Any business that has been operating for 25 or more years is a mainstay in the community. Many times, such businesses are a  prominent anchor in town and have a customer base that stretches far beyond the city limits.

When one of those businesses is forced to close its doors — for any reason — it’s saddening to its customers and for those who take pride in their city. This recently happened to Langdale Motor Company, which sold its last car under its current ownership this past Friday. David Siggers told The Valley Times-News he was giving up ownership of the business because of health problems. While it is disappointing to hear that a longtime business is closing, it is certainly understandable that the daily grind of running a business while battling your health is a reason to call it quits.

We all hope Siggers can remain healthy and continue to make a living for himself, but nobody here blames him for needing to step away. He said he will stay in the car business but not as an owner, so we wish him the best of luck.

As for the business, it’s been around since 1992 and Siggers took over for former owner David Thompson, who retired in early 2018. Siggers was renting the building from Thompson, so the building in Valley is still in his possession. We aren’t sure what his future plans are with the business or building, but we’d love to see something done with it — whether the business eventually is revived or something new opens.

One of the worst things for a community is to have vacant buildings that are dormant for several years, especially when they sit along one of the main thoroughfares in the community.

Of course, the building’s future is a topic for another day.

It takes hard work to keep the doors open and the lights on in a business for 25 years and even more to garner the community’s trust. We salute the car dealership for contributing to the community for so long.