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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 25, 2005 Don Pfaff, owner of the Flag Department in Central Point, says he�s looking forward to sleeping in when he retires. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli After 35 years, couple strikes the flag Don and Sharon Pfaff say Central Point traffic changes helped prompt them to close the Flag Department By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — After 35 years in the same location, Flag Department owners Don and Sharon Pfaff are holding up a stark, white "surrender flag." They’re ready to retire, they say. And recent work to Highway 99 and Pine Street is causing an increasing number of headaches for customers visiting the downtown and struggling business owners trying to lure them there. "We’ve got kids and grandkids in Sacramento and Minnesota and we’re never able to go over to visit," said Sharon. "With a business, it makes it harder. If we’re retired, we could just go. With all this road stuff, it was like the nail in the coffin. It was like, ‘OK, fine, just get me out of here now.’ " Both longtime residents, the couple started business with an approach far from flags and gifts. In 1977, they bought an ailing building at the corner of Pine and Highway 99, fixed it up and began what would become a busy wholesale and retail fishing supply store. After nearly 20 years, "fishing really slowed down for us with the decline in interest of fishing and with different rules and regulations coming up," said Sharon. Advertisement "About the same time, our daughter was working in New York City and would drive into Pennsylvania and Delaware and saw how people were always putting out the really pretty flags on stores and homes � towns back there are so crisp and clean. "When she came home, she said, ‘I sure like those � and I wonder if they’d sell out here.’ " The couple ordered 36 decorative flags. They sold out in just three days. A second batch produced the same results. "We couldn’t believe it. Nobody around here was doing it, but they sold like crazy," said Sharon. With dwindling fishing sales, the couple set up a "flag department" amidst the hook, reel and line departments. "The flag department took over the others so we phased out the fishing supplies and decided we’d just do flags," added Don. "So it became the Flag Department." While the couple started with decorative flags for holidays and other occasions, customers began asking for state and country flags, service flags and banners. Eventually they added stepping stones, other garden accessories and what they boast is the Rogue Valley’s biggest collection of Boyds Bears to the mix. In recent years, the couple ventured onto the Internet. "We already had customers who’d stop by from all over — California, Washington — so the Internet was a logical step for us," Don pointed out. While plans were to retire, according to Don, "when we’re young enough to still enjoy our lives for awhile," road construction on Pine Street last year resulted in decreased parking and traffic congestion at the Pine/ Highway 99 intersection. While business is steadily picking back up as customers find better ways to access the store, Don said hard feelings prompted the couple to "go ahead and get out." "I’m so fed up with the city, I can’t tell you," he said. "They say they did a survey and said everybody loved it, but I haven’t found anybody who does love it. I stand out there and watch traffic turn into a bottleneck. Someone is going to be killed out here. It’s a disaster." Community Development Director Tom Humphrey said ongoing plans for Pine and Highway 99 have been done, and will be further developed to make the downtown more accessible to pedestrians and automobiles alike. "We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on what’s been done already," Humphrey said. "And we have plans for the downtown and Highway 99 that will be tested to make sure they’re right for the downtown ... that, if they’re improved the way the plans depict, that those plans will accommodate volume of traffic and projected increases as well as improve the appearance of the street, offering better utilization of the downtown." Humphrey noted that, despite the Flag Department’s "awkward location," the store seemed to have a loyal following. "Even though it was awkward to get to, off the beaten path so to speak, customers seem to figure out how to get into the store," Humphrey said. "It’s been a good business for the downtown, and I would hope it could remain a viable business if someone were to take it over," he said. "I would just wish Don well in his retirement." City Administrator Phil Messina said he’s "sorry they have hard feelings." "We appreciate all the years they were in business," Messina said. "The project was to improve the flow of traffic and offer some visible amenities. I think it’s more inviting and more pleasant to pedestrians, which can’t be a bad thing." With "sleeping in" and visiting his grandkids in his near-future plans, Pfaff said the couple would consider any offers but are leaning toward selling inventory and keeping the building. Earlier this year, they considered selling "lock, stock and barrel" for about $500,000. "I don’t know. We’ve got plan A, B and C. We’re really kind of hoping somebody would come along and buy it all and move it — but we’d be willing to listen to just about any idea." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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