One of several Halloween masks I spotted at Antiques of the Midwest in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
DO YOU REMEMBER your favorite Halloween costume? I do. I dressed like a gypsy, pulling a black cotton skirt striped with vivid hues from my mom’s closet and safety pinning it around my waist. I topped whatever blouse I wore with a winter coat. A thin elastic band on a molded plastic gypsy face mask gripped my head as I peered through cut-out eye holes. Strands of plastic beads swayed from my neck. Bangles danced on my wrists. I felt every part the care-free gypsy.
Clown masks can be scary or fun, depending.
Memories of my brief gypsy life flitted through my thoughts as I perused Antiques of the Midwest in historic downtown Albert Lea. Among all of the merchandise in this sprawling shop, I spotted several Halloween masks. And that sparked the playback of childhood memories.
Three stacks of JC Penney catalogs dating back to the 1940s are available for purchase at Antiques of the Midwest.
An Archie mask for sale.
Vintage clothing proved fun to peruse.
And isn’t that what antique stores play into—cherished memories? Nostalgia sells. Otherwise why would I care about outdated merchandise like uncomfortable plastic Halloween masks that curbed clear vision and psychedelic clothing and stacks of old JC Penney catalogs?
Although I didn’t want this vintage 1960s make-up mirror, I never-the-less was drawn to it.
When you shop at an antique store, what do you find yourself drawn to?
I hold a fondness for old glass pitchers. They are works of art.
For me it’s vintage drinking glasses and tablecloths (yes, I already own too many), clocks and art. Oh, how I love a vintage print or an original. Most often, though, I buy these at garage sales or thrift stores. I have enough art that I can switch it out in my home. Often.
If only I still had that toy buggy in which I pushed dolls and cats dressed in doll clothes.
Filing through a rack of children’s clothing at Antiques of the Midwest, I discovered a red plaid wool skirt just like one I wore as a child. How many of you have clothes from your childhood or teenage years? While cleaning my mom’s basement several years ago, I found a pair of cuffed lime green pants worn when I was a stick thin teen. They are hanging now in the closet of a spare bedroom in my home. Someday, my children will ask, “Why did Mom keep these?” Perhaps the pants will end up in an antique store, but more likely will be trashed.
Antiques of the Midwest holds thousands of antiques and collectibles.
Opening the door into an antique shop compares to opening a book about life. Therein, in the collections of items from yesteryear, our stories unfold. Imagine the stories I could write if I sat in an antique store, unobserved, eavesdropping.
BONUS PHOTOS:
Just inside the front door, the canary yellow molded chairs caught my eye.
Mannequins always make merchandise seem more usable and personal. I also consider them artsy.
This creative display helps shoppers visualize merchandise in their homes.
If you’re already thinking Christmas, at least one Antiques of the Midwest vendor has a sizable Christmas display.
Merchandise snugged into a cabinet makes for a museum like display.
This is the first puppet I can remember finding in an antique store.
FYI: Antiques of the Midwest is open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday – Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays from December – March. The shop is located at 218 S. Washington Avenue in downtown Albert Lea.
This is the third in my “From Albert Lea” series. Check back for one final post. Click here to read my first and then my second story.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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