The moment at which a cause passes from possibility to futility is often difficult to distinguish. Thus, we can only assert what the heart conveys as morally right. When hope is truly and utterly lost, the cause can admit defeat. One such example of this situation is the impending loss of Savers, one of Madison's most cherished beacons of opportunity and comparative wealth.
For 10 years, Savers provided the surrounding community with furniture, clothing, electronics, children's toys and cookware, for every income level. Of the 41 employees, almost all, coincidentally live in the surrounding 12 blocks, the same area as the clientele, the majority of which are students, for whom the local alternative is a welcome convenience.
Savers represents many of the aspects and ideals of Madison's Near East Side. The students, artists, families and musicians are as unique and diverse as half a century's clothing, dishware and furniture packed into a cavernous warehouse.
For many, Savers is simply affordable, and for everyone it is an alternative to buying new products in an era when consumerism lurks around every corner of Madison.
Retail stores ease the demand induced by the plasticized commodities created beneath the oppression of industrialized labor. Humanitarian and environmentalist ideals seldom meet up with those of capitalism, but for those without the means to buy a three-piece suit that may be necessary for an event like an interview, there should always be a $15 alternative.
Madison is changing as it continues to be a growing metropolis. As progress endeavors to infiltrate the entire city, down to the East Side, geography, economics and capitalism conspire against the lower class, using the proletariat in a process known as gentrification essentially meaning, in the case of Savers, the stripping of the soul of our community.
The 21st century has seen the loss of many of our oldest homes and landmarks, but our generation does not have to continue this trend, and neither does the next.
Savers may not be a century old townhouse, but it is the lifeblood of the community, a department store for the middle class and the many students that take up residence in Madison.
Savers was fast approaching a plan to relocate before losing its lease, staying within the East Side neighborhood. If the community voices its support, 41 jobs and an essential part of the East Side's fabric can still be saved.
Dan T. Fries
Madison resident
