Wilmington, Ohio

At Bush Auto Place, workers clear snow off the vehicles each morning. “You have to do that,” said a sales veteran who participated in the early morning, all-hands-on-deck scramble. “It makes you look like you are open for business.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Mark Bush, who runs Bush Auto Place. “I think we are going to have a tough first two quarters,” said Bush, who voted twice for George W. Bush but went for Barack Obama this time. “But my thinking is that it is going to get better in ’09. We are surviving.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Laura A. Curliss, executive assistant to Wilmington Mayor David Raizk, with a picture of the mayor and Barack Obama. Pasted on the back is a remark from the mayor. “I like this picture,” Raizk is quoted as saying, “because I’m talking and he’s listening.” Although Clinton County voted 2 to 1 for John McCain, Curliss said the hope here was that the new president would take specific steps to help.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A placard marks where an employee of a key business lives — part of a drive to underscore the scope of Wilmington’s economic predicament.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The shipping giant DHL announced its intention to retreat from the U.S. domestic market, a move that will eliminate 9,500 jobs — the bulk of them in Wilmington. The pullout, expected to occur in stages, will put in jeopardy related enterprises, and economic analyses have estimated that the rippling effect could wind up costing Wilmington, Clinton County and the surrounding region more than 10,000 jobs.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Tiffany McDonald, 20, earns $8 an hour standing on Main Street in Wilmington in a Statue of Liberty costume, hawking an online tax service.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)