05/23/2025
To the friends and customers of Wilkes Store: When Judy and I decided to open Wilkes Store after 35 years of being closed, our purpose was two-fold: first, to restore the building, which had gotten into terrible condition, and second, to see people come through the door once more. We accomplished both and experienced a joy that we did not know existed. Old customers, new customers, neighbors, and family all came in and out; it was just a wonderful feeling. This all went very well. What did not go well was the logistics of trying to operate the store. Vendors were not interested in working with a small business such as ours, and government regulations were difficult to deal with. Although we were blessed with some dedicated and hard-working employees, there was a dire shortage of them, and at our age, we had to depend on employees a lot. Judy and I are hopeful that Wilkes Store can serve some purpose in the future. We are open to suggestions from our friends as to how this may be accomplished. Thank you all for your support and kind words and thoughts!
Ralph and Judy.
