HAGUE, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota’s small towns may be getting smaller, but in one tiny south-central North Dakota community, big things are happening.
There are only about 60 residents of Hague, but people are coming from across the state and the country to shop at The Hague Store.
It’s thanks to a social media campaign and an unlikely social media star. Videos shared on Facebook have made Janell Knoepfle “Facebook famous.”
There’s nothing fancy about her Facebook reels. It’s just Knoepfle, store manager, sharing the weekly specials on The Hague Store’s Facebook page. Her videos get thousands of views. A video she made about Iron Curtain Meats has been watched more than 17,000 times.
“It’s really picked up, and it’s really brought people in from a long distance,” said Knoepfle.
She never expected her videos would be so popular or reach so far.
“I guess I wasn’t really thinking of how far this is going until hunting season, when a couple of guys came in and said, ‘We watch you all the time. We’re from West Virginia,’” she recalled with a laugh.
For Knoepfle, it’s an easy way to keep customers up to date on what’s in stock. She works hard to keep a variety of food on the shelves and in the freezers, things she knows people who live around here want to buy.
Customers like Don Eberle know how lucky they are to have this store open.
“It’s very important to have it here. I guess I just, you know, whenever we need a little anything, we just stop down and pick it up,” he said.
Regular customers come from nearby towns in North and South Dakota. The Hague Store is the closest store for many.
“People are just so thankful that they’re not having to run to the big city for everything,” said Knoepfle, who is thankful for this little store.
She started helping out here in 2020.
“I really believe God needed to put me here,” she said.
Here at The Hague Store, Knoepfle has found purpose and discovered work that she loves.
“I really do like this,” she said.
The Hague Store is open every day except Tuesdays and open until noon on weekends.
Find more information and watch Knoepfle’s videos on The Hague Store’s Facebook page.
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Dining and Cooking