New Traditions

Most people would likely agree that 2020 has been a year of change to say the very least and will not soon be forgotten, if ever. Earlier in the year when most business were going to limited store hours and closing down, I couldn’t help but wonder if this year would bring families closer. People couldn’t go out and sit down in a restaurant to eat. Concerts were cancelled. Having a celebration or even worship that involved more than 10 people became a crime. All of these things limited the activities and even that could be done and even spending time with people within your own household. I’m going to bet that some people learned to cook, some started a new hobby while others just about went stir crazy. With Christmas upon us and a new year right around the corner, I can’t help but wonder how many family traditions won’t be carried out this year and maybe new traditions will be started. A certain sadness comes with breaking a tradition that has been carried out for many years and I kind of felt a bit of that sadness when we were getting ready to move from our old location on Memorial Boulevard.

Our main store in Springfield has now been at the new location a year. When we moved out to our new location at 5546 Wallace Road, it was a little bittersweet for me and other employees too. I had worked at our 4000 Memorial Boulevard location for over 20 years and we are creatures of habit which meant I didn’t like the fact my commute was going to take longer. I didn’t like that we were going to have a small sales area instead of a good-sized showroom…this one was a biggie for customers as well. I didn’t like having a porch to back up to and load orders from instead of having a dock. I’m sure there are plenty of other complaints that were mentioned by both employees and customers but I’m going to stop there because we’ve worked through most of them. On the upside of things, we moved to a newly constructed building. We have a much better “back porch” view and we’re in a much quieter area because we are a little further out of town. We suspected that we would lose some business because of our location and that was a concern. We had hopes that we would gain business that we didn’t have before because of our location. After a year of being at the new location, we’re pretty happy with how the first year has went.

I’ve settled in and love the new place…still not crazy about the drive but the good outweighs the bad. Some folks still haven’t adapted to the new place but will in time, I hope. Others, customers and employees alike, comment on how much nicer the new facility is over the old one. If you haven’t been out to see us, come on! I know for some it was tradition to go to the old CO-OP and climb the little 3-step ladder that was mounted on the dock. For others, it was tradition this time of the year to come grab a handful of peanuts and stand around chatting with farmers and employees. We’re here to let you know…we’re ready to start some new traditions in 2021 so stay tuned!

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31