I went to the Hershey store today for the last time. It was the last time because the factory is already closed and today is the last day for the store. I thought I would go for nostalgia’s sake (and because I love chocolate, let’s be serious). I never expected a chocolate store would be so sad. The shelves were pretty much picked clean and the bulk bins were empty, save for one.
If you’re not from Smiths Falls, you might not understand the melancholy over a chocolate factory. But the Hershey factory is a huge party of the town. It employed a large chunk of Smiths Falls’ citizens, including me one summer. (As an aside, it is a dangerous thing when you’re allowed to eat as much of the broken chocolate as you want. I ate myself sick the day I was on toffee and almond bar detail.) Everyone in the town has been on the tour a zillion times, and has fond memories of getting a free chocolate bar everytime they made a purchase. And the days when the air smelled like chocolate? Heaven.
But no more, because Hershey has decided to cash in on low wages in Mexico. Add to that the closing of the Rideau Regional Centre, and things are looking down for the town.
There was an article in the Toronto Star about it (thanks ‘Pril!). The deck is infuriating, and could only have been written by a Torontonian (“Do these places have a right to exist?”) and so are the comments. I can’t read them all or I might explode with rage. Such as this gem: “I will just be happy when these welfare bums from rural ontario will move out or start to pay their own way .. they are subsidized for everthing by use [sic] here in Toronto … Get a Job ya Bums“. Well, they had jobs. Their jobs moved to Mexico. I hope your job moves to Mexico so you can see how that feels. Then we can all point and laugh and tell YOU to get a job, you bum. Ugh. Also, learn to spell if you’re going to talk down to people, dumbass.
But all in all it’s a good backgrounder on what’s happening in my town. Bonus – watch the video to meet my neighbour across the street!
