Here at Main Street Mercantile, or as we like to call it: “The Merc”, in Westmoreland, Kansas and four other similar shops on Main Street, you can spend an uplifting day shopping and exploring the history, stories and items of the past. Even better, you can take one of those special items home with you to re-purpose and relive that special memory for years to come.
A walk back in time enriches our living for today and tomorrow. I once thought that I was born in the wrong century, that I would have loved to live in the horse and buggy days and use those items I so enjoy collecting today. In retrospect had I lived then, I probably would have complained about the back-breaking work and had much less appreciation for the toil and endurance of ancestors who made us who we are today.
As I look around the shop, I see those things that bring back memories and romanticize the hard work of life in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. A black kettle where lard was rendered on a cold January butchering day and today is a flower pot, a washboard and scrubbing overalls with lye soap to make them clean again, the big enamel dishpan that grandma repurposed on special occasions to make homemade lemonade, those colorful aluminum glasses that were so cold your tongue stuck to them, the horse harness collar that is now a mirror and a wooden spoke car wheel waiting to become a lamp table.
To think, these items have survived 50 or 100 years of hard work and are still with us today to be used for a new purpose or displayed in your home to create new memories. I have so many more things in the shop that will bring back special memories for you, things that you will want to take home and enjoy and will be unique and used in your daily life.
Please come see us, share your stories and memories. Sit down for a chat. Who knows, I might even bring out that old enamel dishpan and stir up a new batch of homemade lemonade.