Our very own Small Town USA is having itself some fun, let me tell you!
At least I was having fun today ... *big smile* ...
If you haven't heard, there's a good-sized two story brick building named the Viking on a corner of our Main Street that, back in the olden days, was a home furnishings and supply store called the Quarve Building (after the owners), using the main floor and lower level (basement) while the second floor was apartments.
The building has been put to use in a few ways between then and now ... and recently became available again. Except the second floor has been closed for a very long time and the basement could stand some TLC, so it's now just the main floor - which is plenty ... for the time being ...
The renovations of said main floor over the course of time have come in handy for our little community.
The big front display windows aren't so very different, and the front doors and steps are the same ... but inside ... the big entry area is flanked by the Couchs' Coffee Shop that has all kinds of things besides coffee (mm-mm good!) and a sort of Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe called The Melding Pot that has all kinds of things that you might not want to eat or drink but which you will most assuredly love looking at and taking home. Shelly Weigelt makes darned sure you'll find plenty of new things every time you stop by. AND she's got helium balloons on behalf of Perry and Laurie Anderson. Also up front and in the hallway are custom-made wreaths designed and handmade by Wendy Wagner of Wendy's Wreaths, in conjunction with the Coffee Shop.
As you walk down the wide hallway you'll find men's and women's rooms to your right.
To your left, along the side street length of the building, are what were offices and meeting rooms. They are now homes to a bunch of small shops. First in line you'll see Close to Home Gifts - all personally created by our local artists, spear-headed by Deronda designs, whose creative metalwork jewelry and lampwork beads are likely to make you ask, 'How does she do that?!?' West End Creations adds the bright colors of crocheted items plus earrings and rings that will catch your fancy and hold it. Shiela Branson (yep, that would be me) contributes artwork and the books she writes and illustrates, including the whole lineup of the 'They Are My Song' series. Add soaps and lotions using buffalo tallow (including a men's line) made by another type of artist, Mrs. Robert Fehr, and some pottery designed and handmade by yet another local artist, Kathy Tebelius, and an assortment of era items ... Close to Home is liable to become your 'go-to' place for some almighty special gifts. Fay Fandrich often adds plants and flowers for special occasions.
Next stop is Anne West of Bowdon's West N More for some exceptional clothing and accessory options.
Then comes Eldredge Publishing's Fessenden facility. For your printing needs, whether a quick copy of a school paper or invitations to anything you can think of to leaflets or ... well, the list just doesn't really stop.
Moving on down the row you'll come to another 'extension', this time of the business-next-door The Computer Loft. For your computer needs, this is the place for you.
Last in line but certainly not last in interest is The Stuff-o-torium - looking for era pieces and/or antiques to pique your curiosity? This guy's got one heck of a lot of stuff, believe you me. Every time I walk in there, he's got all kinds of new (well, old, but you know what I mean) and fascinating stuff. It's downright dangerous and I'm intensely relieved to be totally broke - otherwise I'd be carting a lot of his inventory to my house ... and I'm supposed to be clearing my own stuff out, not adding to it!
So that's the line-up along the side street.
On the other side, once you're past the ladies' room and the men's room, you come to a bit of a division. First there's a one-step-up sort of platform room with a half wall that looks into a great big wide open space. Right now there's a desk and chair in that step-up room and that's about it. Michelle uses it at times for her publicity stuff. Kids play in it at times, and they can play in the big open space too (unless somebody else is using it).
The big open space is for general purposes. Every other afternoon a group uses it for sweat-producing workouts, for example.
It also has a line of cubicles along the far wall that are for general use. Kids use them for doing homework, people can use them for on-line projects (The Computer Loft donates internet access), you can sit at them and read, work on your own craft projects ... whatever you might need a temporary desk for.
Sometimes the big open area is filled with vendors for special occasions. It can also be used for birthday/anniversary parties and bridal/baby showers (non-alcoholic types of things I'm presuming, but don't quote me on that), meetings ... if you need a big space but not an auditorium, this comes in right handy.
The Coffee Shop is open 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and closes at three on Saturdays. The rest of us are mainly open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from ten-ish until maybe five-ish ... because, well, because we have creating to do and families to spend time with. On the other hand, this is Small Town USA - none of us are all that hard to find if need be.
So ... it's not been but maybe three months and already this Small Town USA is turning a historic building into something that's creating a new history of its own.
It's called The Q.
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