feeling hopeful that maybe someday we could restore a video store in Moscow, because the collection had been preserved and and then that took a different direction and, and it was devastating.

Monique Lillard: I am right here with you and so we're a lot of other people who were interviewed have been interviewed so far.

Monique Lillard: And you know what I don't think i'd said it out loud it even to myself, but you just said it and I realized, I was thinking, the same thing, I thought, well, maybe it can be resurrected.

: Right.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Melinda Schad: Okay, I want to, I think I want to say one other thing about like the ultimate demise of the whole situation.

Melinda Schad: Initially, the folks we were trying to buy the video store from I think they were willing to work with us and give us time to build up a Co op and and I don't think that any of us really knew, like the.

Melinda Schad: Potential length of time it could take to to accomplish that and that folks were just done and ready for it to be over.

Melinda Schad: And so perhaps if there hadn't been pressure to make it happen fast, we could have built enough momentum slowly, so you know thinking back, maybe if we'd started earlier before the owners were just like so done with the whole thing, maybe, maybe we would have had a better chance yeah.

Monique Lillard: To Devon Kelly still live in Moscow.

Melinda Schad: Correct yeah.

Melinda Schad: def still works there.

Monique Lillard: Oh okay great great I for a while there was talking with them moving away also I remember that, being part of the mix and I really understood how they wanted to they don't want to keep these ties these financial drips and drabs ties, you know.

Monique Lillard: right was there talk at the end when you were on the board.

Monique Lillard: of switching to be a nonprofit.

Monique Lillard: So that there was make.

Monique Lillard: Okay, and where did you remember those discussions or.

Melinda Schad: I remember that that conversation was led primarily my Sandra Kelly.

Melinda Schad: So maybe if you haven't interviewed her, she would actually be a good.

Melinda Schad: person to interview because I remember that she had a friend or a former colleague or someone she knew at the University, who was kind of an expert in the transition.

Melinda Schad: From for profit and nonprofit and she came and talked to the board about it, and you know, because this is my memory, this could be like 50% accurate.

Melinda Schad: And the that there was a real.

Melinda Schad: A mixed response to even considering going nonprofit, and so I don't think i've ever had the full support of the board but i'm definitely not remembering what all of the concerns were about it.

Monique Lillard: that's really interesting I will talk to Sandra Kelly about that i'll get her on my list because.

Monique Lillard: I think in terms of this History project it's about the video rental experience but it's also about.

Monique Lillard: The business forms and all the various pluses and minuses to each one so that's really helpful that's really helpful, you know I remember ideas we hadn't talked about talked about, we talked so much about should the store start selling food.

Monique Lillard: Right your part ice.

Monique Lillard: cream store, should you know the front entrance is on an angle, should we make it flat so that then there's a little more room.

Monique Lillard: and

Monique Lillard: Do you remember all those and you're a.

Melinda Schad: Man gerber also we talked about whether or not we should we should sell Espresso in the video so.

Monique Lillard: Yes, yes.

Melinda Schad: And I I always thought we should sell memorabilia like.

Melinda Schad: Not expensive collectors items, but stickers are key chains or movie tie in things because I thought that might be a nice extra source of revenue.

Melinda Schad: But we just never we could never execute on all of those ideas.

Monique Lillard: Right right, I remember that all that talk of of.

Monique Lillard: How to do that yeah yeah the memorabilia there was one other idea that just flooded into my mind back out i'll say something about it, if I if it comes back to my mind, so.

Monique Lillard: it's all preserved for these future historians are going to have to sift through all these conversations and find things out but.

Monique Lillard: that's their job I guess.

Monique Lillard: let's see i'm.

Monique Lillard: getting a little more cheerful.

Monique Lillard: First, just forward looking What did you learn personally from your time working with the video co op.

Melinda Schad: A dad I tend to us underestimate how hard things are.

Melinda Schad: i'm i'm kind of the eternal optimist and I have a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy and a lot of desire to get things done and.

Melinda Schad: So I don't know we see the downside until i'm in it.

Monique Lillard: that's the persona of business people, you know, a certain optimism, a certain can do a certain.

Monique Lillard: And this is a contrast with lawyers say who are always looking for here are the problems here's the pessimistic view of looking at it that's our job that is our job, but the business person is let's go we're launching you know and.

Melinda Schad: Great.

Monique Lillard: it's just I feel as if so much of the success of keeping that store going for pencil when you start counting five three to five more years.

Monique Lillard: was your and Lauretta is energy my gosh you worked so hard with so much else going on in your life your personal life, as well as your as your professional life, you know.

Melinda Schad: yeah.

Monique Lillard: What I like they were meth there is a meth house across from your House you remember that I do remember that.

Melinda Schad: That was two years of my life that was crazy, what are the best about working with Lauretta was the way that our strengths, complemented each other and so.

Melinda Schad: You know she had all this experience with things that I hadn't done and vice versa, and also that our energy seemed to Evan flow on opposite.

Melinda Schad: cycles, and so I could do this work and be really energetic for this amount of time, and she was there to pick up the reins when I ran out of steam, and then we would kind of trade back and forth.

Melinda Schad: And I think I never would have gotten to know her as well as I know her if not for this experience and really all of you and.

Melinda Schad: that's the part I will always remember fondly is just the relationships that now exists, because we all tried this thing together and everyone everyone poured their hearts into it.

Monique Lillard: And I should also mention Andrea who's just the steady through line and always said, we need a bookkeeper.

Monique Lillard: Yes, is it written down what are the numbers, you know.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

Monique Lillard: Right yeah and not i'm not meaning to dis anybody else because there were lots of other people to.

Monique Lillard: write just you know the three of you are just solid really were so.

Monique Lillard: Okay, now more happy what's your happiest memory at the store anything in this whole process in Gemini funny memories.

Melinda Schad: I boy i'm not very good at storytelling monique.

Melinda Schad: I you know I.

Melinda Schad: I like Community building right, I like Community building activities so some of my fondest memories.

Melinda Schad: Throughout this experience are actually the times when we tabled, or we had events, and we were all there together and.

Melinda Schad: We interacted with people and shared our love of this project with them and tried to get them to invest or be involved, so the event that we had at breakfast club right.

Melinda Schad: And we had an event at the store remember we borrowed the Co OPS popcorn Popper and popped popcorn and we tabled outside for farmers markets for a while that first summer and just.

Melinda Schad: It was there was just so much fun stuff like that that we did together, even though, even though it didn't work out it It made me feel like I was part of a team, and it was a different team from my regular work, and so it was it was a really nice change it was really nice.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah I remember when we had the grand opening.

Monique Lillard: After the official sale and the Chamber of Commerce showed up and read and and Mr Howard Hughes himself showed up.

Melinda Schad: My next door neighbor.

Monique Lillard: Oh, is he okay i'm gonna want to get some information about him.

Monique Lillard: So that when when you're off this okay good good good good.

Monique Lillard: let's see any weird quirky memories.

Melinda Schad: I don't think so.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay.

Melinda Schad: yeah I don't think so.

Monique Lillard: Is it, let me.

Melinda Schad: Just look at my notes one second.

Monique Lillard: But I was about to say is there anything you'd like to add of yes anything here let's see here.

Monique Lillard: Oh, I forgot to ask you here's a nice one What was your favorite section of the store.

Melinda Schad: hmm.

Melinda Schad: I think it depends on like what age of my life so far we're talking about.

Melinda Schad: a long, long time ago, because all my kids are teenagers now, it was like the family section right we spent the most amount of time there we'd always peruse new releases but.

Melinda Schad: We spent a lot of time in the family section, and then we kind of diverged and would get into the TV series, so my husband, and I would pick a show and watch all of it and and really one of my fondest recent memories was that we subjected our children to the entire mash series.

Monique Lillard: Oh great yeah.

Melinda Schad: We rented one set at a time and we watched all of the episodes all five of us together, it was really fun, but you know Aaron really liked aaron's my husband.

Melinda Schad: he's done a really good job educating our children, and so we spend a lot of time watching music documentaries, to make sure that they have a good foundation and music history.

Melinda Schad: Especially rock and roll history, and we have watched a lot of classics and then also, at the very end my husband and my two sons got really into mystery science theater, and so they would rent those and watch those on nights when the ladies were doing something different.

Monique Lillard: that's it yeah yeah that you just reminded me we watched all of the seinfeld.

Monique Lillard: And oh yeah so yeah yeah, and I assume you've watched much muscle shoals the documentary about oh your husband has to find that movie now, of course, where do you find it.

Melinda Schad: Right I don't know and he maybe has seen it i'm gonna write that down.

Monique Lillard: muscle shoals it's a town in some southern state, maybe Alabama.

Monique Lillard: mm hmm and there was this music recording studio there, and there were studio musicians one of them had literally been a like at the meat counter at safeway that's where he was working and they played backup for almost every famous rock and roll song you've ever heard of it was amazing.

Monique Lillard: aretha Franklin.

Monique Lillard: whoa might have.

Monique Lillard: Since i'm talking to history, I better get it right, but anyway i'll just say who watch the movie it's a very good documentary and it's just so surprising yeah so.

Melinda Schad: It seems it seems like you could go to the video store and choosing what you were going to rent was always an adventure.

Melinda Schad: Yes, so that's kind of my takeaway and you know part of that's because of the ages of my children throughout the course of this and.

Melinda Schad: And so you know we watched all of the James Bond movies slowly over time in order by really state and fun stuff like that that was an adventure oh good this week, can we get the new James Bond mom.

Melinda Schad: You know the next James Bond not the new one.

Monique Lillard: Right right right.

Melinda Schad: You know, and just.

Melinda Schad: Thinking about stuff like that, and my children we discovered studio ghibli because of the video store and totoro and ponyo those two films in particular continued to be family favorites because they're so beautiful but.

Melinda Schad: I think the thing about streaming is you don't know it exists So how do you how do you know what to search for.

Melinda Schad: exactly right.

Monique Lillard: You have to trust their algorithm.

Melinda Schad: Right it's it's so similar to buying books online like Why would you buy books online when you could walk into a bookstore and discovering discover something you weren't planning on buying we're reading just because you happen upon it like that's the magic.

Melinda Schad: And so, now the magic is gone.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah and the library same thing you just walk up and down and what spine leapt out at you.

Melinda Schad: Right yep.

Monique Lillard: I know.

Monique Lillard: I know.

Monique Lillard: Well, anything else you'd like to add.

Monique Lillard: Okay.

Monique Lillard: know if something comes to your mind, we can do another oral thing we can add yeah probably another oral thing would be a good idea, it could.

Monique Lillard: be short, you know so don't hesitate, you know don't hesitate.

Monique Lillard: Thank you so much for your time, thank you for all you did for the video.

Monique Lillard: store.

Monique Lillard: Thank you for educating me on many different things, I really, really appreciated it so i'm going to turn off the recording and then stay on just for a second.

Monique Lillard: Okay let's see here.