Sep 14, 2007

Reserve shop adds local flairBy Paul CraigColumbian.com

Until this summer, flavored sticks of candy were the best-selling item at the Vancouver National Historic Reserve’s gift shop. That’s because the offerings there were limited.

Now the shop features racks of historical and locally themed books, apparel sporting the reserve’s logo and local food products beyond simple sugar treats. The change is the result of a management shift from a Seattle nonprofit to the reserve itself.

“We’re just trying to make it a lot more site-specific and a lot more local,” said Susan Holton, retail manager for the trust who now oversees the shop’s operations.

The gift shop, located inside the reserve’s visitor center at the east end of Officers Row, was previously run by Northwest Interpretive Association of Seattle. The trust entered into an agreement with the National Park Service to run the gift shop in a way that supports educational and interpretive activities of the reserve.

Michael True, chief financial officer for the trust, said the organization already promotes those kinds of activities throughout the reserve, so it just made sense to extend that mission to the gift shop.

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