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http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend June 1, 2006 Carol Hale says the decision to close her Lake Creek store and restaurant was a painful one. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) LAKE CREEK STORE'S LAST DAYS By sanne specht Mail Tribune The sign says the historic Lake Creek Store is closed. Another announces "This Business is For Sale." But neither stops the steady stream of customers from slipping through the screen door to buy one last can of pop and say goodbye. Health issues have persuaded Carol Hale, 48, to sell operation of the little store and restaurant in the small rural community off Highway 140 between Eagle Point and Fish Lake. The decision has been a painful one, says Hale, who will move to Idaho soon. "I've invested a lot of elbow grease and heart," says Hale. "It's really hard to walk away from your baby." Locals are hoping Hale will find another buyer who understands their needs and will care for the wooden 150-year-old, tin-roofed store with the wraparound porch. Lake Creek resident Louis Buck Walch's memories of the establishment begin at age 5. "It was everybody's watering hole, that's for sure," says Walch, 85. Over the years, the store survived times of prosperity and poverty, he says. The little store also saw its customers through some tough times, Walch says. During the Depression, owners offered credit on groceries, clothes, hardware and dry goods, he says. "If that store hadn't been there, we'd all have starved," says Walch. But when the Depression-era owners closed the store, not everyone had made good on their debts, he added. "There was $16,000 of bad bills," says Walch. Things picked up again when the Cascade and C-2 ranches were booming, he says. "The right people can run it," says Walch. "I want to see it work." Hale, a successful former dot-com executive, walked away from a lucrative career in the computer industry and a pocketful of California real estate money ready to take a chance on a lifelong dream. "Moving here is like moving back in time 100 years," says Hale. "I was so taken by the people and their generosity. I felt like I'd come home." Hale made an unsolicited offer which the former owners accepted, she says. She made improvements to the property, called her business the Crossing at Lake Creek and opened a little over a year ago. Another Lake Creek resident, Sharon Peitila, was one of the first to lend a helping hand to Hale. She was happy to help Hale change the decor back to "cowboy," she says. "The couple before had changed from cowboy to Greek," says Peitila. "That didn't go over too well." Hale laughs and says Peitila's decor preferences were shared by most everyone. "They told me 'You gotta get that fruit off the wall,' " says Hale. In spite of a series of start-up glitches, including the last-minute bailout of her business partner, things were picking up for Hale's dream. Her store, restaurant and catering business were blossoming. "People started thinking of it as their secret place," says Hale. "I had a wedding to cater for 450 people this summer. If I were only focusing on the financial, I'd stay." From noontime drop-ins by helicopter pilots to dinners with local celebrities to sodas for local ranch hands, news of Hale's friendly nature and cowboy chic cooking was attracting dedicated followers. "Patrick Duffy ate here a few times," says Hale, smiling. "And the first time I saw helicopters coming in over the back field I thought the president was landing." Hale was looking forward to catering Lake Creek's annual Civil War re-enactment, which will be held June 17-18 at the property. But the 17-hour days were taking too great a toll on Hale's immune system. Doctors told Hale she must ease up or suffer compromises to her health. "Don't get me started. I'm going to start crying," Hale says with a lopsided smile and glistening eyes. Already hospitalized once for her illness, she put an asking price of $50,000 on her budding business. The buildings and property are owned by Cascade Ranch and are not for sale. As Hale packs for her move to Idaho, she muses on what she's learned, and what she might do next. Maybe write a book, she says. "You think you're coming to a sleepy little town, but the people are so interesting," says Hale. "I'd joke with people all the time, 'Who do you want to play you in the movie?' " Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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