Beau Newsome: Okay, see a little recording sign up there.

You awesome well i'm Bo newsome and i'm here with the University of Idaho libraries oral History project for the Howard Hughes video and mainstreet video co op.

Here, with Kelly Kelly, if you would introduce yourself and kind of describe your relationship to Howard Hughes video.

Kelly Moore: My name is Kelly more and I was one of the co owners that originally purchased.

The Howard Hughes video from Howard Hughes appliance it used to be Howard Hughes appliance and video and we bought the video section when Howard Hughes moved from what is across the street from the Co op.

Beau Newsome: yeah 114 fifth street.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah.

And they moved out to their new location on the pullman highway and.

yeah at that point they sold us the video store.

Beau Newsome: And you purchase that from don and Kevin.

Yes, don frye and Kevin pietersen correct.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah okay.

Very cool, though, was Gary myers debbie Rentals myself and.

pad.

I can remember pat because I always.

Beau Newsome: Had Neil.

Kelly Moore: Neil so.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: They were they part owners of the video store with you guys so.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah.

Beau Newsome: So it was five of you at the time that own the video store.

Kelly Moore: yeah I mean it was really pat That was the you know I mean it was basically do couples and Gary.

Okay okay and pat kneeling Gary owned the building.

Beau Newsome: Right okay that's That was the kind of the whole reason the store moved from fifth street to 520.

Kelly Moore: South mainstream right.

Beau Newsome: Because Gary owned.

yeah.

Kelly Moore: And pat Neil.

Beau Newsome: Okay, all right.

Kelly Moore: So it was it was the three of them.

That had the building.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: So I guess My first question is.

How long have you and deb lived in Moscow.

Kelly Moore: Well deb's been here.

I want to say 40 years.

Beau Newsome: That being your wife and.

Yes, and corner with.

Kelly Moore: To come on.

Beau Newsome: One of the company.

Kelly Moore: yeah and I was moved to Moscow, when I was three months old.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

So.

For your your local area.

That is locals against.

Kelly Moore: Almost yes my brother was born in grip.

Okay, so he's he was really local.

Not anymore, but.

Right.

Beau Newsome: And then DAB moved here what how old is that when she was here.

Kelly Moore: Oh gosh don't know she came out here to go to college.

Beau Newsome: Okay, so okay.

You went to you via.

Yes, okay.

um so I guess before you guys own the video store did you rent did you were you guys renting movies, like.

Kelly Moore: Not not too much, but what.

It was it was Gary Gary buyers that convinced us to do this.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

Kelly Moore: I mean we were both the both deb and I and Gary were we were all business people in town, we really wanted to see the downtown keep going, and when we heard that the video star was gone away, we we just said, we can't let that happen.

Right, so I mean we didn't have any money, so our our input was to be be Labor and and do the books for well, it was long died before our share of the business was paid for.

Beau Newsome: Right right so would you say that Gary was kind of spearheaded the whole thing.

Kelly Moore: Oh yes, he definitely made made it happen.

Beau Newsome: yeah and maybe give it just a little background i've kind of Gary and.

Like he I know he was he was a local guy to correct or.

Kelly Moore: he'd been here for quite a while he owned the Royal motor.

Okay, so he he was a longtime businessman here in Moscow, he actually.

started the fish folks.

Beau Newsome: The one that outside the Co op that are.

Caught today okay.

Kelly Moore: Yes, he started that in it had it changed hands multiple times to the to the people that are here now but he's the one that actually started the fish folks.

And that that was part of what got him in Moscow and then he then he bought the hotel.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

And he was a big Dale.

motel and he was a big proponent of the ice rink.

Kelly Moore: tonight as well.

Beau Newsome: Yes, yeah which guy kind of got that whole thing started.

Kelly Moore: Well, it was a yeah I mean he was one of the people that definitely put in a lot of energy to to make it happen in the beginning.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

um.

So.

So pat and Gary and Neil owned the building.

Yes, together the 520 South Main Street.

yep and then came to you guys about hey, we need to try and.

Kelly Moore: Save the video store.

Beau Newsome: save this video star do you I can remember.

Can you still hear me.

Kelly Moore: Oh yeah okay.

Beau Newsome: I can remember, I don't know if don and Kevin were kind of.

Wanting to sell it at that point or.

Kelly Moore: Well, they they did not so there was.

Oh.

I can't remember her name.

But.

The the manager of the videos store the time that they move because they'd already moved the appliance store and the video store had gotten.

Beau Newsome: Bigger because you have.

Kelly Moore: To follow the appliance space.

Beau Newsome: yeah we've talked kind of talked about that the three four iterations there was a small store on the corner of Washington and fifth.

And then, it was the appliance store and then a little store point store mood and it became the big store.

yeah and then move to 520 South main and then became the main street COP.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah yeah as far as the durations of it, because when Howard was still selling them appliance when it was Howard Hughes appliance.

Right and I actually when I guy we moved to Moscow moved to Boise when I was in second grade, and then I came back to you have i'd 75 and.

started school after I graduated high school down in Boise but.

I actually worked for Howard fixed and TVs.

Beau Newsome: Oh at the fifth stratification.

Kelly Moore: Well, he was originally up on on North main where.

Moscow building supply used to be.

Beau Newsome: Oh right okay on the.

West side of.

Kelly Moore: highway.

Beau Newsome: One side of where it is now it's on the opposite side of the street.

Kelly Moore: yeah and so that was where he had his first storefront was in there.

Beau Newsome: Oh OK.

Kelly Moore: OK, and you know sold appliances in TVs and finally got big enough to move downtown and I was I wasn't working for him after that I worked for him for a couple years.

uh huh but.

Anyway, he's he started it was back when the laser discs came out.

Beau Newsome: Oh.

Kelly Moore: And he was selling the laser discs machines and the only way you get people to even buy a machine was to have some laser discs.

So that's that's how the means or the video stores started.

With first with laser discs.

And, of course, those went by the wayside, and it morphed into.

You know, there was the the war between the Betamax and the vcr.

vhs vhs rather and and.

He had both.

data and and vhs.

Beau Newsome: But it wasn't until he moved to the fifth street address that he started the video portion of it.

Kelly Moore: or what's he doing no.

No Well, no, I think it started down to when he was on the on the fifth street.

Okay, is when the timeline because when I was working for nobody to do a battle laisser.

You know, so this was many, many moons later that he after he moved to.

Beau Newsome: home video wasn't a thing.

Kelly Moore: No, not at all and in but there for a while he had both the beta and and the vc ours or vhs.

Beau Newsome: That was that of course beta went away and.

Then it was a fake fake.

Kelly Moore: Back though yeah it was a.

debate.

Kelly Moore: and

Then there was the.

You know, then it morphed into DVDs.

Beau Newsome: right that was yeah then, when I was still working there but not managing yeah it was the.

BLU Ray versus hd.

it's like which ones.

Like which ones, do we order.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: We chose BLU Ray and luckily it went that direction so.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yes.

So you know it's it's the ball, but that's that's how it got started.

Beau Newsome: yeah I think I mentioned it in my interview yeah that's what I had heard that that's why they started the video store.

Kelly Moore: But when.

When it when it moved out when when Kevin and was.

Have the.

wish I could remember her name.

was on.

Kelly Moore: What did you say DAB dawn.

With on evening.

That was the manager of the video store.

Oh, not rhonda pardon.

Not rhonda rhonda.

yeah was run.

Beau Newsome: yeah because rhonda was my manager when I started working.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah because you were in you were working there and fifth street right.

Beau Newsome: yeah cuz when it was became the expanded store.

On fifth street.

And I worked there off and on for about seven years.

Okay, before I got the Managing position and stuff.

Kelly Moore: yeah well, they were having problems with around.

Beau Newsome: Yes, yeah.

Kelly Moore: And that's that have That was the reason why they decided to sell store is they didn't want to have to deal with trying to fire.

Beau Newsome: Just easier to just sell and liquidate.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah That was because they're nice guys there with the hassle, and so we inherited rhonda right and we were the ones that had to fire her which was not.

Not a pleasant experience.

Beau Newsome: yeah did you kind of was it right away or did you try out for a little.

Kelly Moore: dried I mean.

But it was obvious that things were not.

we're not not not working.

at all, and I mean she she was having some definite personal issues problems to of our of our own so.

Beau Newsome: yeah so basically that's kind of where I.

Kelly Moore: came up with that let's wait just a SEC here the pauses.

sure.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

So we're back back recording.

So.

So you and so Gary got you guys you and deb and patent Neil.

You and debbie and patent Neil involved.

And you'll notice there's some transcripts down below to that's that's something that they wanted us to have on there are you getting that on your side.

Kelly Moore: No, I don't.

see it.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: So.

So, then you guys had to find a manager.

Yes, and that's kind of where I.

Kelly Moore: came came in.

yeah yes.

Did you.

Beau Newsome: Because I remember.

I think it was you debbie because every time I say deb on when the transcript but it's it's coming out something else, or I might just referred to as debbie.

yeah so sometimes it says dad sometimes it says DAB so but I think it was you and debbie and Gary came to the red door restaurant.

yeah when I was when I was waiting tables and kind of.

broach the subject of.

I would be interested or not in managing the video star.

Yes, yeah did you guys tossed around a few different names are you kind of.

Kelly Moore: No, not really I mean none of us wanted to run it none of us do movies, to do it, I mean running it it's the hobby there's not you know, take a DVD and you give a DVD out.

Here right that part's the mechanics of it is easy.

knowing what a movie is the whole.

Beau Newsome: Right, knowing the library and stuff like that yeah we.

I know that we took pride and like knowing movies and finding titles that people are looking for stuff like that.

Kelly Moore: Well yeah I mean that's what made our Jews really the.

What it what it was is like it was a it was a place to meet people there was always people that we'd meet.

You know, because you were in and you would get stuff you, you would rent movies, that you wouldn't normally rent because if you're on Amazon or netflix or whatever the stream of your choices.

it's not like browsing through a library.

Because I mean you know when you go to a library, you might be looking for one book.

But there's thousands of books that you can just walk by and go wow looks interesting, I wonder what that is.

yeah and you're not going to get that.

off of the net, because if you don't know type in the right search words or you get some.

bought that's thinking that Oh well, you must, like all of this, and so that's all it shows you it doesn't give you the chance to look at.

Foreign titles or new this or something like the criterion collection that was, I mean I didn't watch all of it, but they were they were the ultimate in artefill.

Beau Newsome: Yes.

Kelly Moore: You know so viewer into film, it was the thing to see your sure you know, definitely took more brains to the watch those than your typical shoot about.

Sure yeah.

Beau Newsome: It was the basically the exact opposite of our action section or something.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yeah.

Beau Newsome: But I always like to say that the criterion collection was our it was my favorite section, but it was our most expensive section, and it was our least rented.

Kelly Moore: Yes, but you know, we had movies that nobody else had do that was that was the other thing you know as far as as that goes.

yeah so.

Beau Newsome: What do you think separated Howard Hughes video.

Did you rented any other video stores in town.

Kelly Moore: There is a couple of times through you know, because we have, I think we have blockbuster did me.

Beau Newsome: It was a Hastings or by safeway was a video land and a movie gallery.

Kelly Moore: Okay yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: But never a blockbuster there was one in pullman but not here.

Kelly Moore: yeah I mean video getting I never went out to Hastings.

Not not to read.

I mean there was times before we own Howard Hughes everyone's real downward years I mean I was.

Sad.

yeah but you know those stores just didn't have.

The selection you got got the whatever the the the 200 titles they had they were or maybe it was 400 titles and they had.

For that week or the that two weeks, and then they moved out in they were gone you couldn't get them anymore, they just didn't stop them, I think we had 30,000 titles when we.

Beau Newsome: yeah I want to say it was just over 30 I know that.

They probably accumulated more after I left I don't.

know the.

exact number I don't know what.

Kelly Moore: No, I don't I don't know either, but it was you know that's a lot of movies, to have at your disposal granted, you know, half of them were garbage.

sure you know, but people watched other.

Beau Newsome: People i'm good yeah.

Kelly Moore: That was.

That was that was Okay, but it's like you know the the I really enjoyed the the foreign films, even though a lot of times, yet watching with subtitles but it's like one of the one of the ones I always.

want to say it was Norwegian kitchen stories, did you ever.

Beau Newsome: Know yeah yeah I never watched it by I remember there's always one on my radar you know.

Kelly Moore: Well, it was it was a absolutely bizarre movie.

Beau Newsome: was a delta Belgian.

Kelly Moore: know it was Swedish you know, region or.

Okay, some some something on that order, and it was sort of a live anthropological study.

Where they stuck an observer on a high chair, so they were almost it ceiling level.

In these remote people's kitchens.

And they wrote down everything that they saw for weeks.

Really yeah it was I mean absolutely bizarre movie, but it was yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah it was it was Norwegian and Swedish.

Yes, yeah that's cool yeah I remember just.

Other than criterion and cult classics was another favorite of mine and.

yeah critics choice, but.

perusing that video store or that foreign section was pretty cool.

Kelly Moore: there's a bunch of the Japanese ones that.

Beau Newsome: No, no yeah.

Kelly Moore: The noodle movie that was it that was a fun one.

Beau Newsome: Was that what it was called noodle movie.

Kelly Moore: or no that's what I call it, it had noodles in the.

In the in the title.

Okay, so.

Beau Newsome: yeah pretty amazing collection that was.

I think when we moved to the main street store.

You know we'll get into this a little bit later, but of why you had to move the store and but basically we had to put vhs in the back.

yep get them off the four, so to speak, and do DVDs and stack them sideways versus.

front, yes.

Kelly Moore: yeah because.

Beau Newsome: Otherwise we wouldn't have fit you.

Kelly Moore: know, there was no way we we we talked about how to do it, and all that good stuff for a lot.

Beau Newsome: But a long time.

yeah yeah I know Gary.

mentioned about turning them this way and stalking him, you know.

yeah up was an option to but yeah we just.

Kelly Moore: Did that was too hard and well all the fixtures to do that stuff or expansive.

Beau Newsome: Like that shelving or.

Kelly Moore: The shelving yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah I think didn't we inherit some of those from tr video or something like that.

Kelly Moore: We did I can't remember where we were always scrounging for stuff yeah, then I found those to.

The movie poster life found those in an antique store and Kurt elaine brown down.

Beau Newsome: That was those are cool basically it was a movie.

poster box that sat up in a window.

Correct and then have.

Kelly Moore: Had the the running lights that went around it.

Beau Newsome: Around and you could switch posters in and out that was cool that was.

Kelly Moore: That was it yeah they were they were the right size, I mean they were built for movie posters.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah so I guess that leads me to my next question old store versus the new store, so how long do you think you owned it.

First off we're kind of tossed around the idea that the video store when Howard started it was at six or eight.

Kelly Moore: gosh I would good.

Okay, good good tell you on on dates on that one.

Beau Newsome: yeah we're going to try and interview Howard, I think he's in his 90s now but.

Kelly Moore: He is.

Beau Newsome: it'd be nice to to get all of them and see what he has to say, but.

So how long did, would you say you were in the fifth street store before you moved.

Kelly Moore: Six months.

Okay, not we weren't we weren't in there very, very long, I mean the problem with that was it was.

You know I did I don't don't remember exact dates, but I know that there was another business that was in.

The 520 space 520 main space.

yeah, and so we still have the you know the video was going great over there, so might have been a year, I mean I really.

I really don't remember.

yeah but the business that was in there was gonna say restaurant I can't remember what was in there.

Beau Newsome: I think it was Lord tease and treasure.

And then, it was a tattoo parlor.

Kelly Moore: Yes.

Yes.

Beau Newsome: Because I think.

Kelly Moore: The lunar.

Beau Newsome: base, yes, that they had were.

Third, a little tattoo bays kind of thing.

Kelly Moore: Yes, that is, that is correct, as far as that goes, but laura's teasing treasures, the one that did the staggered floor.

Beau Newsome: Oh, they did okay.

Kelly Moore: Okay yeah I thought it was attached to know the tattoo boys didn't do that, they just took the existing tile but booths around it.

Beau Newsome: Okay okay.

Kelly Moore: is as far as that goes, but something happened with them and they had to vacate.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Kelly Moore: So had Gary at that point they didn't have a runner.

To fill the 520 place.

Right and that's when it's like well why are we paying rent over here when we could move the video store over there, so that was that that that was why it got moved.

Beau Newsome: Okay, that may not make sense, because they own the building and.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah definitely made sense as far as that goes in the rent was definitely cheaper than what we're paying on fifth street and they were raising the Rand or something like that on fifth street to I don't remember who owns the building right but it just didn't make sense to.

Beau Newsome: to sell.

Kelly Moore: The House when you'd be paying it to yourself.

Beau Newsome: So I remember when I saw this the the main streets location that we're going to move into about had a heart attack because of the size difference like.

Kelly Moore: No, I.

Beau Newsome: mean, how are we going to do this space.

Kelly Moore: yeah how are you going to cram all of this into that because I remember you know it was like we're going to do with all the fixtures that we had that were in that store too.

Beau Newsome: yeah so would you say like key remember the square footage of the 520.

South main show Okay, but probably less than half of where it was on fifth street.

Kelly Moore: yeah probably a third.

Beau Newsome: Okay yeah.

yeah it's a it's a miracle on its own right that we were able to.

Kelly Moore: able to actually cram all that stuff in there.

Beau Newsome: yeah okay so that's kind of the ultimate reason why you why you decided to move over to mainstream, and I remember Gary put out a.

think he may put in the paper or something that you get free Rentals if you help us.

move yeah and we were basically throwing movie boxes into bags and putting.

The cart or the movie shelves on carts and rolling them down the.

Kelly Moore: REP yep we did it all by hand, we had a little parade going down the street yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah I know a lot of people thought we're going out of business, or they didn't quite know what was going on.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: Did you have to do a lot of work in the Main Street store to get ready for the move.

Kelly Moore: Oh, a certain amount.

Beau Newsome: But nothing sticks out that it was.

No huge.

Kelly Moore: You know old building.

Beau Newsome: yeah was a probably one of the 1900 bill.

Kelly Moore: yeah if not even in the 1890s.

I don't remember when it went up.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Because, and then you did a lot of the maintenance for the store.

Correct yeah so basically the whole building.

Yes.

Beau Newsome: which was what two businesses upstairs and a couple apartments or something like that.

Kelly Moore: yeah there's four units upstairs so at one time there was it was for apartments but then there's that it was a.

Well pad had her business up there.

You know one end and a couple apartments and then the resume massage.

Beau Newsome: that's right.

mom.

Beau Newsome: still lives all real really.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah it is passed from from massage groups to massage groups over the years.

Beau Newsome: So, once you.

So, once the kind of we'll get into this a little bit later, but the main street co op.

Were you still kind of taking care of the building and stuff too.

Kelly Moore: Yes, still I got soul.

Okay, though I I did all.

The work on it after after Gary past.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: And then it got sold solely to to path correct.

Kelly Moore: No, it was pat in gary's daughter that owned the building.

Beau Newsome: Okay okay.

Kelly Moore: Until pat finally sold it.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Recently, correct or within the couple years.

Kelly Moore: ago within a couple of years yeah.

Beau Newsome: Right okay yeah.

The.

Do you have any.

Good stories about that move or about the maintenance portion of the building or any.

Kelly Moore: I mean it was it was fun to get the move and get his gives us all crammed in there, but it was you know.

it's too bad you didn't buy that that boy.

Beau Newsome: thought about it.

Kelly Moore: Because it's not like we didn't try, we tried to sell it the boat.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Kelly Moore: yeah no that's really what it needed it needed somebody that was, I mean I didn't really have interest in movies, I just didn't want to see another business go out downtown that.

made it a fun place to be it was a great gathering place, you can.

You you'd run into people they hadn't seen in a while somebody was always asking you about a you know what do you watch it or.

You know, oh try this one yeah that was you don't get that off of a computer.

Right.

You know right as far as far as that goes, but.

yeah that was you know I didn't I didn't know enough about move is to run a business.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah I think.

Ben hardcastle work there for a long time.

Kelly Moore: yeah that's about a man Ben not though yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

It would have been he thought about, because it would be have to be somebody to just buy it and run it and basically work there, as long as they could.

yeah, you know as many hours as you could tell you have to have another employee Come on, or something like that yeah but I don't know I thought about buying it too, I mean it was crossed my mind, you know be.

kind of fun to own a video store and just work there and.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: But you know, unfortunately, you know we I guess that leads me to my next question is.

We kind of know why, but why do you think the video server struggling I mean, I think it just slowly got worse and worse every year.

Kelly Moore: Well, I mean it's it's it's a convenience thing I mean why don't we see seven eleven's anymore.

Beau Newsome: No all right.

Kelly Moore: I mean, people have just changed their habits, I mean every everybody nowadays they watch movies on their bloody phones and they're not looking for big screen even even rego movie theaters are really coming if they come back after this pandemic it'll be.

it'll be there's a there's a wells two chains on the on the coast in portland I was reading that they're not reopen they're just there's no they can't.

They can't pay the rent people don't go.

yeah I mean why yeah it's the big screen, but you know everybody's got seven foot TVs in their living rooms now so.

Right that's a pretty big screen you don't have to live in and they they always crank the sound so high.

So you're not here in somebody else.

So.

Beau Newsome: yeah do you get that theater experience at home now to that.

Kelly Moore: Oh yeah I mean they've got this the speakers in the shaker you get a shaker chair now.

Like if you're in the lab.

yeah yeah so I mean it's it's that whole technology issue of.

You know I don't.

know there is a big difference between.

Real film and DVDs you know, to go to an actual real theater words you know 70 millimeter real film.

Right it's completely different than watching some digital but you can't find a theater that plays real film hardly any more, maybe you.

Know Paris or New York or.

Beau Newsome: I know quentin tarantino.

He owns a theater in La and he what he just plays don't.

Kelly Moore: Like he will that's it.

yeah he will you know you want to see a real film you go there.

Right no because there's no way on a DVD and going to link can were the you know it's DVD it's just on a bigger screen.

Look at you know you're not getting.

I don't care whether they got a BLU Ray or hd or any of that stuff it doesn't have the quality that you're going to get out of real film.

it's no different this reason why audio files you play real records because music is continuous it's not discrete chunks.

Right, so the sound on a DVD or a CD isn't have the same quality as a as a decent pressed LP grandmother's crappy lps out there, too, but.

Beau Newsome: Is that kind of the way it's produced sort of are just the way it.

Kelly Moore: Is the the LP.

yeah yo yeah for sure.

You know how how what what was the quality of how the master was cut because that's how they get pressed right yeah and if that isn't.

done very well well you're gonna.

You know, and the quality of the vine.

us really cheap vile you run your needle around it three or four times and it's or just.

Cuts all plastic.

Beau Newsome: Right right yeah they just kind of deteriorate.

yeah That was one thing we've talked about to on this is.

How easily pull out like vhs tapes were kind of indestructible.

yep you could spy some you could take them apart.

Kelly Moore: You get the exam.

Beau Newsome: You could borrow parts from an old vhs kind of like car parts.

yep and DVDs if they get scratched too much or.

Kelly Moore: their toes or if they said to law.

The give moisture into.

And D laminate.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

Kelly Moore: So I mean it's the it all boils down to the quality of the plastic because basically all the DVD CD they're all the same technology.

piece of plastic piece of plastic in some metal media in between and they're glued together, and then the laser goes in and punches holes and.

Beau Newsome: um yes, one of the key things that you guys decided to purchase was that DVD.

surface resurfacing polisher.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: That was a lifesaver for us that.

Kelly Moore: yeah cuz I mean you know you scratch the plastic well, you can rub it off to.

Beau Newsome: To to a point yeah you can only you can only clean a DVD so many times before it just.

Kelly Moore: Where you were.

Beau Newsome: Little takes off all the information yeah.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: But it we use it a lot and it got us and we just sometimes we would just charge people.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

Beau Newsome: You know people just wanted their DVD or CD clean, so we would charge them three or four or five bucks and I remember how much it well.

Kelly Moore: yeah but good versus spin and why are you can't you can't replace it, that mean we had DVDs you couldn't get any more, you know they're out of print throughout a print like an hour print book, I mean they're out of breath we don't like it anymore you're.

Beau Newsome: not getting it.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: So.

Was the.

Like one of the questions I have is what were the challenges early on and the challenges, towards the end where you.

Was it stressful owning a video store or was a.

Kelly Moore: I wouldn't say was stressful I mean you know, there was you know deb had the had the most.

Stress because she was dealing with the books, all the time and.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Kelly Moore: yeah you know, the only other was that you know, mostly it fell on your shoulders, as far as the personnel issues, but that was always.

The thing to try to you know balance.

You know, as far as that goes, but no it wasn't you know it was always worrying to watch the the numbers go down.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Kelly Moore: You know, as far as the revenue numbers, I mean it wasn't like we didn't keep buying dials because you had to because people weren't going to come in for the gold stuff all the time.

Right so.

Beau Newsome: You had to walk that fine line of new releases versus old old titles basic.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah during during training keep a balance in there, and you know.

I think, according to Dev if I remember correctly, it only it we only made money off of a little bit of profit off of the first two years of operation yeah and after that it was just.

Maintaining.

yeah you know, and if it broke even you know gave you a wage and a bunch of other people a wage and that mean we weren't looking at it to get rich on we just wanted to keep the collection together.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

yeah it was.

yeah there was a head that's kind of slow decline and I, and I think the move.

A lot of people just thought we went out of this.

They didn't even know we moved over to the main street address.

Kelly Moore: Well, we probably should have done better advertising as far as as as that went so that that was a probably a failure on our part, but.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Kelly Moore: You know, there we had.

We ads in the paper we add ads in there are good not we had news releases and press releases and all that other good stuff.

Beau Newsome: So, and we had a.

I don't know how long after we opened, it was, we had a grand opening and we had I think Z fun was there.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: One of the radio stations.

yeah.

Kelly Moore: So we did.

We did we it's not like we didn't promote it, but.

You know, trying to get this day I mean it was just the fact that people were it was too easy for them to download it on their computer.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah it was definitely that whole wave of.

yeah being able to download and netflix.

On.

The whole delivery.

yeah here to your House type of thing which I know we tossed around that idea, a couple times.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

Beau Newsome: Like maybe setting up.

A time to that people can place their order in between like maybe three o'clock and six o'clock we go deliver.

Kelly Moore: But for.

Beau Newsome: the logistics of that was kinda yeah yeah but.

Who who picked the green paint out front and.

Kelly Moore: The colors levers path.

Beau Newsome: Okay, that was bad yeah.

Kelly Moore: She picked all the colors.

Beau Newsome: Okay, it wasn't because I don't think it was that color when it was the tattoo shop, but I think that was.

Kelly Moore: No, it was all the colors in the building repair.

Beau Newsome: Okay yeah because we kind of adopted that on all of our the the orange movie camera.

Yes, on all of our.

Promotional stuff.

For coupons or whatever else it's yeah yeah the camera you guys picked out in the font I really liked that I thought that was kind of a classy look.

So the.

kind of.

So the way, like kind of went over like what ultimately ended the business.

Just kind of did a slow slow decline.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

I know yeah and it was like.

You know, part of part of it was we probably could have kept to go on for a while longer, but I had.

Just graduated more or less and didn't didn't know for sure whether or not.

I mean there was no way to run that business Apps and T.

Right to not be in town and at that point in time we didn't know whether I was going to have to move for.

Beau Newsome: Oh right yeah.

Did you do so if it would save the video store today was still making money do you Thank you deb would still own it.

Or do you think you would have probably.

gotten out of it at some point.

Kelly Moore: No as long if if if it would been maintaining and was Okay, and all that good stuff we'd still on and.

are still be trying to sell it to somebody like you, that would actually that's really what it it needed was somebody that had a little bit more of a vested interest in in getting it out there, we were we were busy doing you know, we had other other jobs to do so.

You know, good couldn't be sitting there trying to figure out how to do out how to get the students back how to do this, that the other as far as getting people in.

Again, it was there was a reasonably low loyal.

Following but.

You know if if if somebody would have.

gotten it a little bit sooner and really.

had more of a vested interest in it.

You know my problem is I.

don't know movie.

Right, so I mean it's really hard to that you know to be the guy behind the counter when everybody's asking you stuff and I go all.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah okay.

Kelly Moore: yeah versus somebody like you or band, who could rattle off blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah yeah Okay, then you know.

Beau Newsome: We were we were the algorithm.

Kelly Moore: Yes.

Beau Newsome: We would yes Oh well, if you like, that movie maybe you would like this movie you know.

kinda kinda.

Kelly Moore: yeah whereas I don't have a clue.

Beau Newsome: Right um I remember used to kind of like what we are watching in the store and stuff too like.

Oh, and that old console TV that you got.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

Beau Newsome: That we had up in the front window.

Kelly Moore: yeah that works great for tell it died and I never got around to fixing it.

Beau Newsome: Right oh it did eventually die.

yeah I think it was after I had left.

Yes.

Kelly Moore: yeah okay.

Beau Newsome: That was too bad I love the way black and white movies looked on that TV with the brick behind it.

yeah kind of the marquee lights and stuff like.

Kelly Moore: Really you're very.

Beau Newsome: yeah it was I loved playing black and white movies on that thing, but for some reason it was hard to get employees to put something in there, so a lot of times you try I drive by and it just be a.

boy, and you a menu screen or something like that.

Kelly Moore: yeah well that's yeah that that's part of it is not having.

Not having somebody 10 in the store that hard.

Right.

Beau Newsome: Did you get so you guys got free Rentals.

Yes, so did your movie intake go up after you own the store.

Kelly Moore: Oh, it was a certain amount, but not that much.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

You know.

Kelly Moore: We watch more foreign films.

You know, but the the occasional ones that came out that were you know new releases that we're we're fun.

Right.

Kelly Moore: that's that's the only perk we got out of it.

Beau Newsome: Some people say that was a good Park, you know, to have that's why we had never had shortage of people interested in working there that's for sure.

yeah we never had to advertise to get.

Employees to apply.

We just had that in abundance.

So you kind of you know, I have some questions about the video store it looks like you've touched on most of them like.

How did you find I find out about the rental store and how often did you visit.

The unique things about Moscow and the video store it sounds like I mean you and dad are really into local business like.

There was something downtown I don't it's escaping me right now is we're all the local businesses kind of got together and tried to.

Kelly Moore: Do is buy local Moscow.

Beau Newsome: By local Moscow yeah okay it's still still an organization and we helped start that.

Kelly Moore: as well.

Beau Newsome: Oh, you adapt it or.

yeah okay good.

Kelly Moore: We was the first first first groups, it was more.

Oh.

Humans today everything.

Beau Newsome: yeah my blanking on her name I I know who you're talking about yeah she was.

Kelly Moore: She was very integral in in in getting it going.

Beau Newsome: Okay cool.

yeah that was that was kind of a neat thing.

Having I know we're gonna i'm gonna probably interviews Louise Todd who owns mikey's.

yeah because it was there, right across the street, she was really big and by a local Moscow.

Kelly Moore: yep yeah so between Louise and and.

Even it almost came out.

Beau Newsome: Almost at it yeah.

Yes, because I was always you know because I was working for Howard Hughes at the time, or no, I was working at the red door, so I wasn't an hour to us when you guys purchased the store.

yeah but i'm glad it went.

You know, to people like you, that we're.

All about local you know, save the video store save a local.

Kelly Moore: yeah I mean there's there's only a few of their and their their.

Think there's one band a block the last blockbusters in the band.

Is a great following because it's.

it's the only one around.

i'd be right seriously you can't get 30,000 titles on netflix you can't get it on Amazon you can't.

Read oh yeah well if you buy into 15 different ones, but you still not going to get the criteria.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Kelly Moore: You know and there's a lot of the foreign films you ain't going to get those I mean at all.

Beau Newsome: yeah that library was pretty impressive towards the end.

Kelly Moore: It was yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah that was and you gotta wonder if, like like the kid we tried to straddle that line of new releases.

A piece to the masses kind of a thing and.

Kelly Moore: In the end, the end the classics that we could get our hands on.

Right nima.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

So that's you know deb did the books and she left and she let me.

Keep buying titles and if she wasn't telling me to stop buying titles, I was gonna keep buying them so um.

Kelly Moore: yeah well, I mean.

That was That was the point of it.

Right so.

Beau Newsome: But.

well.

So, as far as the co op did you were you Dev involved in the Main Street co op portion of it.

Kelly Moore: somewhat at the beginning of it, I mean we bought our memberships in it, and all that good stuff but I mean we were part of the people that.

That that's where we met monique in in in she was more or less the ramrod on getting the Co op going.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Kelly Moore: We were we were part of the initial.

bit of it.

Beau Newsome: Right Okay, and then so when.

So when it became kind of mainstream video co op and they change the logo and all that stuff yeah as we're really a part of it at that point.

Kelly Moore: No, we weren't you know because it at that point, it was literally sold to.

The main street video co op.

Okay, and this is how that how that worked.

Right.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

yeah That was a neat thing to you kind of wish that you know I.

Kelly Moore: could have kept it together.

Beau Newsome: yeah you gotta wonder if you know, like you, don't know what you got till it's gone kind of a thing, but.

Kelly Moore: Definitely that.

But it's hard you know it's.

it's hard to have again it's back to there wasn't one person running in that had a vested interest in making sure it kept going.

Right, you know.

To go have a Board of Governors, and it was like.

You know there wasn't any one one person to to really say this is mine i'm going to make it happen.

Beau Newsome: Right right yeah like yeah cuz even when.

The incarnation of you guys buying it, it was a you know it's five people and and it was.

Kelly Moore: kind of always all I needed was like we didn't want it to go away.

But we couldn't run it that's why we came to you, I mean it was like Okay, now we got this now, where are we going to.

me it's like I wasn't in a position to run the video store neither was deb no none, none of us were we just be you know our our only impetus was the fact that we did want to see it go away right, because it would it back then.

Beau Newsome: What if.

Kelly Moore: They would have just said right there.

They would have taken their loss and said hey there were 50 cents apiece in pack them all up and somebody would have bought all them 50 cents apiece.

Beau Newsome: right which is kind of what happened anyways.

Kelly Moore: Yes, it is.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: we're so Do you remember kind of when you learn the video store was closing did you like, where were you and.

Do you remember, like how did you hear.

Kelly Moore: That was a mikey's.

that's when that's when it was Gary that found out about.

Beau Newsome: Oh.

Okay, and then what about the like.

During the pandemic when it shut down that you.

And was going out of business for good, did you.

How did you hear about that.

Kelly Moore: Oh just word of mouth or the advertising, I know, but by that time I mean we went in and God stuff but we weren't that.

We had lots of other stuff going on, so.

Beau Newsome: yeah and you guys weren't really a part of.

Kelly Moore: What we were on the board or anything like that we were Members but we weren't.

We weren't involved in any of the.

Beau Newsome: or were you contacted about anything in the store.

nope or anything like that, because you guys are pretty much bought out or.

I don't know if it was if it was bought out or what.

yeah okay.

yeah.

What would you say you learned anything from owning a video store, as long as you did, how many, so I think I worked for you guys for seven years.

gosh do you okay Do you remember the date that you.

purchased.

Kelly Moore: deb deb could.

I could.

Beau Newsome: I was thinking around 2002 maybe three.

Kelly Moore: Four be i'd been.

Beau Newsome: No cuz.

Kelly Moore: We have we have rhonda for a while.

Like a couple of years, or something like that.

But I don't remember.

Beau Newsome: Because I remember just leaving in 2014 So if you that would be to around 2007 if I.

If i'm.

Kelly Moore: Any was like 12 years it was 10 or 12 years that we had it.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: wow time flies.

Kelly Moore: yeah it does, it was like booth and you know it was just one of those things, it was we always thought the video store be there.

Right.

Beau Newsome: yeah Unfortunately, you know.

People would always ask me, I still say yeah manager video store and they're like this was even back in.

0809 there's still a video store for us yeah.

Kelly Moore: Well, it is sort of what killed, it was was that that added to.

huh.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

So.

So kind of our worst fears was the the collection got dismantled.

Does not is not much did you kind of did you know it was happening at the time or.

Kelly Moore: Did you find out leaders just heard that that's that's what well, we heard that it was going to begin worthy and we thought oh great you know at least it'll stay together, and then it was like oh no it's not they're just selling.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Kelly Moore: And we were bummed about that.

sure.

Beau Newsome: As we all were but i'm still i'm still holding out hope that the criterion collection is still intact, but.

Kelly Moore: It would be nice but.

Beau Newsome: we'll we'll see we'll find out.

um would you say there's a happiest memory, you have of owning the video star.

Kelly Moore: Oh gosh.

I don't know it was fun, I mean there was just.

It was just being in there watching people.

buy movies see see see what they were doing.

I mean, I was you know there's a lot of times I recommended movies to people so so I tried this with try that you know and do complete strangers.

Beau Newsome: That people kind of know you.

Kelly Moore: And then, as.

You that we own the video store.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

Kelly Moore: That wasn't widow, I mean it was it we were in there, they didn't know we were.

The body we're just another customer rent movies.

Beau Newsome: Right okay yeah.

Ben and I got the video guys a lot.

People look at us to be like, how do I, why do I know you.

already use video the MIC that's it.

Kelly Moore: that's it.

You know.

Beau Newsome: Any like I was asked a question to have what's if there's any memorable stories that you had about anything happening at the video store I didn't really have.

Anything that stood out.

Kelly Moore: No, I don't either other than it was it was just.

As deb put it with it was great because it was a fun place to be.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Kelly Moore: I mean it wasn't it wasn't like going into a hardware store where something broke and you're trying to find peace to fix it.

or.

yeah I got it I gotta go to the grocery store you was you went to the video store, because it was fun right.

Beau Newsome: um yeah.

And we yeah we used to love playing movies in there and I know you guys will always comment on stuff that we would play and.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: For wasn't too, too, are rated or something.

Kelly Moore: Like yeah.

But.

Beau Newsome: We had to please ourselves.

Kelly Moore: Yes, yes yeah.

Beau Newsome: So we kind of accumulated a list of people to talk to.

Is there anybody that that off the top of your head that you could recommend that we would interview.

Kelly Moore: You other than you know Howard, for the first part of it, but other than that you know gary's not around anymore.

Beau Newsome: And I.

Kelly Moore: don't know what did you talk to pat at all.

Beau Newsome: I think money.

yeah monique I think interviewed pat.

Just just recently yeah so.

Kelly Moore: So that would be you know, Neil didn't really have anything to do with it other he was married path.

Right.

Beau Newsome: And they didn't live pat never lived in Moscow correct.

Kelly Moore: Oh no they used to live here.

Beau Newsome: Oh, they did.

Kelly Moore: yeah so pat had her business, she was a.

Ah.

Art therapy psychologist.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

Kelly Moore: we're psychiatry just I mean she's got a.

she's a doctor or not.

Oh, you ever use that.

title, but she was she did art therapy mostly with children mm hmm.

and

Neil used to be the dean of the law school.

Or you have I or just you by.

Beau Newsome: Oh wow okay.

So.

That the Dean pass or was a Neil.

Kelly Moore: Neil.

Beau Newsome: And he passed away when he was owner of the video store.

Kelly Moore: i'm not sure.

Beau Newsome: No okay.

Kelly Moore: Well, no, it has the past I because I haven't heard.

Beau Newsome: I don't know either I.

Kelly Moore: Like I do know that he's been ill.

Beau Newsome: Okay Okay, then then i'm thinking of somebody completely different than so yeah I thought he passed but.

Kelly Moore: No, not not, not that I know of you.

know he has cancer, but we're we're anymore nowadays that doesn't necessarily mean anything other.

than is he he's ill.

Beau Newsome: Okay okay cuz yeah I just never dealt with Neil because.

Kelly Moore: He didn't you know it was.

It was it was pads deal as far as the building and all that stuff she handle all of that.

Beau Newsome: yeah and seems like she had a.

She wanted it to survive to, I think.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

Beau Newsome: She probably not only the local thing, but the fact that it was a a unique video store and stuff.

Kelly Moore: yeah it was the art art part of it.

Beau Newsome: mm hmm yeah we used to.

take part in art walk a lot too.

Yes, that was always really cool so.

Did Pat, but when pat own the store she wasn't living in Moscow right.

Kelly Moore: No, they lived in Sam.

Beau Newsome: Okay that's right yeah she would just I would just see her from time to time, but.

yeah work with Dev a lot on a day to day basis because of the books and stuff like that.

yeah and then.

See you come in to either rent movies or.

fix something in the mail.

Kelly Moore: Know majorly nobody can make something.

Beau Newsome: yeah no major catastrophes that you can remember in that building.

Kelly Moore: Well, the roof leaked enough times that it was painted the bud leading crashed more than once and.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

So we're pretty close to wrapping it up, but one thing that came to mind is.

The computer system.

So we were working with a DAS system.

Yes, and you were kind of working trying to maybe figure something else out correct.

Kelly Moore: yeah but.

You know, eventually got ported over, but it was basically.

manual landry.

Beau Newsome: Oh.

Kelly Moore: OK, that when they got switched to the new database.

Beau Newsome: Where you still owner when they switched over it was a windows based.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: And, and that was a manual transfer of data.

Kelly Moore: We got some other but we didn't get all of it, so there was a lot of manual.

wow know somebody read the blue one what the movie and you go well standard system you'd have to take the movie and.

go from there.

Beau Newsome: Oh wow geez what a what a mess.

Kelly Moore: yeah oh it's amazing we lent that software, I mean.

So we had the store for 10 or 12 years and, and it was like right after we bought it they discontinued the software.

Right Oh, it was like oh man yeah.

Beau Newsome: It was a it was a pretty user friendly software, I mean.

yeah it could do all sorts of stuff for us and printouts and what whatnot but kept notes kept records of everybody what they rented and stuff like.

Kelly Moore: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: It just wasn't supported correct.

Kelly Moore: No, and finally, we had enough glitches in it that.

It had the just good good maintain.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah That was one thing that kept me up at night, was the crashing it always crashed.

yeah just had to make sure we backed it up and we.

yep if we're lucky we only lose 24 hours a day.

Kelly Moore: Not three weeks.

In good really yes.

Beau Newsome: yeah I think in my tenure there, it was, I think the longest we went was maybe three days without a computer just doing manual invoices and then.

Yes, what's the system came back up we.

enter them all in the system.

yeah the duck the days that we thought there that they were actually rented and yeah.

Kelly Moore: It was a real pain.

Beau Newsome: I don't miss that aspect of the job.

Now, dealing with that computer system.

But as far as the move it all day is 400 transferred over or not, as 500, but it was a Do you remember the name of it was a DAS system but.

Kelly Moore: yeah I don't.

Beau Newsome: yeah but it there was no problems from the get go after the move.

Kelly Moore: As far as I know, no.

Okay, no I wasn't I wasn't that involved with it just you know we got it we bought I did or.

Is is the pain to get it all in there right yeah.

Beau Newsome: Was there any talk about getting that online.

Kelly Moore: Oh, we talked about that a bunch, but it was just one of those things that you know, for us, we didn't keep we didn't keep the computers online because of the credit card info.

Beau Newsome: And just all the Info.

Kelly Moore: All the Info yeah so I mean we wanted.

It would have been nice to have been able to do something where you can order it online done whether the movie was in or out and all that good stuff but I mean nowadays.

it'd be easy to write a web server that that do all that stuff I mean right yeah get get your nine year old they could write it in this day and age, but back then, it was it was not an easy solution there just wasn't that type of code out there.

Beau Newsome: That probably wasn't cheap either I.

Kelly Moore: know it was really expensive yeah so yeah.

Beau Newsome: Do you think if the video store was.

Do you think they're like if I would have made it through the shutdown of the pandemic.

Do you think there's a.

year we get eventually would have just fizzled out or do you think it's still kind of stayed alive for a little bit.

Kelly Moore: Probably just fizzled out, I mean people are lazy.

know.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Kelly Moore: you mean.

You stream, so it looks the same on your screen is, if you put the DVD sure yeah.

Beau Newsome: So yeah we can't couldn't compete with that.

So.

Beau Newsome: But Okay, well, I think we've been about an hour.

Any closing remarks anything we didn't touch on that.

Kelly Moore: No just just take out that bit when I was stuck.

Yes, no names.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: said dad does she want to say hi or now.

I dad.

Beau Newsome: Well cool I really appreciate you doing this, this is they came to me with this and I was like yeah, of course.

we'll have to interview people and talk about the video star but.

You guys gave a valiant effort that's for sure.

Kelly Moore: Well, we dry.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: Without a.

Doubt without me okay.

Okay.

well.

I think I think that's about it.

Kelly Moore: Let me.

Beau Newsome: have anything else you want.

Kelly Moore: To do your works going okay.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah.

yeah let me i'll just stop recording here, if you want to hang tight.

But I just want to thank you again for doing.

doing the interview and we're hoping to get as many as we can, until the end of the Semester, I think.

Kelly Moore: yeah.

Beau Newsome: When we have, and then I think this might be available online I don't know if they're going to do it.

At the just at the University of iowa library, or what but.

Kelly Moore: What.

Beau Newsome: i'll keep i'll keep you informed and.

Kelly Moore: yeah but definitely make sure that the.

Yes, yeah the other bits yeah that would not be cool.

Beau Newsome: No, no yeah well, I think we have the ability to to edit stuff out so but okay well i'm gonna and recording thanks again Kelly appreciate.

It glad deb got a little cameo.

But i'll just stop recording here thanks a lot.

Kelly Moore: you're welcome.

Monique Lillard: And there's, a thing that says recording I think you can see it up in the upper left so all right good good, so I am for the recording here i'm monique lillard I am part of the University of Idaho oral History project about the video rental store here in Moscow Idaho.

It is April 19 2021 and.

I am talking to pat angle, although i'm going to have her state her name just to make sure i'm pronouncing it right because i'm doing that, with everybody, but first let me just ask Pat, have you sign the waiver release.

Patricia Engle: Yes, I hear.

Monique Lillard: Great Thank you so would you state your name for the recording and can you just generally describe your relationship with the video rental store.

Which is a lot, a huge question i'm going to break it down, I will let you know i'm going to break it down to you as a customer you as an owner of the store and the various permutations of that you, as the owner of the building.

Then the process of going cooperative and then sort of the denouement the handling of the collection, so all of that is going to be asked about, but just generally, can you state your name and your relationship to the store how about that.

Patricia Engle: My name is pat angle, and I was one of the.

original shareholders, when the store was sold somewhere back in 2009 oh okay.

Monique Lillard: All right, great great let's just start talking about the store itself and yourself as a customer, first of all, did you rent videos at that store.

Patricia Engle: I came to Moscow back in the late 80s and was a frequent.

user of Howard Hughes video, which was.

owned by a rather colorful character in Moscow named Howard Hughes he started the.

He had an appliance store and he started a small video rental place way back when and it grew and grew into a.

quite an operation, and it was very lucrative at the time when Internet access in Idaho and Moscow was not widely available.

People were renting videos and they were videos back in those days.

Back in i'm not sure when, in the early 2000s Howard, the decided to retire, and he sold his appliance business to.

Some others, and I think as part of that deal, they also inherited the video score which they kept running for a number of years, but over the years, it became less and less profitable and that was the point at which.

The video stores really Gary meyers his legacy, it was really Gary who had the notion that.

We should find the video store at that time, am I talking too much.

Monique Lillard: No keep going keep going I would have some follow up questions but keep going yeah.

i'm.

Patricia Engle: At that time.

We Gary and Neil, and I and building up at 520 South Main Street, we had had a number of.

Businesses in that first floor and, at the time.

I think we I can't remember exactly what the details were but.

Gary talked to the owners of the video store and it was his idea Gary was the entrepreneur in our relationship and he he decided that buying the the video store business would be good for.

Our common concern, which was the building that we own together.

Monique Lillard: Okay, so now i've got several follow ups here.

First of all, so.

it's planned that bow newsome, who is the other interviewer for this project it's planned that he is going to interview Howard Hughes himself so.

we'll see what he has yes we'll see what he has to say.

He lives next door to Melinda shut shop who runs the Co op and who you know, I think, from the the video co op border so that connection, will be made.

You mentioned Gary meyers and so just to sort of make this a coherent standalone interview, who was Gary meyers just briefly, and you know how did you know him and what was his role in town.

And the town of Moscow yeah I think.

Patricia Engle: Gary originally came to town.

As the fishman yeah and he was he sold fish every I don't know Wednesday and Friday I think came to love Moscow and ended up leasing the Royal motor in which was.

right on the corner of sixth street right um and he was involved in the Community, he was one of those people who was always looking for an opportunity.

And he was very talented.

talented.

contractor builder jack of all trades he.

And it was.

Through actually through our yoga class that that we met Gary and.

When the opportunity to buy the building.

came up, I was looking for an office space and we couldn't afford to buy the building on our own Neil, and I.

So Gary came in and that was the beginning of our relationship.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay so you'd met in yoga you came in to buy the building, which was intended as a commercial endeavor I assume by.

My, especially by Gary right you wanted an office too right.

Patricia Engle: Right right.

Monique Lillard: Okay, and just for the record I know who Neil is but who is Neil.

Patricia Engle: has been yeah yeah he.

This was kind of my deal, he was always supportive in there, but he had no not really much of a direct relationship with the building.

friendship with Gary oh.

Monique Lillard: For the record, Neil was a professor of law at the University of Idaho college of law, and I was a professor of law and so that's how we all know each other, just so when the future says, why are they laughing.

Now the future okay.

So.

Oh Gary yes, did I freeze you okay.

Patricia Engle: No, no, something just happened and I.

Monique Lillard: let's see can you hear me now if i'm.

Patricia Engle: Talking I can't hear you but.

Something adobe came on for some reason.

Monique Lillard: That might just be something in your computer, can I don't think adobe has anything to do with this.

Patricia Engle: I know, but it's it's.

Monique Lillard: We can pause the recording if you want or.

You can try to just click it off, whichever you'd rather let me pause the recording for just a second here if I.

Patricia Engle: Can.

Monique Lillard: Forget hold on here, and it seems to say it's recording now again so okay good so Gary was interested in the building and then he's the one who had the idea of buying the video.

rental operation.

Okay, and we're his motivations if you can characterize them.

Where they.

i'm sorry i'm thinking, I should say we're talking in the past tense about Gary he passed away, do you know the year roughly.

Patricia Engle: It was a 2012.

Monique Lillard: that's what I was thinking 2012 and obviously we would be interviewing him if we could and so that's why we are i'm going to ask you to speculate and if you'd rather not.

When he got involved with the video operation was it for financial reasons or out of a love of movies or out of a love of Moscow or but.

Patricia Engle: um it was for financial reasons he talked to the owners, they were looking to sell because the.

When they bought the appliance thing the video store kind of ran by it on its own by itself and, but it was becoming less and less profitable.

So that's when Gary was a schmoozer with everybody around in town and he talked to the the owners and they agreed to sell us the video store, for I believe was $70,000.

Okay, and then.

Gary was convinced that he could we could make it a profitable operation and that we could how's it in our building that we shared and take advantage of the.

Having the rent every.

Monique Lillard: month on the video.

store.

Patricia Engle: Guy with his main motivation.

um and he worked out the arrangements with the previous owners.

He asked Neil and may to contribute $20,000 he contributed $20,000 and deb Rentals and Kelly more contributed.

They their work for the third Chair of the of the building deb agreed to keep the books for a number of a couple of years and Kelly was kind of helpful with the over overseeing the operation so.

In one weekend.

They moved the video store from there, the current location or from the previous location to.

To our building and it wasn't much smaller space, it was quite the operation to do that, they did it all and reconfigured the first floor to accommodate all the you know at that time they were videos not DVDs.

I contributed painting and doing that sort of cosmetic stuff.

For the building and we had originally wanted to it was originally decided that we were going to call it Main Street video.

And that's how we incorporated our business, but it was very clear that the Community wanted it to remain Howard Hughes video because it was really kind of an iconic.

spot in in Moscow, and you know the name Howard Hughes had all of its the double connotations, you know so so it remained as Howard Hughes video.

Monique Lillard: Okay, and you know, when you say they moved it you mean Gary and.

Kelly.

Okay, they were the muscle presumably.

Patricia Engle: They did mostly work yes.

yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah and it's probably worth noting that videos video tapes are bigger in size, then DVDs and so storing videos is much more of an endeavor right.

yeah yeah and so, is it you who picked the green paint that was inside the video store.

very, very good, it was a fluorescent green I think right and the story behind why.

Patricia Engle: I know I think it was just what was his name oh I.

Monique Lillard: got it.

got it.

All right, and did you pick the posters and all the funny things that were up on the walls or did you.

Patricia Engle: know now I most of those were some of those Howard Hughes had a lot of stuffs in storage and different nooks and crannies and stuff, and so we ended up throwing away a lot of videos and that were just.

You know use not useful.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah yeah I was gonna say was did you need overflow did you have to rent a storage unit or store things places, other than the store.

Patricia Engle: I think there was a storage unit that we kept for a number of years to keep all that stuff.

stuff.

Monique Lillard: And do you remember, who was managing the store at that time the hands on manager.

Patricia Engle: A it was a woman who was the.

The manager of Howard Hughes when it when it was sold.

But she didn't.

She didn't last too long, it was not a good relationship.

Monique Lillard: Oh, she.

Patricia Engle: used to be, she was accustomed to being your own boss, and having a lot of benefits that we were not able to pay because of the the the income flow from the video store was dramatically decreased over over time.

Monique Lillard: So you made actual financial benefits.

Right yeah yeah yeah okay okay um.

there's so many things to ask, actually, let me ask one question because i'm viewing this oral History project as not only being about the video store but also just about Moscow as a town.

And so that building that you owned, can you remember what the other tenants were there just off the top of your head.

Patricia Engle: It was a laura's tea and treasures for a for a while um when we bought the building it was Northwest handmade I believe.

And they they had wanted to buy the building and we're disappointed when they weren't able to do that, and so they they moved out pretty quickly um the tattoo parlor was there for a number of years.

And those are the only two that I really recall.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah and then upstairs were offices, including yours.

Yes, yeah.

Patricia Engle: Oh, we had what we called the alternative, so it was mainly.

Alternative health practices, I.

practices in art therapist Tom bodhi had.

The place doing feldon Christ.

Karen young good massage and acupuncture and.

frank pelfrey was there, he had a number of different.

partners and because it was a two offices in that first space.

frank did massage and and therapy.

psychotherapy and then Theresa baker was there for a number of years as frank's partner and then she took over when frank finally retired okay.

Monique Lillard: Okay that's a good history good Okay, thank you, thank you.

You know, you said something in passing, and I just wanted to go back to it, you said Gary thought he could make a profit.

And you said something about how you thought it was really a resource for the town and that the town wanted to stay Howard Hughes, can you expand on that just a little bit what What did the this particular video store mean to the town of Moscow, do you think.

Patricia Engle: Oh, it had been around for such a long time, it was very popular resource.

Back in the day and it just.

It was a combination of Howard Hughes says.

colorful personality and it just had a really wide ranging selection of videos and.

What was really nice about them, they were all catalogued by director, so if you are particularly interested in particular directory you could.

go there or particular actor that you were interested in.

So, and it was the famous five five days, five days off part 525 days back that five from five per five.

And it was a you know it's just part of the.

downtown Moscow community and and that was one of the reasons why we wanted to preserve it or see that it was preserved.

Monique Lillard: yeah and you know your own motivation coming in, I guess, there were multiple motivations, but you yourself UN dealer you yourself was there was a component that not just a financial gain, but also up something about movies Is that correct.

Patricia Engle: Yes, to some extent, except by the time we bought the place Neil, and I had moved from Moscow to sandpoint so we really, although I love tower accuse when we were there, and it was Howard Hughes video.

By the time we bought the place we had moved and we're interested in preserving it but really didn't have access to using it.

Monique Lillard: OK, so that okay okay so by the time you bought it, you were at.

Not living in town okay that.

Patricia Engle: That might mean that was, you know that was part of our agreement was that.

We would just be the financial partners would help wherever we could but Kelly and deb would be responsible for the day to day operation and Gary for.

You know any.

Anything else that.

Monique Lillard: is doing right right, but then unfortunately Gary fairly quickly got well, you said you bought it in about 2008 did you say that don't be.

eight or nine Okay, and then Gary got sick and passed away right.

Right.

Patricia Engle: Gary and and Kelly and we're you know we're hands on until Gary started getting sick and he knew his his situation was terminal.

So he then a soul to deal and me his share of the video store.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay.

Patricia Engle: yeah so that, when he passed, we would have it just you know the the two of us two of us being Neil and me and Kelly and deb right.

Monique Lillard: got it got it and so i'm going to ask you about the ownership story, but let me just pause the second talking about management of the store and I understand that Devon Kelly, did the bulk of the hands on management, but just from your point of view.

Who was the most important person at the store.

Patricia Engle: Oh, I think, though.

Well yeah.

I think, so I think that the reason that the video store.

Was was popular and and remain popular is that the employees, there were really dedicated movie fans and.

People customers could go into the store and they could always find someone to talk to about movies, that they were interested in, or there always be someone there to suggest.

A movie that they might be interested in, so I think it was really the employees, though, being one of the most important obviously.

Okay yeah so it was.

Kelly did kind of the over overseeing the management deb did the books, but it was really the employees that kind of.

Where the.

The juice that kept things really going and made it as popular as it was right.

Monique Lillard: Right so then.

I personally remember seeing the sign taped to the counter saying the owners are thinking of selling call this number and I called this number, and it was you know my name.

And I because I hadn't really understood that you were one of the owners until that moment what what shifted what made you or you and Neil start thinking about wanting to sell and then do you remember what all the ideas were and what that process was.

Patricia Engle: I, yes, we.

The video store stopped making a profit of probably in.

2012

Before then we were.

We were getting some benefit from it, maybe $1,000 a year.

From the.

yeah and profits for the three the three parties.

And then we just stop making any money, the only money that we were making was.

Just we were able to to get the rents, the owners of the building were able to get the rents and deb was able to get paid for her bookkeeping skills.

But other than that we weren't making any money we were just kind of.

Holding on.

So at that time.

I started researching somewhere around, I think it was about 2014 that we made that contact.

I started looking around at.

different options for how we might.

sell the video store do something I I talked to it was it became clear that we had to do something that we could no longer sustain we had to reduce the rent for.

I think 2013 because we weren't able to meet the payroll So are we couldn't couldn't pay the full rent just wasn't going to happen.

So I started doing a lot of exploring around I visited other video stores, it turned out that one of our problems, was the lack of space, the other video stores that were still.

doing well and in operation, like in portland and.

there's one here in tucson they were able to maintain because they could offer other things like a coffee bar or snacks or.

In the case of the portland operation they had all the costumes from all the.

The movies, and they had things that could also attract and make money for.

The client for the owners.

We just didn't have the space to do that, we were just jam packed and it was too small, so we looked at a possibility of if somebody wanted to buy it.

I talked to I talked to the university they weren't interested they didn't have the money.

I talked to eastern Washington university, because they have a big film school, I thought, maybe they might be interested in the collection.

It turns out, they were interested in some, but not the whole collection and I felt that it was important to try to keep the collection together, because it was really an archive of.

Some really great movies, and things that just weren't available and other places, and that it was more valuable as a collection I did visit a couple of places where.

The video stores had had had to close down and they had big sales of all their videos and it became clear that Moscow just wasn't a Community large enough to do something like that, and still make enough money.

So um.

It was then that we were sort of out of ideas when I wrote the letter to the customers and saying you know we've got to do something if you are.

let's hear your ideas I like it was something like that you probably remember the letter.

And we got a number of responses, a lot of responses people were the people who responded were very adamant that we keep the video store that it was an important part of the Community and they really wanted to do something, and there were a number of suggestions about.

Raising fees a membership and other things like that, and it was out of that.

Those responses that we develop the working group back in.

I think it was 2014 the end of 2014 and then it was all through.

That we met and trying to figure out the best ways to keep the video store alive, I felt like it was important, just for Moscow, you know it was it was part of the Community, and it was something that may Moscow kind of unique and.

So anyway that's how it worked and then that working group I think met for close to a year trying to trying to figure out.

What might work and we talked about a number of options if you'll remember of.

selling shares.

and

I know I can't even remember all the many different permutations and it was a very it was a very committed core group.

And so we tried at one point, raising the raising the rates for the videos and that worked for a while.

It got us back into.

paying the full rent for her for a while and.

and anyway it was out of all those discussions that.

Finally, the idea of a Co op came about and.

yeah I can talk about the financial aspects of that if you want or, if you have.

Monique Lillard: More questions or yeah I want to get into that in just one second i'll just say that I remember a lot of those.

meetings were at my house in my living room and then my dining room, I think it was called the Steering Committee, for a while I think and.

I have some of the notes from that and i'm going to be giving those notes to the library, also because I was I had typed those basically for anybody in the world to see so i'll probably be giving those.

And I remember you would bring sweet rolls or something delicious to eat.

Every single time it was so nice of you.

Anyway, so I was going to say.

Patricia Engle: Once you to maybe.

Monique Lillard: It was a pleasure it's a pleasure, so it was a great group was committed group, as you say, and we'd always get distracted into talking about movies and.

yeah I remember, I remember so.

Going cooperative How did the idea, develop and yeah we are interested in any financial information you choose to share that you remember, so yeah.

Patricia Engle: Well, as I said when we first started out.

We had.

Each put in $20,000 when when Gary was dying we bought out his share for a little less than $10,000 so we had you know 27 five or something invested and Devon cali 20,000 in kind, so we were trying to get 60,000 for the.

For the.

operation and then it became clear that wasn't going to happen.

So I just forgave the the amount that we had paid Gary for his share so then we were looking at 40,000.

And i'm not sure how the whole thing of the.

Co operative came around, but I think it was a Melinda shop who manage the food co op in Moscow, who have.

And we hired a lawyer to we had a lawyer to draw up, we talked about doing a nonprofit we talked about doing a membership.

I think we tried the membership before the Co op i'm not sure how about the how that came about, but I think it was this committed group.

Talking about a Co op and Melinda saying, she felt confident we could raise the money, I guess, in in the also in there, I had talked to the kenworthy about.

buying the videos again they weren't interested there was there were a lot of factions, I think, in in Moscow, there was this core group that was very committed to keeping the video store and then there were others that.

That were saying it's time has passed, nobody runs videos anymore, the Internet has comment and netflix and it's just it's a dying operation, so there were there were the naysayers and then this committed group and so that.

Tension so we tried to I think we tried to raise the money.

Through kickstarter program and then we tried membership and.

In the end we came to the idea of a Co op and food co op was.

committed to helping either some sort of agreement with co OPS that they could help each other and they had some computers that they could blend the video store and like that so that's kind of how that came about.

Monique Lillard: In retrospect, what are the pluses and what are the minuses of going co-operative.

The way we did.

um.

Patricia Engle: I think the reason that the the the video store.

faltered.

In the beginning was that there was nobody who was there.

To push it forward to be innovative and to have to create the kind of environment that could keep it going above was great as far as movies and keeping things operational and like that, but there wasn't really somebody on hand to could who had the.

The energy and the enthusiasm to make it work, and that was you know I live far away, you know and.

Anyway, so I think that's.

that's why it had difficulties and this core group was very committed, but they really got burned down to the end and every one of them had other jobs and other responsibilities so there wasn't really anybody to.

kind of take the the helm, and a.

There was a lot of enthusiasm when the Co op first started and.

It just it people just got burned out on the whole thing and the agreement we had with the Co op was that they would raise Oh, this is how it works yeah they would raise.

$25,000 20,000 would go to Devon Kelly and 5000 would be a downpayment to.

To me.

For the 20,000 that they owed me.

So they were successful and raising that they had hoped to raise the whole thing but we're not able to do it so that's how.

At that point that's when it turned over into a Co op.

Monique Lillard: To carry alone, so they weren't.

Patricia Engle: They were supposed to pay.

To pay us $5,000 a year.

Over the course of the next three years, they would take off the balance of what they need.

Monique Lillard: And did they.

Patricia Engle: Have they paid the first year.

So.

Then, at the end you know they still owed me $10,000 but.

Monique Lillard: As a business person dealing with another business entity which was this cooperative how did that work where their frustrations with comparing it to dealing with other businesses other tenants what other.

How did that work.

Patricia Engle: i'm the only the only role that I played with them was I collected the rent every month.

And they were able to pay the rent until that last year.

Monique Lillard: Okay Oh, then they didn't pay the rent in the last year.

Patricia Engle: The last.

I guess the last.

Four or five months.

Monique Lillard: Okay Okay, I personally had gotten off the board actually because there weren't enough spots on the board and two people were interested and we thought, well, we should get new excited people in.

And then it really hasn't been since i've been doing these interviews that I realized, they were looking for people I would have joined the board again, but I, you know what I mean but.

It is what it is, you know I, and I do remember, I was looking through old emails.

At one point, you said monique I know you're not on the board anymore, but i'm trying to track down these pieces of paper and I can't get an answer and I.

I that's why I asked that question, I wondered if they were some frustrations and if.

The sort of diffused ownership of a cooperative made it harder for you to deal with them, so now i'm sort of an i'm not trying to lead you, you can say no, no, no monique you have it all wrong, but I just wondered about that.

Patricia Engle: uh yeah the toward the toward the end there was there was not much communication I couldn't get any information about.

Where they were or you know, sometimes.

what's what the situation was it seemed like it wasn't going very well, but I couldn't really.

get in touch with anybody and find out what the what the status was yeah.

yeah That was the That was the difficulty and then you know I don't want to want to.

Bad mouth any bones but.

The the last.

director ahead of the Board just wasn't confident or capable and.

wasn't able to give me information what and actually.

didn't tell me the truth about certain things about what the situation was, and so it was really hard for me to to yeah find out anything.

Monique Lillard: I can imagine yeah, especially from far away.

Right yeah.

And maybe we're just about to what I have labeled on my list here the sadder questions.

What.

What do you think ultimately ended the business.

Patricia Engle: um.

I think it's it's not having a person there, who was who was committed and enthusiastic about.

about the video store and was willing to put in the effort to make it go, I think it could have I you know I I think there's a lot of ways that it could have happened with somebody who had the energy and.

The interest to do that, but in the end the board members were burned out and then they they brought in someone to who was not able to.

Carry areas forward yeah.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: In retrospect, is there anything you wish you'd done differently.

Patricia Engle: um.

In terms of what.

Monique Lillard: You know, I was thinking, this is a very wide open question and you, you did so much, and you have detailed how much you did you know at any point along the line, starting with.

Jewish should never bought bought into the business, do you wish, you had bought the additional shares, do you wish you'd.

say, especially at the time of those Steering Committee and meeting at our House, do you wish you'd gone a brute different from the Co operative it or anything else you don't have to say yes, you know I just.

Patricia Engle: don't.

I don't think so because the didn't seem like there was any route, as I said, I contacted universities, I I went and visited other video stores.

I I tried to encourage the library various libraries, but they have their own little system of doing things and and whatever it, it seemed like there was really no other option, the only other option was to donate the whole thing to.

To somebody who might want it and.

We tried to work that out with the the kenworthy and they weren't interested and so.

We talked about memberships and and splitting up the shares and to $5,000 shares, you know for interested.

People but.

There wasn't there wasn't really an option, and it seemed like a really positive thing at the time.

The food co op was was on board and really helping getting things you know they helped with the the computers and organizing that whole computer system and.

It was a lot of energy yeah I know.

and

No good.

Monique Lillard: I mean I I can't look and say oh that's what she should have done.

I can't that all say that.

You know I could say some things about the cooperative board and communication with the Co operative bought excuse me, the cooperative board and communication with the.

Owners of the cooperative that's what technically all those shares were called ownership.

right and it was we sort of stopped hearing, when I was on the board, I was the broken record about that and.

Right insisting, and then we never heard you know, and so I actually a lot of us remain in the dark me probably less than some is because i've been doing this project but that's not that was not you, that was the cooperative board.

You know so let's get to the denouement here so who decided to shutter the store to close the store it.

Was it, you have to have decided that or was it somebody else.

Patricia Engle: Would we we find we did, I decided that it was time to sell the building.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay.

Patricia Engle: The video store had not paid any rent in months.

So we were not making any money I couldn't get any information from them.

It seemed like it was it was not going to be able to continue, I mean they couldn't they couldn't pay the rent and.

So I decided to we decided that it was time to sell the the store or sell the building rather and I talked gary's daughter was one of the you know beneficiaries of that, and she agreed that it was time to sell the building, I had a couple of.

offers of selling the building for like years before that's.

that's what I remember um so I finally decided that it was time.

So we got the offer right away to sell the building and the the new owners, the marlins had agreed that.

The video store could stay in there for for some period of time and then figure out a way to disperse or you know get rid of their video get rid of the videos or whatever.

And then they pandemic it.

and

They decided that they they didn't really want the video store and all the equipment and everything in there.

When they closed on the building so.

Monique Lillard: When they closed on the building Okay, I see.

Right.

Patricia Engle: So we had to figure out a way to.

move the video goes out.

And the.

The staff and the the The co op was not willing to do much of anything so it was.

Through.

cody cody more.

Monique Lillard: A lawyer in town.

Patricia Engle: Right, we were in town, who.

I had content I that's right, I had contacted him about what what do I do they're not paying the rent I can't get any information from them.

Is there is there, something that we can do to make this thing happen or make this thing work and then so he got then and got got involved with the with the video store and he met several times with.

Members of the co op board members and he was not able to get any kind of.

Answer or resolution from them and.

It looked like.

They just weren't stepping up to the plate to do anything and so.

cody in his other capacity as a head of the kenworthy is the one who made the arrangements for the kenworthy to take all of the videos.

And so that was happening right in the beginning of the pandemic had to move the videos out under cover of darkness over again, where the two to get rid of and and at that point, I just signed a release for.

Both the background that they showed and also.

For the money that they made for the purchase of the videos so um yeah it was a lose lose.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

yeah and I, my understanding that.

You actually had to pay for the removal of these objects and sent taken over to the kenworthy or that sweat equity that people you know or or your lawyer had to be in there, helping.

or.

Patricia Engle: We had to we had to pay.

A couple thousand dollars to haul off all of the.

The.

The shelving and all of that stuff too.

I think was me and my truck and they were very happy to have the work, because it was right in the beginning of lockdown in the pandemics day.

And I and i'm not sure how how the videos got moved from from one place to the other I think some of the co opted, some of it but.

Not not a lot okay.

Monique Lillard: And, did you give the videos to the kenworthy or did they buy them from you just gave them donation, I guess, would be called yeah.

Patricia Engle: We had we had to we had to clear out the store of course.

short period of time and.

That was the only thing to do was just say Okay, you can have them.

Monique Lillard: yep yeah and was there any.

deal about how the kenworthy was what the kenworthy was going to do with them, or it was just here they are.

Patricia Engle: A there was there was there was nothing about what they can where they would do I just I just signed the the release for the videos and.

And what was owed to us and.

Monique Lillard: Did you view that the videos were owned by you, or by the Co operative or did you really think about it.

i'm just curious.

Patricia Engle: I believe that I I had some rights to the videos since they owed me money and they hadn't made what they.

Monique Lillard: kind of like.

collateral like.

Right, I hope, that's the right word that's not my area of the law, but speaking of the largest a question for you and.

Wealth now i've started on the recording I could have asked it off the recording if I got in touch with cody more who is my former student i'm pleased to say.

Very good, one I always enjoyed him in every way, but if I got in touch with him, would it be okay with you, if he spoke to us about the nature of the deal, no secrets from you or would you rather we not contact him.

Patricia Engle: No that's fine.

Monique Lillard: All right.

I might do that he might say no, but.

Patricia Engle: He was actually you know our savior because I had no idea I was here in tucson and had no idea how to do this and how to negotiate with the Co op and he took it upon himself to contact the Co op members and try to work out some kind of deal and so he he has a lot of information about.

How about.

The last days you know yeah more than me.

Yes.

Monique Lillard: i'm gonna call him i'm gonna call him, and you know, so this was happening, a year ago, or a year and a month ago it's not that long ago.

But I just think i'll say because we're talking to the future again.

That pandemic shut down was so weird everything was so odd that my honestly my memory is it's almost like a dream, or something I can't quite put it all together, you know my children were coming home, while my children's friends were coming home it.

was just this strange scary surreal time and I think that that must have been hard for you and Neil being far away and i'm seeing a lot of thousands of dollars sort of.

Selling off into the width and.

yeah yeah um.

Patricia Engle: yeah we weren't we weren't even sure that the deal was going to go through, because the buyers were, I think, in the Galapagos Islands right when the pandemic hit, and they were doing the shutdown and they had.

Is I guess an aside day they had originally agreed to pay cash for the sale of the building and.

And anyway, they came back to the Galapagos i'll.

find themselves in the middle of a pandemic, and I think that's why they decided they wanted the video store out.

They didn't want to deal with it.

During the pandemic and that's what kind of pushed us to try to figure out something to do with all these videos in the during that time.

Anyway, they we worked out an arrangement with them, but.

anyway.

yeah it was touch and go for a while there.

The building was going to sell and and what was gonna happen to the to the videos and like that, but.

Monique Lillard: yeah and you were in tucson not in sandpoint right you in tucson.

yeah yeah even harder yeah.

Patricia Engle: Anyway, so.

Monique Lillard: Right right.

All right, i'm going to move on to sort of happier lighter questions to end are you okay to go for another few minutes we've been talking for about an hour okay.

But at any point if there's anything you want to add, we can we can swing on back to another topic so just what's your happiest memory of that video store and all the various relationships, you had with it from renter to owner to manager, to some degree.

Patricia Engle: yeah I would I was hesitant about the whole deal from the beginning.

area so persuasive yeah.

And he was so sure he could make it work, you know, and I guess those early days of moving all the videos.

And painting the place and rearranging and and.

doing all that was.

was a lot of a lot of fun and.

I don't know we were brought in with some of the plants that were there were from our place and so.

It was like a little you know, it was a fun operation and.

yeah I don't know of any other happier talking.

Monique Lillard: optimism.

Patricia Engle: It was it was good, because I, the Community really loved it, you know, and that was the the good part about it, you know, everybody.

When I would come to Moscow to visit every Oh, you know it's such it's so nice to have the video store in there and Oh, I hope it can stay and you know um but it it limped along for a number of years.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

I mean, I remember.

you'd go in and there'd be customers and the customers and the knowledgeable staff.

Ben hardcastle Bo various others would chat and chat and chat and I remember one of our many ideas was well what if we had.

Some sort of talks about films or.

My.

Monique Lillard: chat groups on modern term but in person, you know coffee clashes basically about movies, but and lectures from the University and all we had all these ideas I remember all that forever.

Patricia Engle: Again, that that was the That was the problem was the lack of space, you know and.

Then.

To encourage that kenworthy to do something if we could do something cooperative like showing some of the films are having talks there or whatever, but.

At the time, they just they weren't interested in doing something like that.

Monique Lillard: Right right.

Patricia Engle: We didn't have the space to do you know the talks and the things like that everything was so jam packed in there.

Monique Lillard: yeah I remember for a while, you know the front of that store has a sort of a.

It doesn't go along the sidewalk it kind of goes in and so there's a triangle of space and I remember you even were considering should we push the store out a little bit because the space was there to sort of.

close it.

Patricia Engle: That was actually yeah part of the design, if we were able to get the $60,000.

I mark Yun drew up some plans, yes, or we thought, well, we could we could take $20,000 and we could open that space up and then we would have that much more room and we could do some more thing, so if.

If they had been successful in raising the 60,000, which was the original goal of that would have happened, I still have the drawings.

Monique Lillard: yeah so in the front of the store, there was a different triangle there's some sort of interesting.

angles, in that space.

Monique Lillard: And you know the melons are architects so it'll be interesting to see if they change it, but last time I went by I think it was still configured the same I should look i'm not sure that's funny I blanked on that.

Patricia Engle: I had some.

keys to the building when we drove down here, I was going to drop them off and I.

I stopped we stopped by the store and look like they're digging up the whole floor and i'm not sure what was.

Monique Lillard: Going on so i'm not sure.

Patricia Engle: fans are either.

Monique Lillard: yeah i'll go by there and looking.

In the next interview I do i'll try to add this in so anyway, but there was this triangle that was enclosed and there was a plant there, and there was an old console TV.

Right when Bo was the manager.

It still worked in such a way that he could run videos especially black and white videos I wondered, the origin of that TV is it from your House was it an.

heirloom of you.

Patricia Engle: I don't know I think I think Kelly came up with that.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay yeah.

Gary Bo is the one who's going to interview Kelly and deb and I will be interested in hearing that videos.

watching that.

orange a video so um any other memorable stories just crazy things that happened in the store regarding the ownership anything that comes to mind.

Patricia Engle: No, no, not really because, like I say I was out of town for the whole thing and our suppose the only relationship with the store was the financial relationship and the store being in the building it was all it's really gary's legacy, it was all gary's idea.

He was a mover and shaker behind that so.

When he wasn't around to you know carry it forward sort of fell apart.

Monique Lillard: Okay, God yeah yeah I know I know.

Is there anything I should have asked her anything else you'd like to say anything else you'd like to talk about.

Patricia Engle: Now I I am i'm glad that the videos to some extent have stayed together.

and hopefully the university can find some some useful.

something useful for them, because I think it is a valuable collection and a part of Moscow history so i'm pleased that you're doing this i'm pleased that the University has the videos and.

Monique Lillard: yeah okay well, and let me share with you that you know i've done I don't know five or so of these interviews so far and.

I think the attitude that a lot of us have is at least we got five or six more years and that's largely thanks to you, so i'll say on the record, thank.

Patricia Engle: You I mean and, frankly, as you're detailing it now I think it's even more work that you did than I even realized, you know talking to.

Monique Lillard: All those different places and trying to keep it together and then i'll again I have nothing to second guess you.

Just.

i'm asking everybody What could we have done differently, but I just appreciate all that you did do and clearly made a huge financial donation to I don't know where to say it even went but it you made it, so I know where it came from I don't know where it went but I.

Alright i'm going to turn off the recording listed anything else you want to say on the recording and then, if you'll stay on for just a second we'll follow up okay.

All right, let's see.