As Soldiers Ship Out -- Hometown Business Flags

The impact of the war in Iraq is felt by communities everywhere in the country. In many towns, reservists have been called up, family life has been disrupted, and businesses are experiencing fluctuations in sales and traffic. Nowhere is the deployment of soldiers felt more profoundly than in the towns that include military bases and stations.

Residents are accustomed to the six-month cycles of large numbers of troops deployed for stints around the world. Usually, as one ship leaves, another returns. But since 250,000 members of the armed forces have now been sent to the Middle East, according to CNN, with approximately 2,000 reaching the war theater daily, those figures have cut a wide swath in such communities as Norfolk, Virginia; Coronado Island, California; and Beaufort, South Carolina.

Norfolk, Virginia, is the home of the world's largest concentration of military personnel. Visitors are greeted with the sign "Welcome to the Home of the Atlantic Fleet" as they drive into the city. All branches of the armed forces, including the Coast Guard, Army, and Air National Guard, in addition to the Norfolk Naval Base -- the world's largest naval base -- have facilities in the immediate area. According to the Washington Post, 30,000 U.S. military personnel have shipped out of the region in the last few months to aid in the war against Iraq. The military accounts for 22 percent of Norfolk's labor force. In a city of about 250,000, their absence is felt.

Sarah Pishko, owner and founder of Prince Books and Coffeehouse, the 20-year-old downtown Norfolk landmark, has noted a drop in sales at the store. "We don't usually serve the rank and file servicemen, but everyone in the community notices the change. I've found out that a lot of people, customers and neighbors, are in the reserves," she explained.

Pishko told BTW that sales are down. "The first couple of days of the war, people were all home watching the news," she said. The families of the soldiers have had to make dramatic changes as one or both parents are activated. Pishko has lost one of her valued employees -- a Navy wife who is on leave before her husband's deployment. That's meant longer hours for Pishko: "I'm working harder -- business is slow and I'm trying to keep costs down. I'm keeping inventory really lean."

"Every bookseller is suffering," Pishko told BTW, regardless of location. "Terry Gross [host of Fresh Air on public radio] isn't talking to authors, unless there's a tie-in to Iraq. All the war books have gotten media driven, and, as a result, there has been more interest in nonfiction about the Middle East. We're not really pushing them…. I've also noticed that we have had wilder swings in sales. An independent music merchant in town noticed the same thing. We don't know why."

On the opposite coast, Bay Books in Coronado, California, is also heavily steeped in a military community. The island community off the coast of San Diego is the home of two military bases, including the Naval Amphibious Base and a Navy Seal's training base. Barbara Chambers, manager of the 12-year-old store, has not noticed major changes. "People have always come and gone from here. We've found business as usual. Lots of retirees from the military live and shop here. We always sell a lot of military history and nonfiction. Now, there's more interest in books about the Middle East. But about 50 percent of our business comes from tourists so they are still interested in beach reading and light fiction."

In Portsmouth, Virginia, Susan Weaver, wife of an enlisted Naval instructor, opened Broad Street Books with her husband, Matt, one year ago. "Most of our friends went out on the last ship (the USS Ponce), and we've noticed lots of people gone. We have a very small store, 500-square-feet, but we have seating and a lot of military people come and talk. Business is definitely slow. We do sell books to the guys shipping out, and we ship books to people on the ships for free, but it hasn't compensated for the loss of business. When the husband ships out, often his wife and children leave to spend time with family," Weaver told BTW.

"We have plenty of customers who are connected to the military -- retirees and families -- so many customers have a conservative viewpoint. But people like to discuss the issues here, and we sell books with other opinions too -- Bush at War (S&S), Longitudes and Attitudes (FSG). A lot of people buy books from the opposite side. That's one of the most rewarding parts [of running the store] -- talking things out and meeting people that don't necessarily agree."

Parris Island, South Carolina, is home to one the largest Marine training facilities, responsible for the training of all female Marines and all males from states east of the Mississippi. The military facility is the largest employer in Beaufort, South Carolina, where Christine Stanley runs Bay Street Trading Company. Plenty of people connected with the armed forces come into the store, and business has definitely been down over the past few months, according to Stanley.

Bay Street Trading Company, founded by Stanley and her late husband in 1979, has a bit of military and literary history. Pat Conroy mentions the place in The Great Santini, as "the bookstore that had no books."

"The building has always been called 'The Bookstore,'" Stanley told BTW. "But now it's full of books."

Stanley has witnessed many military families separated when one parent is called up for active duty. "These are young people, young wives with very young children. It's sad. But everyone is very supportive of each other. One of our customers, a doctor, came in after her husband, a reservist, was sent to the Middle East. She had a sign that said 'We Support Our Troops,' and she went all around town having people they knew hold the sign, and she would take their picture to send him. She took pictures of two of us in the bookstore." --Nomi Schwartz