Birthplace of Walmart
Bentonville, Arkansas
As we approach Bentonville from the old Daisy BB Gun Headquarters in Rogers, we become more aware of Walmart's power. Lengthening convoys of semi trucks, with Walmart or Sam's Club emblazoned on their sides, pass us as we close in on the Birthplace of Walmart. On the way to its the humble small town beginning, we pass Walmart's giant, modern distribution center and enormous, modern corporate HQ.
Today's competition-killing Walmart megastores had their beginning in the humble "Walton's" that still exists in downtown Bentonville, well-kept and facing the town square. It would no longer work as a viable business -- Walmart crushes similar concepts -- but serves instead as a Visitor's Center, educating and communicating the Walmart story, and the greater story of success through hard-work and dedication. It is no surprise to see groups of men here, golf-shirts, hairy forearms and metal-band wristwatches, searching for that elusive Spark.
The Visitor's Center recalls an old five-and-dime store up front, while the back rooms are more museum-like. The 100,000,000th square foot of Walmart space is displayed, as well as old employee manuals like the "Origin of Shirley Shrinkage," and the hula skirt Walton wore down Wall Street after the company achieved 8% pretax profits in 1984. Looping presentations such at "The Story of Walmart Video" explain the company's ascent.
The "keys to the city" of many towns are bittersweet to look at, when viewed either as symbols of welcome or as "handing Walmart the keys." Walmart's arrival in declining towns is chronicled to make sure the keys are perceived correctly. Walmart saved Brinkley, Arkansas, in "A story of hope and will." And White Squirrel capital, Olney, Illinois, is where Walmart lanterns and sweaters are made by Americans, beating back foreign competition.
Sam Walton, the late Walmart Founder, was one of the country's richest people (and family members still are). Sam grew up in the depression, and during this hard period forged his attitude of not "Can Do," but "Will Do." Walmart's huge success in an understandable low-tech business implies that anyone with the right attitude can win.
The last section of the Visitor's Center is dedicated to Sam and the Cult of Personality that has naturally grown around him. There are are no magical talismans on display, just items from the normal part of Sam's life: Ol' Roy Dog Food, moldering Moon Pies, his wife's wedding dress, Sam's mud-caked hunting boots, and his favorite pickup, a 1979 red Ford F150 custom pickup with 65,627 miles on the odometer (a significant statistic for Samophiles to know). Visiting Walmart managers supposedly rub the truck's door handle for luck.
After Sam's death in 1992, his entire office was meticulously documented, just as he had left it, then moved from general headquarters and reassembled here, looking as if Sam had just stepped away to close a deal or inspire the troops.
Souvenirs are sold to remember the visit, and to make sure that the lessons of hope and will are not soon forgotten. Our favorite: An inch-tall porcelain pill box shaped like the first store -- "Made In China."