Sam Walton is God
Because, wherever you find two or three (thousand) gathered together, there you will find Sam.
And, Sam can move mountains...at least the tops of them. The Appalachains are famous for being steep. Most of the population has, traditionally, lived in the bottom lands, along the creeks and rivers, where the bottom land is rarely more than a hundred yards wide, usually less. Used to be that the (two lane, if that) highways followed the creeks and rivers, snaking over some ridge when the creek valley petered out. These days there are four lane "parkways" skimming the tops of the mountains, creating perfect conditions for Sam to move in, level some local hill top, and install a "super center," a temple of holy retail.
And of course, once the temple is open, folks flock in from miles around, increasing traffic, prompting the local roads departments to improve, making it easier to get there, prompting more folks to move out "to the country," where the living is easy, abandoning the towns to decay and decreptitude, unless there is someone to start a "redevelopment" committee.
Sam has lots of rules about how you should dress ("golf classics" for the men, "sassy" skirts, shorts, capris & jeans for the women), what you should read (Harry Potter for the kids, crime novels for the adults), and will help you organize your consumption life with special services like "All You" magazine and your charitable giving with "events" like the "Hair Donation" program. I wonder when Sam is going to institute special Wednesday evening savings programs, to compete with the old God's Wednesday evening services.
So, onward WalMart soldiers, marching as to war, with the (double) cross ($) of consumption going on before.