Post by jj on Feb 23, 2005 9:33:11 GMT -6
The following was published (marginally edited) in the Talossa-based major newspaper, Shepherd-Express, as of today (2/23/05). What you see below is my original article; the editor there just tweaked it a bit. This is the final published word on the subject of Napoleon's demise. 
It appeared below a nice color picture of a somewhat wistful Fritz.
Napoleon’s Last Stand
Chalk it up as yet another victim of the Computer Age and the Internetization of our modern existence. Napoleon’s – a unique Milwaukee nexus point for games of all sorts and militaria galore – will close for good shy of its 26th birthday. It was the place for everything from military simulation “war games,” “Dungeons and Dragons” role-playing stuff, uniforms, models, miniature soldiers… Fritz Buchholtz, the store’s owner and founding father, opened the place near the corner of Downer and Webster on September 15, 1979, eventually moving it to its present location near the corner of Maryland and Capitol. Over the years, it expanded into adjacent shops that didn’t have Napoleon’s staying power. Business peaked in 2000 but has fallen precipitously each year after that. Napoleon’s will be missed by its many devoted, long-time customers who have become long-time friends with the inimitable Fritz Buchholtz. The “store ogre,” Fritz is happy to point out, was hand made by a Catholic monk! He has a million such stories to tell.
IM: What did you and before opening Napoleon’s?
Fritz: I moved here from Madison in 1969 and opened Sanctum Regnum, Milwaukee’s first occult store. I was always playing with toy soldiers as long as I could remember, and when a friend told me about a small store in Lake Geneva called The Dungeon, I couldn’t wait to see it. I walked away from that experience determined to build my own place, and that was the seed that grew into Napoleon’s.
IM: Why “Napoleon’s” for a name?
Fritz: Ever since I was a boy I was an avid reader of the great men of history and the Corsican emperor fascinated me the most. Plus, it was a nice, short name.
IM: How come you moved from the east side to the north shore?
Fritz: We stayed near the corner of Downer and Webster for 3 years but moved in 1982 when they upped my rent to $95.00 a month, which horrified me!
IM: You have three sons. How come they’re not just taking over the store?
Fritz: This was my dream, not my children’s. They aren’t interested, especially since they know the struggles facing a small business these days. They know as well as I do that video and computer games and Internet sales, plus a loss of interest in board and miniature gaming in general, are just too much to face. Mostly, none of us want to see Napoleon’s morph into something it was never meant to be.
IM: What are you going to do after the store is history?
Fritz: Right now I’m selling everything in the store at 50% off...memories for sale here. After that… I don’t know. After every major event has ended in my life I have always believed something new would present itself. I believe that still. I made a lot of life-long friends across the gaming table, and lost a few, too. God, I am going to miss so many people.
It appeared below a nice color picture of a somewhat wistful Fritz.Napoleon’s Last Stand
Chalk it up as yet another victim of the Computer Age and the Internetization of our modern existence. Napoleon’s – a unique Milwaukee nexus point for games of all sorts and militaria galore – will close for good shy of its 26th birthday. It was the place for everything from military simulation “war games,” “Dungeons and Dragons” role-playing stuff, uniforms, models, miniature soldiers… Fritz Buchholtz, the store’s owner and founding father, opened the place near the corner of Downer and Webster on September 15, 1979, eventually moving it to its present location near the corner of Maryland and Capitol. Over the years, it expanded into adjacent shops that didn’t have Napoleon’s staying power. Business peaked in 2000 but has fallen precipitously each year after that. Napoleon’s will be missed by its many devoted, long-time customers who have become long-time friends with the inimitable Fritz Buchholtz. The “store ogre,” Fritz is happy to point out, was hand made by a Catholic monk! He has a million such stories to tell.
IM: What did you and before opening Napoleon’s?
Fritz: I moved here from Madison in 1969 and opened Sanctum Regnum, Milwaukee’s first occult store. I was always playing with toy soldiers as long as I could remember, and when a friend told me about a small store in Lake Geneva called The Dungeon, I couldn’t wait to see it. I walked away from that experience determined to build my own place, and that was the seed that grew into Napoleon’s.
IM: Why “Napoleon’s” for a name?
Fritz: Ever since I was a boy I was an avid reader of the great men of history and the Corsican emperor fascinated me the most. Plus, it was a nice, short name.
IM: How come you moved from the east side to the north shore?
Fritz: We stayed near the corner of Downer and Webster for 3 years but moved in 1982 when they upped my rent to $95.00 a month, which horrified me!
IM: You have three sons. How come they’re not just taking over the store?
Fritz: This was my dream, not my children’s. They aren’t interested, especially since they know the struggles facing a small business these days. They know as well as I do that video and computer games and Internet sales, plus a loss of interest in board and miniature gaming in general, are just too much to face. Mostly, none of us want to see Napoleon’s morph into something it was never meant to be.
IM: What are you going to do after the store is history?
Fritz: Right now I’m selling everything in the store at 50% off...memories for sale here. After that… I don’t know. After every major event has ended in my life I have always believed something new would present itself. I believe that still. I made a lot of life-long friends across the gaming table, and lost a few, too. God, I am going to miss so many people.
