June 22, 2001
Movie lover reopens Bloomville video store
By Greta Hale
Staff Writer
It's not hard to open a video store when a person already owns 450 movies.
That was the case for Logan Swank of Bloomville, who has reopened a store in Bloomville called Logan's Video.
The previous owner, Pat Schwab, closed the shop Dec. 15, leaving Bloomville residents with no video rental options in town. Bloomville residents had to drive to Tiffin to rent movies.
Then, Swank opened the store again Jan. 14. Swank used the movies he already owned and has since bought an additional 300.
Before buying the store, Swank was one of Schwab's regular customers. He came in two or three times a week to rent videos. Although he owns his own store, he still rents movies in Tiffin at Tiffin Home Video and Video Connection.
He is renting the building at 39 S. Marian St., with plans to buy it.
Swank, 23, graduated from the School of Opportunity June 14, 2000. He is developmentally disabled.
"At one time it was thought that Logan would be in an institution all of his life," said Don Lowe, Swank's dad.
Through the help of teachers at the School of Hope and Opportunity and doctors, Swank is not in an institution but is able to run his own video store, Lowe said.
Operating the store gives Swank something to do and helps him with socialization, Lowe said.
Seneca County has a sheltered workshop for persons with disabilities, but Swank has trouble getting up early because he stays up too late watching movies, Lowe said. Running the store is a perfect fit for Swank because of the afternoon hours.
Logan's Video is open 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Lowe, who has bruised herniated disks in his neck and is on disability, helps Swank run the store by doing tasks that Swank wouldn't be able to do on his own, like making change and ordering videos.
Swank chooses the videos. Lowe and Swank discuss the movies together and usually choose films that did well in theaters, Lowe said.
Some of Swank's favorite movies are: "Home Alone," "The Lion King," "Halloween II," "Meet the Parents" and "Beethoven."
"I like the Lion King and I like Simba," Swank said.
Logan usually picks either a comedy, a thriller or an action movie, which he refers to as "a shoot movie."
Swank loves movies and watches around 20 a week.
His favorite action movie actors are Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The video store offers comedy, horror, action, drama, romance and adult movies.
The store is offering two specials for the month of June: three videos for one night for $5 and two videos for two nights for $5.
To rent a single new release costs $2.50. They also sell movies.
The shop sells candles that are made by a woman from Upper Sandusky. If someone buys a candle, they get a free movie rental, Lowe said.
The store buys new releases on a weekly basis, which is something that residents don't realize because it is a small town video store, Lowe said.
The store is also going to offer DVD's soon, he said.
Weekends are busier for Swank and his dad.
The most requested movie is "Scary Movie," which is a spoof on recent horror movies, like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer."
The most often rented movie is called "Bring It On." It is about two cheerleading squads at a competition and one team starts doing the other team's cheers, according to Lowe.
A recurring theme from customers is that they are happy the video store has reopened, Lowe said.
Christine Fourtner, a customer, said the store is "a lot more convenient than driving to Tiffin."