40 years ago Claude De Labruere opened up his Radio Shack store at 24 Third St. in Newport, Vermont. He never moved it to a mall, or even down to the Grand Union shopping center. There it is on the ground floor of a four story apartment building. Tucked in next to Adriens auto repair on the corner and across the street from the United Church of Newport. His son Dave runs it now. But it's not like it used to be. Dave says they can't compete with the big box stores, much less with the internet.

I needed to replace the selenium rectifier in the Power Supply unit. I could have gone to Mouser Electronics online and scrolled through the list of rectifiers and found the right one. But Mr. Medley said he used a Radio Shack rectifier in his R390 rebuild. So I drove up to Third St. in Newport on a day off to see what Dave had in stock. He still has the pull-out drawers of components in the back room. He looked skeptical when I told him what I was looking for. Then he blanched when I told him I even had a part number. But he pulled open the drawer and there it was. A single 400V 4A Full Wave Bridge Rectifier part number 276-1173. The last one to be sold in Northern Vermont.

Because it's the end of the line for Dave and Radio Shack up here by the border. Dave can barely make a living as it is right now. He said he could do better financially working at McDonald's than trying to keep his store afloat. And now that the company has filed for bankruptcy Dave says he's closing the store for good.