NANCY STRECKERT, OWNER OF BONGO VIDEO
“My biggest fear is that no one would come today.”
-Nancy Streckert August 20, 2011
On the late afternoon of August 20, 2011, I ventured to Bongo Video to pay my final respects to Nancy Streckert and the establishment that meant so much to me for nearly 16 years. Storm clouds were in the air that day, with humid, breezy air and the threat of rain in the atmosphere. It seemed to be a fitting meteorological mood for such a melancholy day.
Upon entering the store, I was so pleased to see my friend Gretta Wing Miller behind the counter. We exchanged pleasantries about the sadness of it all, which was indeed anchored by the painful sight of witnessing half of the store shrouded in darkness where movies, film iconography, a video game and even a foosball table once sat. All of the section signs had been taken down. All of the remaining inventory was for sale to the public and placed upon shelves here and there. Yes, it was really happening. Bongo Video would close its doors forever in a matter of hours.
And yet…it was not an entirely depressing affair. Decorations were abound on the outside of the store. Cookies and pie were also available for hungry visitors. And on the television screen in the store, Director Betty Thomas’ subversive and very funny “The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) played and one goofy line of dialogue followed by laughter from customers punctured the darkness of the mood considerably.
At last, Nancy emerged from a bit of seclusion. I have no idea of what may have been going through her head as she was wrapping up 16 years of work, as well as taking telephone calls from faithful customers and friends wishing her well and offering their condolences. But, I greatly appreciate her taking the time to speak with me over the course of an hour for this interview. Beginning while seated upon her store’s couch and continuing throughout the store, finally ending up at the cashier counter, where she and I shared myriad conversations over the years, without further adieu, here’s Nancy Streckert!
SAVAGE CINEMA: Hopefully this one isn’t going to be too taxing to begin with. What were the origins of Bongo Video? What made you and Carl decide to open a video store?
NANCY: That’s easy!! The Willy Street-Marquette Neighborhood Association always conducted a neighborhood survey and for five years running, people in that area said that they wanted to have a video store in the neighborhood. And we thought, “Let’s do it!!” At that time, there was just Four Star Video and Doorstep Video and we—my family—lived in between those two locations. Four Star was the place to go to rent really interesting movies while Doorstep had a lot of the new releases. But Four Star was downtown and there’s always a parking issue with going downtown. Doorstop had great parking but Carl was always upset that he couldn’t rent “Eraserhead” there! (laughs)
SC: What were some of the most surprising things you experienced over the years at Bongo?
NANCY: I was amazed years later how quickly renting TV shows became so popular. We didn’t, and still don’t, have cable so I just thought to myself, “TV?! It’s just TV! Why?” Over time, I realized that TV has real writers and TV is really the place to find really new, interesting and different things. So, I get it now. Also, I’m surprised with how much I like Asian action movies now too!
SC: By owning a local business, did you ever see yourself as having an active role in the community? Did you ever think that besides renting movies, that you served some sort of additional communal purpose?
NANCY: At the beginning? No. At first, I really just saw us as being like a library. Eventually, we saw that we were a place to get direct recommendations from the people and that was because people could walk to our store. People could come to us to get ice cream. People were going out to do something that they like. They’re not just going to get gas.
SC: How did you ensure that Bongo Video remained a location and an activity that people would continue to enjoy?
NANCY: We would always ask people what they liked. We would build our inventory based upon what people wanted for us to have. We had to consistently re-define what we thought would appeal to people and the biggest change for us was when people began coming in and saying to me,”I heard about this new thing coming. It’s called DVD.”
SC: Yes! I remember that being truly enormous. What was the hardest aspect of the transition from VHS to DVD?
NANCY: (very long pause as wearily she rubs her hands upon her face) I don’t even want to talk about that right now.
SC: I think that says it all. Onto happier memories. As you look back upon 16 years of Bongo, what are you most proud of?
NANCY: I would say that I was most proud of being in the neighborhood where my family lives and that I was able to do something that people liked to do. And I loved selling ice cream!! (smiles broadly)
SC: Why ice cream? What was so special about that to you?
NANCY: (looks at me incredulously) It’s ICE CREAM!!!! Scott!! Come on!!! People got to buy ice cream and watch a movie. What’s better than that?
SC: What do you hope that people remember most about their experiences at Bongo?
NANCY: The joy of picking out a movie and the time it took to actually think about making that choice. The joy of discovery. The joy of finding a movie to take home and kick back with. It’s kind of like when you went to a comic book store and you were just able to look around and around and then, you found it! I loved just watching people walk around and seeing that joy when they found something.
SC: Who are your favorite filmmakers?
NANCY: Hitchcock. John Sayles. Miyazaki. Peter Jackson. And yes…Billy Wilder.
SC: Do you have a favorite movie?
NANCY: No, I do not.
SC: How about the worst film you have seen?
NANCY: (long pause followed by a facial grimace) Please don’t re-open those wounds!
SC: Last question. Both of your children literally grew up in this store. I watched your oldest as a toddler and she is now about to enter high school. I remember when your youngest was born! What do you hope they gained from this experience, if anything?
NANCY: I hope they have learned that people are adaptable to change. I didn’t think that I could ever do this—close this store—but I can.
And she did.
After scrawling some more notes upon my yellow legal pad, and watching Nancy speak with more faithful visitors from over the years, I finally bid the store farewell. Nancy and I embraced, she with some visible tears she was anxious to wave away and me, oddly enough not able to find the proper words to thank her as I would have wanted.
But, I hope that with this two-part tribute, she and Carl know how much their seemingly impulsive gesture to create a video store meant to me and so many others in the Madison community. I hope they know how appreciated and loved they truly were and how our city landscape grew that much closer because of them.
-Nancy Streckert August 20, 2011
On the late afternoon of August 20, 2011, I ventured to Bongo Video to pay my final respects to Nancy Streckert and the establishment that meant so much to me for nearly 16 years. Storm clouds were in the air that day, with humid, breezy air and the threat of rain in the atmosphere. It seemed to be a fitting meteorological mood for such a melancholy day.
Upon entering the store, I was so pleased to see my friend Gretta Wing Miller behind the counter. We exchanged pleasantries about the sadness of it all, which was indeed anchored by the painful sight of witnessing half of the store shrouded in darkness where movies, film iconography, a video game and even a foosball table once sat. All of the section signs had been taken down. All of the remaining inventory was for sale to the public and placed upon shelves here and there. Yes, it was really happening. Bongo Video would close its doors forever in a matter of hours.
And yet…it was not an entirely depressing affair. Decorations were abound on the outside of the store. Cookies and pie were also available for hungry visitors. And on the television screen in the store, Director Betty Thomas’ subversive and very funny “The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) played and one goofy line of dialogue followed by laughter from customers punctured the darkness of the mood considerably.
At last, Nancy emerged from a bit of seclusion. I have no idea of what may have been going through her head as she was wrapping up 16 years of work, as well as taking telephone calls from faithful customers and friends wishing her well and offering their condolences. But, I greatly appreciate her taking the time to speak with me over the course of an hour for this interview. Beginning while seated upon her store’s couch and continuing throughout the store, finally ending up at the cashier counter, where she and I shared myriad conversations over the years, without further adieu, here’s Nancy Streckert!
SAVAGE CINEMA: Hopefully this one isn’t going to be too taxing to begin with. What were the origins of Bongo Video? What made you and Carl decide to open a video store?
NANCY: That’s easy!! The Willy Street-Marquette Neighborhood Association always conducted a neighborhood survey and for five years running, people in that area said that they wanted to have a video store in the neighborhood. And we thought, “Let’s do it!!” At that time, there was just Four Star Video and Doorstep Video and we—my family—lived in between those two locations. Four Star was the place to go to rent really interesting movies while Doorstep had a lot of the new releases. But Four Star was downtown and there’s always a parking issue with going downtown. Doorstop had great parking but Carl was always upset that he couldn’t rent “Eraserhead” there! (laughs)
SC: What were some of the most surprising things you experienced over the years at Bongo?
NANCY: I was amazed years later how quickly renting TV shows became so popular. We didn’t, and still don’t, have cable so I just thought to myself, “TV?! It’s just TV! Why?” Over time, I realized that TV has real writers and TV is really the place to find really new, interesting and different things. So, I get it now. Also, I’m surprised with how much I like Asian action movies now too!
SC: By owning a local business, did you ever see yourself as having an active role in the community? Did you ever think that besides renting movies, that you served some sort of additional communal purpose?
NANCY: At the beginning? No. At first, I really just saw us as being like a library. Eventually, we saw that we were a place to get direct recommendations from the people and that was because people could walk to our store. People could come to us to get ice cream. People were going out to do something that they like. They’re not just going to get gas.
SC: How did you ensure that Bongo Video remained a location and an activity that people would continue to enjoy?
NANCY: We would always ask people what they liked. We would build our inventory based upon what people wanted for us to have. We had to consistently re-define what we thought would appeal to people and the biggest change for us was when people began coming in and saying to me,”I heard about this new thing coming. It’s called DVD.”
SC: Yes! I remember that being truly enormous. What was the hardest aspect of the transition from VHS to DVD?
NANCY: (very long pause as wearily she rubs her hands upon her face) I don’t even want to talk about that right now.
SC: I think that says it all. Onto happier memories. As you look back upon 16 years of Bongo, what are you most proud of?
NANCY: I would say that I was most proud of being in the neighborhood where my family lives and that I was able to do something that people liked to do. And I loved selling ice cream!! (smiles broadly)
SC: Why ice cream? What was so special about that to you?
NANCY: (looks at me incredulously) It’s ICE CREAM!!!! Scott!! Come on!!! People got to buy ice cream and watch a movie. What’s better than that?
SC: What do you hope that people remember most about their experiences at Bongo?
NANCY: The joy of picking out a movie and the time it took to actually think about making that choice. The joy of discovery. The joy of finding a movie to take home and kick back with. It’s kind of like when you went to a comic book store and you were just able to look around and around and then, you found it! I loved just watching people walk around and seeing that joy when they found something.
SC: Who are your favorite filmmakers?
NANCY: Hitchcock. John Sayles. Miyazaki. Peter Jackson. And yes…Billy Wilder.
SC: Do you have a favorite movie?
NANCY: No, I do not.
SC: How about the worst film you have seen?
NANCY: (long pause followed by a facial grimace) Please don’t re-open those wounds!
SC: Last question. Both of your children literally grew up in this store. I watched your oldest as a toddler and she is now about to enter high school. I remember when your youngest was born! What do you hope they gained from this experience, if anything?
NANCY: I hope they have learned that people are adaptable to change. I didn’t think that I could ever do this—close this store—but I can.
And she did.
After scrawling some more notes upon my yellow legal pad, and watching Nancy speak with more faithful visitors from over the years, I finally bid the store farewell. Nancy and I embraced, she with some visible tears she was anxious to wave away and me, oddly enough not able to find the proper words to thank her as I would have wanted.
But, I hope that with this two-part tribute, she and Carl know how much their seemingly impulsive gesture to create a video store meant to me and so many others in the Madison community. I hope they know how appreciated and loved they truly were and how our city landscape grew that much closer because of them.
Thank you Nancy and Carl. Thank you Bongo Video.
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