POCAHONTAS -- For President Donald Trump, "Buy American" is a frequent campaign theme; for Randolph County businessman Chad Overman, it's a business model.
American Made General Store, which Overman opened last year, is located at the intersection of Pace Road and U.S. 67. The easiest way to find it is to follow the flag.
Twenty-four feet tall and 40 feet long, it towers over Overman's business -- and much of east Pocahontas -- a red, white and blue banner attached to a flagpole 80 feet tall.
In the parking lot, there's an image of Uncle Sam, index finger outstretched toward the shopper. "I want you to put up your cart ... please," it says.
Walk through the front doors, past copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and you'll find more than 10,000 American-made items for sale.
There are Amish-grown tomatoes from Missouri and Amish-made furniture from Ohio; Copper River sockeye smoked salmon from Alaska; and bluejeans from Texas.
Arkansas-made products also are abundant, including Culp's Pride honey from a Jonesboro-area farm; Taylor Farm watermelons from Success; blades from McCoy Knife Co. in Mount Ida; and "corn and grass-fed aged beef" from James Ranch in Pocahontas.
There are flags from all 50 states as well as an area dubbed "The State Room." It features homemade and artisanal products "from every state in the USA."
Photos of local veterans line the walls. They are joined by other Americans, including former presidents, astronaut Neil Armstrong, Indian chief Sitting Bull, Olympic medalist Jesse Owens and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Faith and freedom are emphasized.
"We stand for our flag. We kneel for the cross," one sign declares.
Love of country is important to Overman, 38.
"I'm pretty patriotic because I'm a veteran," he said.
OVERSEAS SERVICE
Overman served in the Arkansas Army National Guard, including one stint in Egypt and another in Iraq.
In Baghdad in 2004, Sgt. Overman and his comrades battled militia troops who had holed up in the Imam Ali mosque and shrine in Najaf.
His role in the operation later earned a mention in Stars and Stripes, the storied military newspaper.
When he got back to the U.S., he focused on growing his business -- Overman Buildings -- a maker of portable structures, shops and garages.
Business boomed. Eventually, he purchased rental properties.
But when he wasn't crafting sheds or selling metal roofing or buying properties, he dreamed of launching a business to boost American industry.
The result was American Made General Store, a 15,000-square-foot showcase for U.S. products.
"I built this building in 2017 and I built it myself. It took me about six months," he said during a recent tour.
The store opened in March 2018; its official grand opening was held that Fourth of July.
A sign near the front says: "100,000+ workers contributed to the products in this store. Let's keep them working!"
While all of the items are made in America, some of them contains elements that were made or grown overseas.
If an item contains pepper, for example, the spice originated overseas, Overman said.
The pepper vine, as Christopher Columbus discovered long ago, isn't native to the Americas; in the U.S., the tropical vine, called Piper nigrum, never caught on commercially. It's a native of India and typically grown in Asia.
For Overman, usage of pepper isn't a deal breaker.
In order to earn a spot on Overman's shelves, a product must be either "completely manufactured in America, manufactured in America using global components" or "assembled in America, with at least 75% of ingredients made in the USA," his website states.
If the price is right, most Americans prefer to buy products that are made at home.
According to the Consumer Reports organization, nearly 80 percent of U.S. consumers said they prefer to buy products that are made in-country. More than 60 percent said they would buy American even if the price tag was 10 percent higher than for an imported alternative.
The "made in America" store concept has succeeded in other localities. There are several in western New York, including one near Niagara Falls.
There's another in the suburbs northwest of Chicago.
Those stores are near substantial population centers.
Overman's enterprise, on the other hand, is in a town with 6,644 residents, roughly 35 miles from the nearest interstate highway.
The closest major city -- Memphis -- is more than 100 miles away. The nearest Walmart Supercenter is a quarter-mile down the street.
American Made General Store lost more than $100,000 in its first year, Overman said. The business plan called for $2 million in annual sales, he said. Instead, he wound up with about $900,000.
Since then, the losses have subsided; he hopes to break even in his second year.
Eventually, he envisions opening other locations in more populated locales.
"As with any businessman I would like my store to succeed and be profitable, but even more I would like to put products made by the American worker in front of the American buyer," he said. "For too many years our manufacturing base has been on the back burner and it's time for us as shoppers to change that."
'BUY AMERICAN'
Since Trump took office, the U.S. economy has continued to grow and unemployment is at or near record lows.
Under his watch, the nation has added roughly 500,000 manufacturing jobs, rising from 12.37 million to 12.86 million, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trump highlights the importance of U.S. manufacturing every year, holding a Made in America Product Showcase in the White House.
One company from every state is invited to display its goods; the exhibit fills up much of the main floor and spills out onto the South Lawn.
Trump has also signed "Buy American" executive orders, including one in July restricting the use of foreign iron and steel for federal infrastructure projects.
In campaign speeches, Trump has highlighted the issue.
"Under this administration, we live by two very simple words, Buy American," he told a Monaca, Pa., rally last month.
DECADES OF DECLINE
The U.S. lost roughly 4.5 million manufacturing jobs during President George W. Bush's two terms in office. Roughly 1.1 million were eliminated during President Barack Obama's first year in office; it took eight years to regain them.
U.S. manufacturing jobs peaked at 19.55 million in June 1979, when Jimmy Carter was president.
The downward trend is alarming to Overman.
"My mission is ... not necessarily [to] bring jobs back, but to stop the flow of jobs overseas," he said. "It makes us a stronger country if we have manufacturing jobs here."
Mark Andol, who founded what became a chain of Made in America stores in New York in April 2010, says the shift of production facilities overseas is alarming.
"We kind of took our eye off the ball," he said, referring to what he calls a "40-year mistake."
"You've got to produce things in your own country to survive," he said.
Andol only sells products that are 100% American made using 100% American components, he said.
Business at his stores is strong, he said, with five brick-and-mortar locations open and two more about to launch.
Barrington, Ill.-based Norton's USA, which bills itself as a Uniquely American General Store, is also thriving, according to its founder, Deborah Leydig.
Since its launch in 2007, the store has seen substantial growth, she said.
There's no shortage of American-made products to choose from, she said.
"I could fill a Home Depot," she said. "But I don't have the energy to do that."
In some categories, the selection is limited, she noted.
"We have the last vegetable peeler, potato peeler, made in America. We have the last can opener made in America," she said. "So you don't have choices."
The prices are comparable to foreign goods, but "the quality is just 10-times better," she added.
HOPES FOR SUCCESS
Residents of Pocahontas are rooting for Overman to succeed, according to Randolph County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tim Scott.
"We are not only happy for him, we are very excited as to what this store can do down the road, since it is a relatively new business in town," he said.
While Pocahontas isn't on an interstate, its main thoroughfare -- U.S. 67 -- is well traveled.
"Over 20,000 automobiles a day go right past his store," Scott said.
Thanks to television advertising, Overman is drawing customers from a 50-mile radius, Scott said.
"When he does something, he goes full force at a project," Scott said.
Efforts to revive American manufacturing are important, not only in Pocahontas, but nationwide, according to Don Buckner, founder and CEO of MadeInAmerica.com.
The organization is putting together the inaugural Made in America trade show Oct. 3-6 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Hundreds of exhibitors are expected to attend.
Buckner says the loss of U.S. factories threatens to undermine the American way of life.
"The backbone of any economy, any good economy, is manufacturing," he said. "We must maintain and keep it strong."
Buying American is good citizenship, according to Buckner.
"What more patriotic thing can we do than to spend our hard-earned American dollars on American products?" he said. "Money equals power and every dollar matters."
SundayMonday on 09/02/2019