Peddler's Mall will be missed by many

When I was in Peddler's Mall a few weeks ago, I spoke to a vendor about where she was going to relocate her booth. Her response was, "I'm not, I have to close." She stated that she couldn't afford the gasoline prices to travel to one of the other Kentucky locations to sell her things. Nor did she have the time available to travel because of her full time job in Lexington. She is a Nicholasville resident and relied on the income from her booth to supplement her income. It was close to home and a great second income. I also overheard two other women that had booths there, talking about the same dilemma, where to go or should they close up their shops. They had to decide whether gasoline prices, locations further away from home and time constraints would be something that they could deal with. Yes, I must confess, I was eavesdropping on their conversation. But I just listened as I passed by, so I have no idea what decision they were going to make about their wares.

I did see signs posted on the walls of a few booths that said some booth owners would be relocating their booth space to either Richmond or Georgetown. Another vendor that I know had said that she and her husband would be temporarily moving their business to Danville. From talking to a few of the vendors the consensus is that they are all very upset about the decision to sell the building. They are sad and angry about the situation and losing their incomes to an office supply store of all things was disheartening. There goes another "little man's business" into the dark abyss of history.

Nicholasville residents have limited fun activities to engage in outside of their homes. There is the bowling alley, city parks and a pool hall. Some activities that are available are not family oriented. There is the YMCA for those that can afford the cost of participating in their activities. Now that the debate is over about the skateboard park there will soon be another outlet for those that skate. Other than that one could travel almost to Lexington to see a movie. But for those of us that don't do any of those things we are left with nothing or make the drive to a neighboring town.

There is a rumor that Nicholasville may be getting an indoor flea market downtown. It apparently is in the planning phase now. It won't be a Peddler's Mall nor managed by Peddler's Mall, it will a separate entity. If it becomes a reality my daughter and I will be there the first day seeing what treasures that we can find.

I rented booth space from Peddler's Mall from 2002 to 2003, it was for second income but time constraints became an issue. I worked in Lexington and I was just too tired to do the upkeep and buying for my booth. So I closed, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted. A lot of things have changed in my life since that time, who knows I may decide to give the proposed new place a chance.

If we were going to lose Peddler's Mall then we should have a Garden Ridge here, not a boring office supply store. I realize that moving a store here involves demographics, location, etc. But we can still dream of the things that we want.

I can hear my daughter now "hey Mom, want to go shopping for printer paper."