Shadow of a town: Weldon Co-op no more

The village was established in the last decade of the 1800s, but in recent years, the bustling community has changed substantially and is now just a shadow of what it once was. People have been leaving Weldon for years, and so are the businesses.

In 1975, when Elaine Chandler was 28, two women came to her door and asked if she was interested in working at the Weldon Co-op. Within two days, she started her new job.

In June of 2015, 40 years after she started, Chandler worked her last shift as store supervisor and the doors “closed forever”, as the sign on the glass entrance reads.

“I’ve spent 40 years here, so it’s a very sad time,” said Elaine. “I feel bad for a lot of the people that live in the town and don’t have any transportation out. This was the place they came to get their groceries and their mail and went to the bank, and now they don’t have that either.”

The day before the Weldon Co-op closed on June 30, 2015, the local Credit Union did the same. For the people of Weldon, this leaves an insurance agency, a post office and a hair salon.

“It was a community spot,” Elaine said, referring to the Co-op. “It was a coffee row for a lot of people…they seemed to really enjoy that.”

As far as the future of Weldon, one thing is certain – people are worried.

“I’m sure there’s going to be a big change in things,” said Elaine. “And not likely for the best.”

“I just hope something will happen in the town and somebody will be able to get some type of confectionary going for people.”

Still, looking back on her time at the Co-op, Elaine said she has fond memories.

“The 40 years spent (at the Co-op) went really fast. I have a lot of memories, I met a lot of people and had a lot of funny little things happen that you don’t have at a big place,” she said.

Over the years, she also had the opportunity to see many generations of families grow up in the area. Those who shopped at the store when they were young, later brought their children back.

“I wouldn’t change that for anything and I wouldn’t have retired yet either if it wasn’t for it closing. I still felt that as long as I could do the job I’d like to be here,” said Elaine.

They found out in April a decision was made by the board of local members to close the store.

“They just feel that we don’t have enough sales to cover expenses,” she said. “I knew in December money was getting tight, since we didn’t have fuel it was a little harder to do things.”

For the past two years, they haven’t hauled fuel to farmers, losing a large customer base.

Elmer Chandler, Elaine’s husband, also worked at the store delivering fuel to farmers until two years ago when that operation ceased. Still, he continued to work at the store.

“It’s sad to watch the place go to heck,” he said. “When the place closes, it’s not only me that it hurts, it hurts all the (people) in town.”

When he found out the store was closing, he was both sad and frustrated.

“It’s a hard thing to take,” Elmer said, his voice cracking with emotion as his eyes became glossy. “They figured we weren’t making enough money…greed is one of the biggest things in the world.”

Sales are valued in business, but those who worked in Weldon developed relationships with customers that kept them coming back.

“You got to know everybody on a first name basis and knew what they wanted,” said Elaine. “Lots of times I would deliver groceries on my way home.

“It’s just really nice to be raised in a place and be able to serve people.”

One of those people was Ann Soyland. She was born and raised in Weldon and only moved to Kinistino, a 10 minute drive away, when her and her husband retired.

“If we ever needed anything, the store was here, we didn’t have to go anywhere else. It just meant everything to us,” said Soyland. “Even though we live in the next community I was devastated.

“It’s like the hub of the town is gone.”

Now that Weldon has only a few businesses, she isn’t positive the town has a future at all.

“It’s not going very far, that’s for sure… just a small community just slowly dying,” said Soyland.

Even after her move, Soyland said she would go to the Weldon Co-op just to visit the staff.

“They’re like family. Now that’s gone, there’s nothing here, nobody coming to town,” she said.

“It was just like coming home every time I’d come to the store.”

Federated Co-op could not be reached for comment.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

by Alex Soloducha

Shadow of a town: Weldon Co-op no more

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