The mayor’s job has probably never been more important than now, says Guthrie’s three-term mayor, Steve Gentling.

“We’re here,” Gentling said. “This is where the rubber is hitting the road, right here.”

But the people who live here don’t always do what you think they should.

And neither does the governor’s office nor the White House.

On April 6, Guthrie, about 32 miles north of Oklahoma City, was one of the first communities in the state to order residents to wear a mask. But support for the mandate quickly dissipated, as some decided they didn’t want the local government, or anyone else, telling them what to do.

One month later, on May 5, the city council voted 6 to 1 not to renew the mandate.

“I was very pleased that we had taken that (earlier) step,” Gentling said. “I was very proud, and then, to go 180 degrees one month later. I was so disappointed.”

Public health issue

Gentling retired 12 years ago after spending 36 years as a hospital administrator with the Veterans Administration; he served 20 of those years as CEO of Oklahoma City’s VA Hospital.

His background in health care, and being around experts in medicine and public health, are the driving forces behind his push for a mandate, he said.

And it is, he says, a public health issue. It’s no different an issue than secondhand smoke.

“Your smoking (in public) was affecting my life, and as a country we dealt with it by making it illegal to smoke in certain environments,” Gentling said. “This isn’t smoking. It’s breathing. Breathing (now) without a mask puts me in more jeopardy, just like secondhand smoke.”

As a retired colonel with 26 years in both active duty and the reserves, he’s familiar with the benefits offered by a chain of command.

Gentling, a registered Republican who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, says both the state and the White House already should have imposed a mask mandate.

“In my mind, that would have been preferable for the state and the country, and this community … locally, and as a nation. There’s confusion,” Gentling said. “If we could have universally responded the same, it would have been beneficial to us as a community and as a country.”

Minus a mandate

Guthrie is generally following CDC guidelines and recommendations, also backed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, to wear a mask.

But without a mandate, there is little pressure for others to do so.

After all, some might say, Guthrie’s — or Logan County’s — case load is not that high, compared to other communities.

As of Sunday, according to data collected by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Guthrie — with a population of nearly 11,800 — reported a total of 147 cases of COVID-19. So far, no one in Guthrie has died from the virus, and only one related death has been reported in all of Logan County.

Meanwhile, in downtown Guthrie, masks and temperature checks are required for anyone entering City Hall or the library. Just a few buildings away from City Hall, around the corner, at the post office — a federal building — there’s no sign posted on the door or floors to encourage a mask or social distancing.

Without a mandate, local retailers get to decide whether they will require masks for customers, or if they’ll wear one themselves or require their employees to wear one.

But it’s hard.

No offense intended

No one wants to offend customers, drive them away or get into an argument, especially when businesses are struggling.

Dee Wells, a nurse for 30 years, has owned Human Revive Dispensary in downtown Guthrie for two years. The dispensary sells cannabis and CBD products. No mask sign is posted on the front door of her business but she advocates a mandate.

She wears a mask whenever a customer enters the store; her employees do the same.

“I don’t require them (customers) to always wear it,” Wells said. “I prefer that they do. But I can’t make them do anything. I can only control my six square feet.”

Business has definitely been slower, she said. But her customers, many of them elderly, are repeat customers and they come back.

“They’re coming in less but buying more,” Wells said. “Everybody is trying to make their own sense of this … but people are scared now.”

Her oldest customer is 91 years old.

“We’re old, tried, and true ‘old’ folks,” Wells added. “We don’t scare easily.”

Mask advocacy

Art Aguirre, owner of Magnolia Antique Mall, is surrounded by memorabilia from other people’s lives as he tries to think about his own future. He has been in the antique business for 35 years. He’s been in Guthrie since 2007 and has two shops.

A sign on his front door requires masks, and “it will stay there,” he says. He advocates a mandate.

“I’m 65 years old and I’m taking all precautions,” Aguirre said. “Everybody has been very cooperative and we’ve had no issues at all.”

He has noticed a few people at the door start to enter but once they see the sign, they walk away, he says and shrugs his shoulders.

Business has actually been “really busy” because people have been cooped up in their homes during the pandemic. Tired of looking at the same walls, they decide to re-decorate. Filled with photos, records, books and artifacts from the past, his store likely triggers memories from happier, safer times.

“Business hasn’t stopped for us,” Aguirre said. “People are ready to re-do a room, paint, and they were ready to do something with their houses.

“I think we’re going to be OK for the rest of the year,” he said, and then paused. “I don’t know about next year.”

Heat issues

Karen White has owned Country Corner, one of the larger downtown shops, for 20 years. The store occupies two floors of collectibles, ranging from vintage toys, books and records to architectural iron. There is no mask sign on her front door.

White, who lives in Edmond, says she wears a mask while in Edmond but not while inside the store in Guthrie.

Although most customers do wear a mask inside, she doesn’t require them because “they’re hot. I can’t keep this building at 70 degrees. I can’t afford it.”

Some customers have thanked her for not being forced to wear a mask.

Business is picking up after closing on March 25 but opened up in early May. July was “good, and August has been ‘good enough,'” she said.

Will she be able to stay open?

The antique business has been really down the last several years, she said. The pandemic has not helped.

“It’s an industry where people are going minimalist in their design, so they’re not buying antiques like they did 10 years ago. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, but a lot of the ugly.

“As for next year …. who knows? I hope,” she said.

‘Grandma’s house’

Stacy Smith has been the owner of Stacy’s Place for five years, a restaurant which characterizes itself as having a down-home style, offering soul food, and homemade meat loaf and mashed potatoes, “just like eating at your grandma’s house.”

Business is obviously a “lot slower, way slower,” she says. But it has nothing to do with masks, as customers are allowed to remove their masks once inside and they begin eating.

Instead, temperature checks are done on customers before they can be seated. Some people have “issues” with it, she said.

“But I don’t care. If people are going to be that picky, they need to stay home. We’re just trying to make sure employees are safe and people are safe,” Smith said.

The restaurant has three dining areas, one of which seats 300 and another seats 100. The majority of her revenue comes from private parties, wedding receptions, cakes, and other events, like street festivals, which now are not happening.

“This is something that really hurts,” she said. “We have done no big events since corona started. We used to do all kinds of stuff like that, and we’ve done none of it. And that’s a huge percentage of my business.”

Might she go out of business?

“Yes, it’s been very difficult. (But) I’m not going to allow myself to go out of business. That’s not an option. Money is very tight. Our business is probably a third of what it used to be,” she said.

Margin for error

Gentling knows some businesses won’t make it, and it’s agonizing to watch.

“The margin for error is a lot tighter in small towns because of the economies of scale. And the ‘mom and pops’ don’t have the deep pockets that the corporate businesses have,” Gentling said.

But these ‘mom and pops’ are often the heart and soul of any community, he added.

“Even when a few businesses fail, it is a significant hit in small town America.”

There is some good news from Guthrie’s city manager, Leroy D. Alsup.

Revenues from sales and use taxes added an unexpected kick to the town’s budget as more people stayed at home and they shopped online rather than in the stores, most of which were closed.

Gentling worried that sales tax revenue would drastically plummet, as the town especially relies on tourism, especially during the summer. Numerous outdoor events and festivals, which attract hundreds and even thousands, have been canceled.

Guthrie’s sales taxes for August 2020 generated about $625,200 in revenue which is 16% higher compared to August 2019 revenue of nearly $538,400.

The use tax for August 2020 brought in nearly $75,800, a 58% increase over August 2019 revenue of about $48,000.

Clearly, more shoppers stayed home and shopped locally or on-line, or as Gentling put it, “there was less ‘leakage’ to Edmond,” about 15 miles away.

Gentling hopes the local shopping will continue after the pandemic recedes. Meanwhile, he’ll continue to try to persuade citizens to wear a mask even if they don’t want to do so.

Because this pandemic, he says, has not ended.