 At the 49er Antiques and Collectables shop, this statement is most
certainly true. Inside this former Habitat for Humanity garage,
shoppers will find over 7,000 simply stunning antique items in a
very clean and well-arranged floor plan. The shop, located on the northwest corner of Keokuk and North
Kickapoo, is owned and operated by Dan Fulk of Lincoln.
Fulk
opened his shop officially in March, using pieces from his vast
personal collection of antiques to establish his initial inventory.
"When I returned home from Vietnam in the '70s, I decided I
wanted to start collecting. I started with advertising, and
mostly small items," Fulk explained. However, as the years passed,
he expanded his collecting to include just about anything the mind
could imagine.
Fulk, a Lincoln native, worked several years for the bottle
factory in Lincoln. He also started his own business in bank and
office cleaning, but he found the time to attend numerous sales in
search of something he wanted to add to his vast collection.
Fulk said that when he started collecting, he learned what to buy
by watching what others bought. He attended auctions, estate sales,
tag sales and garage sales, buying only good-quality antiques and
collectibles.
Over the years the items he bought have added up and taken up
space in his home and basement.
When Habitat put their garage up for sale after receiving a gift
of a building from Regions bank and made plans to build a new
warehouse on Woodlawn Road, Fulk placed a bid on the building they
had been using, and won.
After investing some time in cleaning and making the garage
suitable for his shop, he started moving in the inventory.
Everything inside the building is clean and well-organized. The
walls are lined ceiling to floor with a wide variety of pieces,
including some very desirable advertising signs. There are
tables along the walls with hundreds of pieces that range from
glassware to Cracker Jack toys to collectible toys.
In the center of the building are various glass display cases,
again filled with amazing items such as advertising cigarette
lighters, antique toys in their original boxes and a variety of
Abraham Lincoln collectibles.
Most everything in the building is in excellent condition, and
reasonably priced, according to its value. Fulk said shoppers can
find items in the $5-$10 range, but there are also some very rare
items priced in the $350-$700 range.
In addition, hagglers are welcome. Fulk said he'd be willing to
consider reasonable offers on just about everything in the store.
[to top of second column] |
The little shop is doing OK, Fulk said. Even though it isn't
widely known that he's there, he said people are catching on and
dropping in.
"I think some of them are surprised when they come in and see
just how much is here. They don't expect all this in a
garage," he said.
Fulk believes in the community where he has lived his life, and
he feels that his little shop is part of the wonderful diversity of
Lincoln.
He talked about what one shop can do for a community. He
explained that true die-hard collectors will go wherever they know
there is a shop offering quality merchandise. But, once they arrive
in a town, they don't just leave after visiting that shop. They will
explore the town a little bit, make their way around and see all
that is available.
Having a wide variety of offerings is part of what has kept the
heart of Lincoln alive all these years. The shops in the downtown
area, the bigger market stores on the west side and all the other
little places in between all play a vital role in making this
community what it is. And now, we have one more very special
offering in 49er Antiques and Collectables.
If you love antiques or collectibles, be sure to stop in at the
49er and take a look around. But go early and be prepared to stay a
while because there is just too much to see, to get the job done in
a few minutes.
The store is open Monday through Wednesday and again on Fridays,
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
[By NILA SMITH]
 |
