Questions for current and former Gillette residents. (Casper, Rock Springs: sales, how much)

[NDak15]

I have asked questions before about Gillette and I thank everyone who answered. As I mentioned, I have been toying with the idea of moving there should a job come up for me. So here are some more specific questions I have:

Is Gillette attempting to diversify its economy outside of mining? A fear I have is if I do ever move there and decide to buy a house, I would not want my place to be completely undesirable if the mines downsize severely or shut down due to prices in coal, environmental laws, etc.

How much pride is there in the town in general? I was there this summer and the town seemed pretty clean to me. I especially liked the planters with flowers that had business names on them. I assumed businesses paid for the flowers? I also liked the sculptures.

What kinds of events does the town have on a regular basis or annually? I am referring to things like art walks, rodeos, races, plays, anything of that sort. Is the Camplex regularly busy?

I was there this summer on a sort of exploratory visit and I got a very nice vibe from the town.

[WyoNewk]

Yes, Gillette has been attempting to diversify its economic base for decades, but the fact is that if the mines all shut down tomorrow the town would be in a big hurt, and if gas and oil drilling went away at the same time your home would hardly be worth the dynamite it would take to blow it up. Realistically, that's still a long ways off, but mineral extraction is what moved the town from 3,000 to 30,000.

Environmentalists may not like coal-fired generating plants, but take them away and the country would be literally in the dark ages. If the country was to switch to nuclear, we've got that too, so I think it's safe to say that Gillette's mineral-based economy won't be disappearing any time soon.

There's a fair amount of pride in Gillette. I think there's a bit more in some of the small farm towns in the midwest, but you don't have to look hard to see it here too. Of course it doesn't hurt that the county has a huge tax base from the energy companies, nor that the average income in Gillette is pretty high, but most folks I talk to like it here. I, for one, am not here because of high wages; I'm here because I haven't found a place that I like better. It has a lot going for it.

And yes, there are special events of one kind or another going on constantly. Here's CAM-PLEX's events: CAM-PLEX

But that's just one area. Then you have the county recreation department, the community college and high school, AVA Arts Center, Performing Arts, Rodeo Assn, service clubs, etc., etc., etc. Or you can do like my wife and I do. We mostly sit and watch the grass turn green in the spring, watch it turn brown in late summer, watch it turn white in the winter and then start all over again.

[NDak15]

It sure looks like there is plenty going on at the Camplex. What kinds of events do they have at the AVA Arts Center? When you say Performing Arts is that at the community college? I assume you're talking about uranium mining when you mention nuclear power? How long have you lived in Gillette? Did you have to weather any major slump in the economy? I hate to ask questions like this since I don't even have any job prospect, I just want to know what I could possibly be getting myself into if I were to have the opportunity for a job there.

[WyoNewk]

http://www.avacenter.org/
Click on "EVENTS" for an idea. It looks like the calendar only goes through August, but there are always classes, fund raisers, shows, etc.

Home of the Powder River Symphony

- GCT Home

Yes, southern Campbell County has considerable uranium. It hasn't been mined much as the demand has been low, but I believe there are a couple mines currently in the works.

I've lived here for 40 years. There was a major slump in the mid-80s and a few other stale years. From the very beginning Gillette has been a boom and bust kind of town. As it's grown and diversified a little, hopefully there's a bit more insulation from that kind of thing, but I've been around long enough that I don't believe any community or area is safe from economic slumps.

[NDak15]

Your links certainly dispell the stereotypes about Gillette and Wyoming with the cultural events. I figure no place is completely safe from an economic slump, I've just heard horror stories about how Rock Springs and Casper almost died in the 80s due to a major bust. Gillette seems to have grown a bunch in the last few years. We constantly passed through it on I-90 but had never really stopped in town. The area where the Home Depot is seems pretty new. Have other big box stores tried to move in?

[WyoNewk]

Home Depot and a Walmart Superstore are about it for big box stores. There's always talk, interest, but movement is slow. I understand that many large retailers shy away from towns until they hit 30,000 in population. I believe Gillette was just under that for the 2010 census.

[NDak15]

I have heard some people say they figured it was because the stores didn't want to invest in a mining town. That is just theory so who knows. The 30,000 comment would make sense as to why Rock Springs hasn't had many big box stores move in, although we do have a little mall. I would think Gillette could support a small mall. Have residents voiced opinions on big box stores? Those aren't a requirement for a potential town for me, I'm just trying to get an idea of what the town is like (and I don't take their attitude toward stores like this as positive or negative.)

[WyoNewk]

Some love the big box stores, of course. I've heard from normally reliable sources that the Walmart here is one of the busiest in the country. Some folks think we need a Target store, but I've no idea at what point Target starts considering a town nor when any other big box retailers do.

There was a time when I kept abreast of that kind of stuff, but I'm out of the loop now. It's no longer my business to keep on top of it and, frankly, I don't care. If anything, I prefer the smaller family-owned stores, and they find it hard to compete with the big guys who name their own wholesale prices.

The same is true for malls, of course. Gillette loses a lot of sales tax revenue to Rushmore Mall in Rapid City, not to mention to malls in Casper, Billings, Fort Collins, Denver, etc. (Guess I *did* just mention them.) But building a mall isn't going to stop most of that traffic to the "cities". Most of those who complain about Gillette not having a mall would, if we had one, complain that it's too small. Personally, even if I had the money to invest in a mall for Gillette, I don't think I would. A Target Store? Maybe.

[NDak15]

There will always be complaining. Our mall is pretty small but we have several in Salt Lake to choose from. I do like the family-owned stores as well. There has been talk for a long time about a Target in Rock Springs. I forget, how far is Rapid from Gillette? I've been there a million times but can't quite remember.

[WyoNewk]

It's about 140 miles, all interstate now. Two hours. Casper is the same distance but mostly 2-lane highway. Rapid City gets the biggest share of shopping $$ from Gillette.

I owned a shoe store here for about 6 years. I bought it from a small chain out of Rapid, so we kept in close contact and carried much of the same brands. Their main store was in the mall. We both carried men's Floresheim shoes, but since they were in the mall I was able to keep the prices a little lower, and I also carried a wider selection of sizes. No matter. We both kept close records, and they often sold more Floresheims to Gillette customers than I sold in total, and I sold a few to customers from Sheridan, Newcastle and sometimes Billings and Denver. (I had one Billings customer who bought them a case at a time!) People, especially women, like to shop just for fun, and the men tag along without anything to do, so they do a little shopping too. At least that's the story I got.

I'd also overhear women's conversations as they shopped. One I remember found some she "adored," she told the gal with her, "but I'm going to Casper tomorrow so I think I'll hold off and look there first." That was shortly before I closed the shop down and the main reason I did. I didn't sense much customer loyalty as a retailer here. I've always tried to shop locally when possible, but it seems like residents here would rather buy out of town. It's why Gillette doesn't have a better selection of retailers. Others will say they shop out of town because there's not a good selection here. Of course both are right. It's a viscous circle.