I believe that it is fair to say that we have not seem times exactly like what this country, and the world, is experiencing at this time. It was my intention to focus this week’s column on the importance of supporting local businesses, particularly those that cater to sportsmen and women all the time but especially during these trying times. To that end, Monday morning this scribe headed out, notebook in hand, to get information from the proprietors of three local retailers whose inventory is heavily made up of items outdoors people buy. There were stops at Trail Head, Flagg’s Tackle Shop and Mount Tully Kennels. Unfortunately, while I was out interviewing, Governor Baker held a press conference where he announced a series of measures which ended up closing two of them down.
The three are small businesses that are taking a huge hit from the impact of the Coronavirus but eventually, after the April 7 date, they will be able to open again. Everyone knows that once this terrible pandemic passes, there will be economic bounce-back. What we need to understand is that in the meantime, small businesses across the country are absorbing huge losses. It is easy and tempting to just go online to the big retailers or Amazon and buy things which show up in a couple days at your door. We all do it. However, I am suggesting that you modify your habits and make it a point to patronize these and all local business when things pick up.
Trail Head is a great example. Proprietor Paul Anderson stocks a lot of different items you won’t find anywhere else and takes great pains to use items produced locally, like maple syrup. The business has evolved from the beginnings at the former Gulf gas station (they also pumped gas) and then made one more brief stop before settling right in the center of the Friendly Town. Perhaps of most interest to everybody is the fact that Trail Head is your “tick control headquarters” as he has a full complement of items to help you avoid the risks associated with tick bites. This promises to be a really bad year for the pests with folks already reporting getting ticks while out walking. The store also features many novelty gift items (Castle Rock in particular), greeting cards, freeze-dried foods, disc golf supplies, hydration packs and of course, my personal favorite Darn Tough socks! When you stop by, grab something to eat at the Corner Café, the best new breakfast and lunch spot in town!
My next stop was Flagg’s Tackle, and everyone knows that Rodney Flagg always has his fly-tying fingers on the pulse of local fishing. He knows where you can catch fish and has the tackle, especially his hand-ties flies, to catch them. He has a complete inventory of fly-tying supplies as well. Quabbin fishermen are always in comparing info and tips and that resource is, as far as I know at press time, still going to open on the third Saturday in April. Monday’s conversation with Commissioner Ron Amidon indicated that everything was still a go. If bait is your thing, Flagg’s has shiners, crawlers, worms, hellgrammites, meal worms and more! Fishermen know Flagg’s is the place to stop if you want to catch fish.
My final stop at Mount Tully led to a great visit with Steve Drew. We go back a long way to the days when he played soccer for me at Mahar and he is really the complete pet center for everything from dogs and cats to tropical fish, farm animals and exotic pets like hedgehogs. While I was there, I grabbed a Soresto flea and tick collar for Dinah and it will provide her with eight months of protection. It also holds up well to her frequent forays into the pond in the summer as the dogs practice water retrieves on hot days. He also stocks diatom powder, “the ultimate insect control” and a variety of other dog and cat anti flea and tick products. His dog food inventory includes 25 different companies! There is something there for every dog! He also has a large inventory of cat foods and feed for farm animals and much of it comes from local, New England sources. A mainstay of the business is the grooming and boarding they offer including “day care” for your pet.
The fish department is huge and there is a “fish of the week” you can check out online while you are doing a virtual tour. Steve offers a number of accommodations including online orders and phone ordering for pickup in these challenging times. They use Facebook extensively and you should visit them online to see what they have to offer; it really is a “one-stop” pet center for all pets. When this craziness passes, make sure to visit all your local businesses and support them.
While traveling around Monday, I received a call from my sister Pat (AKA Tish) from Kansas using my hands-free device. I pulled over to talk and got some bad news about my turkey hunting visit in April. Her county is under a 30-day quarantine and so the trip is off for this year. A real bummer! In the years that I have made that trek I have made a number of good friends and it is very disappointing.
There a lot of disappointments and hardships and we need to all pull together and remember that everyone’s health is the priority. If we follow the unpleasant but needed measures things will eventually rebound. I am not known for my patience, but we are all in this together. Stay healthy my friends!