We got the word a couple of weeks ago that American Eagles in Seattle would be closing its doors. That's too bad, not because Eagles was a big loss to the gaming world--it's not. I think it's just symbolic of what seems to be happening to hobbies like miniature gaming, plastic modeling and model railroading. These are hobbies that seem to have generational appeal and unfortunately the generation of enthusiasts is slipping away.
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| American Eagles in Lake City. Currently holding a closing business sale, its last day is April 9th. |
I'm not going to bash younger people for their interest in video games or other interests. Nor will I bark at those of my age for not doing more to interest kids in their prized interests. I've been out there and recruited and it's really hard. I feel for people like my father, who is a lifelong Freemason, and represents generations of Masonic members, but couldn't draw me in. My generation walked away from service organizations like the Elks, Lions, and Kiwanis in droves, and now for whatever reason, our interests too may be doomed to the utter fringes of hobby interests.
American Eagles will be missed. I was a frequent visitor in the late 70's and early 80's. Though I never found it to be the mecca for gaming supplies, I was also forgiving of this failure. As miniature lines grew, Mike Edwards simply couldn't stock 'em all. Like many of my friends, I ordered from Modeler's Mart and other catalog operations. Still I bought what I could there. Rules, books, the Courier, were all frequent pickups on the way home from my job in Crown Hill. For a while we held monthly game days at the Ballard store. But the gentrification of Ballard forced the move, and Mike's retirement pointed toward the end for AE. It was just too far out of the way for me down here. What the move didn't kill, the internet did.
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| Seattle Times photo of George Edwards contemplating. Like me he's probably wondering where the next axe will fall. |
In the South Puget Sound community I worry about losing those bricks and mortar stores. Where can we get simple hobby items, the foundation of what we do like, CA glue, Testor's spray paint (which I use for primer) and Dullcoat, sheet styrene without having to find an online source, or resort to craft shop giants like Jo-Ann's and Michaels which are completely under resourced. We see this in the shrinking number of paint lines. While miniature ranges have exploded and we have more choices than ever, those fundamental building blocks are more difficult to come by. The last hobby shop in Puyallup closed nearly a decade ago. The Hobbytown store in Parkland, a delightful shop catering to RC aircraft enthusiasts, where I can get styrene, brass wire and tubing, and CA glue is frightfully quiet and located on a recovering Garfield St.
In any case I wish George Edwards well. There was a great article on the closing of American Eagles in the
Seattle Times this morning. I don't believe he could have done more than he did, and while I'm sorry to see the shop go, I understand.
