For nearly 35 years, Bob and Sherry Maline, through the storefront known as Maline’s Superfoods in Sutherland, didn’t just build a business; they forged an institution out of brick, butcher twine, and small-town trust. Now, having entered their hard-earned retirement years, Bob and Sherry watch from life’s quiet edges as a soulless globalist superstore 30 miles away drains that lone town oasis. Alongside the current owners, the Carlsons, and Sutherland village, they witness this legacy undercut by predatory capitalism, reduced to collateral damage by faceless corporate giants holding zero ties to local soil. My heart aches for Sutherland, the Carlsons, the Malines, and a present-day society brought on by an economy driven by predatory global capitalists. –Bill Maline, North Platte© 2026 The North Platte Bulletin.