Hello Readers.

Today, My sister, Joanne Buckley is guest writer.
Joanne has written a tribute to that mainstay of Geneva retail, the Viking Office Supply and its proprietor, Weldon Johnson.
She is also sending this to the local newspapers as a Letter To The Editor.

As always, your comments are most welcome.

Cheers,

John

Weldon Johnson and The Viking Office Supply


Letter to the Editor:

My friend Weldon Johnson is closing Viking office supply, after 32 years in business.
It makes me sad.

It makes me sad that Geneva and the world has changed so much. I owned The Newsstand that shared the same location as Nelson’s Candy Store. Walter Nelson was an old man with a short fuse when a kid – me, tarried at the penny candy counter longer then he deemed appropriate. Many of my older customers remembered how Walter would walk out the front door of the store with a fellow and yell across the street to The State Bank of Geneva, “ Give ‘em a loan – he’s good for it”. Business doesn’t work that way any more. Cripes, I needed proper ID to get my library card renewed.

I digress.

Weldon Johnson bleeds Geneva blue. He is a good Geneva Boy. A former Alderman, Wood Award recipient, name giver of the Geneva River Rats, multiple year Chairperson of the barn sale, member of too many service groups to name, a dancer with the Geneva Stars and a great entertainer as he struts his stuff along the route in the annual Swedish Day parade with his horned Viking helmet and fur pelt. Will the Swedish Day parade be the same without him? He is one of the good guys. Which is why it is so sad to watch as he closes out this part of his life.

When I owned the Newsstand in Geneva and The Geneva Theatre closed, it hurt my business. When Geneva Family Restaurant closed at 3pm instead of 7pm, it hurt my business. I can’t help but compare our downtown to the game on my Blackberry, BrickBreaker. With each store that closes its door, the mortar chips away, and it gets easier for another store to be picked off. There is safety in numbers. I worry for the strong independent retailers that remain. I worry about our downtown and our community. They need our support.

Again, I digress.

Viking Office Supply was very good for Weldon and his family. He raised three children, sent them to college, had two weddings, and was able to take some nice trips while still investing his time to give back to his town and the people he loved. Do you remember when he put a treadmill in the window of his store and raised funds for miles walked? He was able to raise almost $20,000 for Russell, another Geneva boy with Leukemia. He is a selfless man.

However, business has changed. It is hard to scrape out a living, and let’s face it -The Swede is 70. It is time for him to relax, enjoy his grandchildren, and maybe go up nort’ fishin’.

But until March 31, he will be at Viking Office Supply as he has been for the last 32 years. Please stop by, shake his hand, say thank you – because he most likely has had something to do with something you enjoy about this town. And if you can, buy something, carry that Viking Office Supply bag proudly down the street one last time. He definitely earned our support.

Joanne Buckley