Loomis's Last $32

We don’t often hear stories of how discount retailers do good things for craftsmen. But one of the more interesting tidbits in this interview with Gary Loomis — rod-maker turned arch-conservationist — is the story of how honesty and the big-box retailer Cabela’s saved his rod company from extinction. “My parents taught me to be honest and make sure what you say you’ll do is the fact. It paid off when I was down to my last $32.10 with my fishing-rod company and Cabela’s (the outdoor equipment catalog company) sent me a $50,000 order based on my reputation and their prior experience with me.” Julia Anderson on Clark County, Washington’s “The Columbian.”