From the Editor: Appreciate life’s little things
Submitted by Wimberley1 on
Dalton Sweat, General Manager and Editor of the Wimberley View
By Dalton Sweat
Editor
Sometimes, life is about the little things.
A few months back, I was sitting with my Aunt Dee of the front porch of her house. We were sharing a cup of coffee before I had to run off to work, swapping stories and theories about life, as elders like to do with those not quite their age. She was taking about enjoying the little things in life as she walked out into her front yard and picked up a hand full of dirt.
“This is mine,” she said with a smile. “This is my dirt.”
We both laughed, but at the same time, she made her point. Not only is that dirt hers, the land it sits on is hers and so to is the security of knowing she will always have a place for friends and family.
Last week, I was reminded of that simple lesson when talking with Richard Kilcrease, the owner of Ace Hardware.
Most in Wimberley knew how important the hardware store was to the community, even if it’s a little odd to love a hardware store as much as we do in Wimberley. The stark reminder of just how much we cared about Ace Hardware was thrust to the forefront of our lives when it burned down in February of last year.
The city of Wimberley certainly noticed also. Ace Hardware represented around 10 percent of the city’s annual sales tax income, which is the sole funding mechanism of the municipality. Many projects were halted or put on hold while the city braced for the impact of losing one of it’s signature stores and a face of the community.
Here at the Wimberley View, we noticed too. While it is certainly at the bottom of the list in terms of importance in a situation like the Ace fire, the Wimberley View lost one of its most prominent racks, the blue boxes we use to sell papers outside for 75 cents a piece. The numbers at Ace Hardware represented about 10 percent of the View’s outside sales also.
As Ace opened up a little over two months ago, we knew it would not be tough to get the community oriented business to allow us a space outside once again. It was only a matter of time. Ace is built around helping the community, and this is one way they are able to help our business.
After literally wrestling what felt like a 100-pound newspaper rack into place outside of Ace on Wednesday of last week, I stood in front of it for a moment to catch my breath.
I looked at the new storefront and remembered that, just a little over a year ago, I would have been standing in the walkway of the lumber entrance. I remembered the time I posted pictures of my lost dog on the quark board in front of the store just a few feet away.
I realized what this small moment would mean for our paper and gaining back the Viewers we desperately need. I realized what this new building would mean for Wimberley.
A grin began to grow over my face while considering what someone from the Austin American Statesman would think about a newspaper reminiscing over the loss of one single rack. I’m sure they wouldn’t understand, just like many people wouldn’t understand how a hardware store could mean this much to a community, so I smiled.
Sometimes, life is about the little things.
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