Do you remember Lillie’s, just a couple blocks from the school – the small grocery where so many kids would stop on the way to and from school, for sodas, candy, twinkies, pop-sickles, hostess pies, bazooka bubble gum, and more? We would have never imagined Lillie and Elmer as retail pioneers, yet Lillie’s was a precursor to today’s many convenience stores – the only things missing were gasoline and lottery tickets.
Of course Lillie’s is long gone, the times have been a-changin' since Dylan's anthem was released in 1963, when we were in the sixth grade. Garrett’s first real gasoline/convenience store was Handy Andy’s circa 1980, and today Garrett has several, two of which are owned by Sikhs [a religious group founded in India], and one of which (formerly Don’s Gas Station, now the Garrett QuickWay, shown in these photos) has made the national news, along with Garrett’s new Mayor Tonya Hoeffel.
Just now I got about 600 Google hits on "Garrett Mayor" Sikh.
What happened is that six Sikhs were killed and three critically wounded on August 5th at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The shootings were widely reported, and Kulwindes Nagra (pictured here), who owns and has operated the business for about two years, wanted people to know more about Sikhs. So he left multiple copies of a small, 30-page booklet “Who are the Sikhs?” on the counter for people to take, and on August 28 the Mayor took all that were on the counter, and upon leaving, threw them in the trash can outside (caught on the video surveillance).
That’s all you have to do these days to make the national news, but some good - maybe a lot - did come of it. Many more people learned a lot more about Sikhs than would have, had there been less fanfare, including the Mayor and myself. I was actually very impressed by what I read, by Nagra himself, and by the loyal and warm testimony I heard from two of his employees on separate occasions.
Actually the photo above does not begin to do Nagra justice. It was a very bright day, but sans shades he appears as he really is, a very friendly, genuine, mild-mannered and engaging man. Stop by when you are in town, say hello, and if you are interested, you can probably still pick up a free booklet.
And to be fair, I have met Garrett’s mayor, who seems to be a fine person, despite this hiccup, for which she has made thorough apologies. I think we all speak and/or act impulsively now and then, with sincere regrets whether or not we are caught or called to task for our lapse(s). These unfortunate incidents generally do not define us, and I certainly prefer to be judged by my more consistent, better behaviors than by my more seldom slips ... and in my ‘better’ mode, I try to give others the same leeway.
And to be fair, I have met Garrett’s mayor, who seems to be a fine person, despite this hiccup, for which she has made thorough apologies. I think we all speak and/or act impulsively now and then, with sincere regrets whether or not we are caught or called to task for our lapse(s). These unfortunate incidents generally do not define us, and I certainly prefer to be judged by my more consistent, better behaviors than by my more seldom slips ... and in my ‘better’ mode, I try to give others the same leeway.
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