Being bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better

To the editor:

To say the least, I am extremely disappointed in Howard Delo’s article about the Grand Opening of Cabela’s (or as the Outdoors headline read, Cabella’s). It sounds to me he has turned his back on our locally owned Sporting Goods stores. I have lived here since 1968 and I never once felt that “town was a small place with limited outdoor gear suppliers” as he states. Stores like Chimo Guns, Mountain View Sporting Goods, Great Northern Guns, and Boondock Sporting Goods are all longtime outfitters with about 170 combined years in business right here in Alaska, and all of them owned by Alaskans. When you support them you know that any profits are staying right here in Alaska and supporting Alaska families. Granted their stores may not be as glitzy as Cabela’s, but their prices are usually the same, and many times, cheaper, plus the staff is extremely knowledgeable, because they have hunted and fished the local areas for years. I for one will continue to support our locally owned Sporting Goods stores and I hope you will too. Being bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Greg Bill

Palmer