PENT-UP DEMAND FINALLY FULFILLED
Shoppers return to Venango County mall
CRANBERRY, Pa. — The familiar sights and sounds were there. Quarter-candy machines and an ATM. A place to purchase scratch-off lottery tickets, fountains spitting water and Norah Jones and Jack Johnson providing the soundtrack.
Ignore the context provided by the coronavirus pandemic and focus on specific areas, and Cranberry Mall in Venango County might have looked the same — a place to buy decorations inside Nells Crafts or a personalized license plate across the way at RCS Designs.
Normalcy, however, was nowhere to be found inside the rural shopping center that comprises about three dozen businesses — some local, some corporate — about 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, the majority of them enclosed in a traditional mall structure.
Instead, as mask-wearing patrons returned for the first time in two months thanks to this area moving into the “yellow phase” of Gov. Tom Wolf’s tiered reopening plan, there was a
cautious sense of optimism — the belief that things might soon return to normal.
“It feels great to get out, do something different and see some people,” said Eric Dewoehreo, who lives in Pittsburgh’s North Side but has been staying with family and friends in Oil City for the past month after losing his job as a prep cook and dishwasher at Olive Garden thanks to COVID-19.
Sitting with a cup of coffee and wearing a mask, Mr. Dewoehreo said he couldn’t wait to get out and do something. He didn’t worry about contracting COVID-19, which has been detected in just seven Venango County residents.
“I wanna see things get going,” Mr. Dewoehreo said. “You’re always going to have situations and problems in life. Things are always going to come up. People need money to survive. The system needs money. You need money for everything. I wanna see things get moving again and make positive stuff happen.”
Jane Harmon, who has owned Nells for over 20 years, echoed those thoughts. Selling crafts and decorative items, Nells has long been a staple for those looking to spruce up their house with wall art, fake flowers or candles.
Perhaps a nod to everyone staying at home and realizing things could use some beautification, Nells was bustling from the moment the doors opened at 10 a.m.
Standing behind the counter, Ms. Harmon couldn’t stop smiling.
“It has been a steady stream,” she said. “And good sales too.”
The past two months have been tough on Ms. Harmon, who has been able to bring back nearly all of her seven employees despite the fact that Cranberry Mall is operating with limited hours. She lives 6 miles away and doesn’t worry about potentially contracting COVID-19.
Jay Rowland, the owner of RCS Designs, typically survives on the money he makes around Christmas, a reserve that he said is “getting pretty damn close to being dried up.”
Before he took a break to talk about his business, Mr. Rowland said he was ordering supplies, including ink for his printer. A problem with the power Thursday drained the supply, which would cost $300.
Normally, that wouldn’t be a significant expense. Now, he agonized over every dollar going out.
“My biggest seller is license plates, and I can’t make them today,” Mr. Rowland said.
Nevertheless, Mr. Rowland said he’s thrilled to be back working. He doesn’t wear a mask because he had
“bad lungs” and said he “cannot survive with one of them things.” So far, no one has complained.
Over his left shoulder was a black T-shirt with Gov. Wolf’s name above a middle finger. It’s not hard to tell what Mr. Rowland thinks about the idea of reopening.
“We need it open,” he said. “We needed it open way before this.”
And his feelings on Mr. Wolf?
“I’m not a fan of his at all,” Mr. Rowland said. “I think he’s just gone so far overboard.”
Jim Wolf, an Oil City native who has been Cranberry Mall’s maintenance supervisor for seven years, was eager to get back to work on Friday morning, walking up and down the common areas, disinfecting benches and chairs, and cleaning bathrooms.
The last day he was here before Friday was March 20. He was successful when it came to receiving unemployment benefits but was even more excited to have his regular shift back, softening the financial blow.
His only complaint was having to wear a mask.
“I hate this thing,” Mr. Wolf said. “I’m only doing it because they say I got to.”
Brenda Perry had a day off from her job in the dietary department of a local nursing home. The Franklin native loves Nells and came out with two armfuls of stuff.
But while Ms. Perry was elated with her purchases, she still didn’t feel at ease.
“Not with the mask and stuff, no. Still not normal,” she said. “Probably won’t be for a while.”
Parker native Holly Bowser had been getting a little stir-crazy at home. The family is remodeling, and she has been watching her granddaughter some, but she definitely misses seeing other people.
Nevertheless, Ms. Bowser was a little hesitant when starting her shift at Label Shopper, a discount clothing store. “I think we probably could have waited a couple more weeks,” she said. “Wouldn’t have hurt anything. But we have to do this some time.”
Bob McDonald, 74, of Oil City, was waiting on his wife of 52 years, Sue, outside of Nells.
After working as the head of housekeeping and laundry for a pair of local nursing homes, Mr. McDonald retired four years ago. He has been enjoying working on his roof and in his garden and can’t wait to start going out in public more once the curve completely flattens.
He was happy to get out Friday, though he worried that some weren’t taking things seriously enough. He also had a wish.
“I don’t like how they’re making this political on both sides,” Mr. McDonald said. “I just think they need to forget this political stuff, and we need to come together as a country.”