TEXAS TOWNSHIP -- It's the final days for a longtime Hallmark card shop in Wayne County.
For more than 30 years, Martin's Hallmark Shop near Honesdale has been matching people with greeting cards. Sure there were specialty gifts as well, but the biggest reasons people like Donna Hunter of Tafton kept coming back were the cards and service.
"You feel like they're your friends. They're helpful. It's just that vibe you get, that small town store," said Hunter.
Too much competition from bigger retailers prompted the owner to decide to seal the envelope. February 25 is the last day.
"I don't care if you're selling greeting cards or what you're selling, competition is there, big box stores are very hard to compete with," said owner Gary Martin.
"From birthday cards, to cards for any holiday or anytime that needed the right words, the Hallmark card store near Honesdale helped people tell loved ones exactly what they wanted to say through a card.
"You can always find what you needed for whatever occasion, sad or happy or everything in between," added Hunter.
Employees tell us they will miss the shop and all the people they have met along the way. Fewer and fewer of those customers are coming in, however, as the times change.
"For me I just want to go to one store and buy it all and be done with everything," said Linda Dennington of Greeley.
"The new generation's going to use their phone, the computer, and probably aren't really going to handle cards," added Martin.
Meaning when shops like this go away, so does a way people connected for generations before.
