Walmart As Capitalism 101

Sam Walton's 5&10. The next step was Discount City and the world.

Three quarters of a million people now live in the three counties from Fayetteville north to the state line in the northwest corner of Arkansas. This is Walmart country. It is the holy land of free enterprise where Sam Walton opened his first Walmart Discount City in 1962. Over those few decades as Walmart grew into the "world's third largest public corporation," the company transformed the plateau prairie into a prosperous landscape. The change came quickly once the company that visited its suppliers said, "No more!"  From that day forward those salesmen who wanted their products on Walmart shelves had to visit Bentonville for an audience with the buyers.  It is no wonder today that almost 100 business aircraft fly out of the area's two general aviation airports, Rogers Muni-Carter Field and Bentonville Muni-Thaden Field.  It is no wonder that more than thirty airlines identify with the 260 scheduled weekday arrivals and departures out of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

As one would expect, the Walmart holy land is a classic example of the money generation model in action. The retail reach of thousands of stores and services far exceeds the area's three-county grasp. Granted, it isn't like shopping at Waterside in Naples, but it's damn close if you don't need the palms and bromeliads. There's no beach either, but an abundance of nearby lakes provides plenty of broad and deep water in addition to 3,000 miles of shoreline.This is but one element of the quiet and relaxation to be found after a thirty minute drive east or west of US71 and the money model madness.

It is a nice compromise watching day by day as fall colors invade a large grove of trees across the fence.  For OTR it's new trees and new birds, but the old barn, with its missing boards and battered tin roof, recalls the long history here.  It is a diverse history as well, quite fitting of a place where the Ozark and Boston Mountains spill into the prairie grasslands of the Great Plains and the llano winds of Texas whisper from a mere few hours away.

OTR supposes that for  many this will always be flyover country. After all, hardly a minute passes in the day when you can't see eight or ten contrails from the commercial jets flying between Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, L.A., and beyond.  Still, the Cessnas, Dessaults, Bombardiers, Beechcrafts, and occasional Gulfstreams on approach and departure here tell another story. It may not be for everyone. but here in the Arkansas holy land, life is very, very good.