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The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep181: Lancaster County's Economic Divide and Holiday Retail: Colleague Jim McTague reports from Lancaster County, highlighting the economic divide between flush Baby Boomers and struggling younger generations, observing strong holiday retail activity exemplifie

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Arts, News, Books

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Lancaster County's Economic Divide and Holiday Retail: Colleague Jim McTague reports from Lancaster County, highlighting the economic divide between flush Baby Boomers and struggling younger generations, observing strong holiday retail activity exemplified by crowded venues like Shady Maple and a proliferation of Amazon delivery trucks, suggesting the economy remains afloat despite challenges.
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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is CBS Eye on the World.

0:08.5

Here's John Batchelor.

0:12.5

This is CBSI on the world.

0:14.9

I'm John Batchelor.

0:16.5

Jim McTag, former Washington editor of Burns Magazine,

0:20.2

now a novelist in Lancaster County,

0:22.0

reporting on Lancaster County, from live at Shady Maple, a restaurant, shopping center,

0:30.5

donut maker that Jim recommends highly if you're ever in Lancaster County.

0:35.6

Jim, I know that Shady Maple is a favorite of yours. Why? What goes,

0:41.5

what happens there that doesn't happen in other markets? Good evening to you. Good evening, John.

0:45.9

There's no price gouching number one. It's run by the Weaver family, a very religious family.

0:51.1

They put their customers first, their employees second, profits, third. And so you get

0:58.6

spectacularly priced food and goods, and you get superb service. So I went past the smorghborg

1:05.9

today. I didn't go in. They had tour bus in front of it. The parking lot was packed as so tourism is strong in

1:12.7

Lancaster County. They have a supermarket next door that's a size of two football fields.

1:18.6

And I love shopping at that place, not only as you mentioned, because they have what I would argue

1:24.7

are the best homemade donuts in the entire country. I invite people to come to

1:32.2

Lancaster County and try to prove me wrong. You're making the audience hungry, Jim. Hurry up, hurry up.

1:37.5

Okay. But they have so many employees that you always have a friendly, helpful clerk within feet.

1:46.6

It's not like your typical supermarket where you're cruising up and down the aisles by

1:51.6

yourself looking at blank shelves.

1:53.7

You actually have human beings behind the deli counter with all these beautifully made offerings

...

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