Downtown Shelton used to be the hub of commerce, always full of log trucks and a busy railroad with a timber mill adjacent on the bay.
Since then, the mill has closed down and the logging industry has diminished, taking the heart of downtown Shelton with it. There are few log trucks seen anymore, and there is little activity in the downtown area as major corporations have moved into the uptown parts of Shelton.
Linda used to spend time in high school at the bowling alley downtown, when activity was still centered around this area. She also used to frequent the local lakes and beaches on the surrounding parts of town.
Now there is little to do in downtown Shelton other than go to restaurants and thrift shops. Linda typically goes to a neighboring town for entertainment now.
Linda Simington: Hi. My name is Linda Simington. I live in Shelton, Washington. I moved here in 1979. Lived here through 1982 and then moved back here in 1992 and have been here ever since.
Cassi Styke: Awesome. Okay. So how did this place look before, when you first lived in Shelton?
Linda Simington: Shelton was busy downtown, log trucks, mill going at the end of the street. We had a J.C. Penney’s, a Radio Shack, and you did all your
shopping downtown.
Cassi Styke: Okay. And how has it changed since then?
Linda Simington: Well, there are very few logging trucks. The mill shut down. The stores that I used to shop at in the downtown shopping area have gone
away. Downtown is probably primarily some restaurants and thrift stores for the most part. There is a grocery store downtown. Otherwise, everything has
moved up on the upper side of our town, which we refer to as the Mountain View area. Walmart came in, probably in the early 90’s, which had a big impact
on the whole downtown retail business. A lot of them shut down after the Walmart moved in. And since then, other businesses have taken root up in that
Mountain View area as well.
Cassi Styke: Okay. What are some of the things you used to do here when you first lived in Shelton?
Linda Simington: We went bowling at the bowling alley. The bowling alley is gone now. It burnt down. Of course I was going to high school here so I played
the same sports that the kids that are in high school still do. So that hasn’t changed. We did a lot of outside things. Going to the local lakes and rivers for fun
in the summertime, and then travelling not far to go to the beaches and enjoy that area as well.
Cassi Styke: Awesome. And what are the things you do here now?
Linda Simington: Well, I’m kind of a homebody,of sorts. I don’t do a lot other than in town working part-time, going to the grocery store, that type of thing.
There’s not a lot of other activities, other than some small local restaurants to enjoy. I do enjoy the thrift shops now and then. But other than that I am usually
heading to the bigger town, Olympia, in my case, for more options for shopping and entertainment. We don’t…we’ve got one move theater in town in
Shelton. It’s been there probably the whole time since my early years living here. I have enjoyed that, you know, a number of times as well. And going out
to the canal area, enjoying the water out there. But Shelton, itself, not a lot of options.
Fenale Interviewer: All right. Well, that sounds perfect. Thank you so much.
Linda Simington: You’re very welcome.