The Plight Of The Pink Flamingos

"I think of it as a parable for our times," says acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Micha X. Peled in a recent interview . The award-winning filmmaker is speaking about his latest PBS documentary, "Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town." The town is none other than Ashland, Va. -- a place Peled calls "Anywhere, USA – not too rich, not too poor, but still in possession of a pretty downtown Main Street where neighbors run into each other, where kids can get things at the stores and parents drop by later to pay."

Sound charming? Wal-Mart sure thought so, opting to bring one of its mega-stores to the fringe of the historic town. The proposed project was revealed more than two years ago and immediately set Ashland (population 7,200) ablaze with controversy, dividing those who foresaw economic gains from those who fiercely sought to protect their small-town quality of life. Ultimately, the town's mayor and three Council members were ousted from office in a succeeding election, largely over the Wal-Mart issue.

In the onslaught of the conflict, a group of protesters with ruffled feathers banded together to form The Pink Flamingos , a grassroots group who took as their mission to educate and organize themselves as quickly as possible to take on the world’s largest retailer.

The Pink Flamingos were founded by two of Ashland’s most well-known citizens: Mary Lessler , an occupational therapist who co-owns the popular Ashland Coffee & Tea , and nationally acclaimed author and essayist Phyllis Theroux , a contributor to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and a reviewer for The Washington Post and The New York Times.

They had no idea of the enormity of their undertaking.

(Jeff Simmermon / richmond.com)

This popular coffee shop for Ashland residents, co-owned by Pink Flamingo founder Mary Lessler, serves up coffee, pastries, and community activism. Lessler and other flamingos fought long and hard to keep Wal-Mart out of Ashland, but lost the battle a year ago when Town Council approved the project.

The Pink Flamingos' first endeavor was to gauge public opinion by circulating petitions. They organized themselves into a group called "Ashland/Hanover Citizens for Responsible Growth (A/H CRG)." They contacted Town Council members and developers. They hired a lawyer and consultant. They dug up unreleased information. They hosted community debates with environmental and economic experts. They hosted anti-Wal-Mart warrior Al Norman, who gained national attention when he helped to keep the big-box retailer from building a store in his hometown of Greenfield, Mass. in the early '90s.

The Ashland group used the pink flamingo as their symbol, thinking it a strong visual sign of the retailer's crass commercialism and tackiness. They were right. Suddenly, plastic pink flamingos strutted amuck in Ashland's streets, windows and lawns. Protesters stuck flamingos, donning signs such as "Smart Growth" and "Small is Beautiful" in their windows and on their front lawns. Lessler put a neon flamingo in the coffee shop’s front window. The Flamingos had rallied their troops and were ready for action.

"We tried to be a smart and articulate group and present a good package to the Council members" says Lessler. Though they won two other battles, preventing re-zoning for a big residential project and a motel/truck-stop, they lost the war when the Ashland Town Council voted a year ago to allow Wal-Mart to build. (The retailer will break ground on the new store near the Interstate 95 interchange later this year.)

But the plight of the Pink Flamingos will not languish in the annals of Ashland history. This Thursday, "Store Wars" debuts locally on WCVE at 10 p.m.

(Jeff Simmermon / richmond.com)

Look closely, this woodsy haven may soon be the cosmetics aisle of the hotly contested Wal-Mart, set to begin construction sometime this year.

Peled (who won the Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival for "Store Wars") and his film crew were there from the beginning of the turmoil to its bitter end. He had originally begun filming a similar situation in Kilmarnock, Va. but scrapped six months of footage after he realized that there was no evidence that Wal-Mart had any interest in the location. While he was there, he happened to read about the Ashland controversy in t a local paper and it was just what he had been seeking: "I wanted engaging, articulate people with a big-box conflict that was just beginning," Peled told PBS.

The film captures the heart of the dilemma. Narrated by Ashland historian and former Town Councilwoman Rosanne Shalf , the documentary depicts the rifts that developed between neighbors as the heated Wal-Mart feud ensued. Town resident Sharon McKinley sides with Wal-Mart in the film, saying, "My husband has worked for Wal-Mart for 10 years. I like the one-stop shopping. You can say what you need to say. You don't need to bring up Pink Flamingos, you don't need to be out there protesting. You are just teaching ugliness. The coffee shop ain't going to like this, but I love Starbucks. I would love to see a Starbucks up here."

(Jeff Simmermon / richmond.com)

This symbol of resistance to all things tacky quietly grazes in the yard of one of many Ashland residents still opposing Wal-Mart -- a battle featured in a PBS documentary to air this Thursday.

On the other side of the debate is town resident Bill Artiglia , who notes, "The jobs that Wal-Mart's going to bring to Ashland are going to be replacing better-paying jobs that we've already got established now with local hometown businesses."

In the aftermath of the Wal-Mart war in Ashland, does Pink Flamingos leader Lessler think small towns stand a chance against corporate behemoths? "I think it's a huge endeavor," she concedes. "But there is the potential to be successful. A hundred or more towns have refused big-box stores." One thing's for certain, she vehemently: "I will NEVER go to Wal-Mart!"

And what about the Pink Flamingos? "They are alive and well," laughs Lessler. However, the organization now focuses its attention on other preservation concerns and educational programs. The group even publishes a bimonthly newsletter -- The Flamingo Times. "There will always be issues for us," says Lessler.

And if you find yourself one day on a tree-lined street in downtown Ashland, and you're very, very quiet, you may be lucky enough to spot one of those magnificent creatures of the resistance — the beautiful, courageous, plastic pink flamingo.