Lynn Kanngiesser is discovering all sorts of aged gadgets whose once-upon-a-time purpose she can’t place, as she and husband Jack run through the last inventory at their family clothing store in Lacombe.
“We’re finding all kinds of things that we haven’t seen in years,” said Lynn, 66. “Things are getting cleared out, we’re looking through old desks . . . Just strange things we’re not sure what were used for.”
Jack Kanngiesser Ltd., purchased by Jack’s father in 1954, is set to close as soon as the couple sells everything off, she said.
Their closing sale started a week and a half ago, and Lynn estimated they’d be finished at some point this coming week.
It’s a bittersweet process for Lynn, who looks forward to a relaxing retirement but is overcome with emotion as lifetime customers come in and bid their adieus to both business and proprietors.
“I had a girl in yesterday who I remember when she was born . . . stuff like that. You don’t see them the same when you’re running into people at the grocery store and so forth,” she said.
A clothing store has occupied the two-storey, historical places-registered structure on 50th Avenue since it was built in 1907, just after the fire of 1905 levelled many buildings in town, according to Lynn.
Back then, there was a millinery department for crafting individual women’s hats on the top floor of the business.
A lot has changed since — merchandise no longer arrives on a biannual basis and they don’t really run up tabs for farmers to pay off once they sell their crop — but not all of the customers have.
The daughter of the first clothier in the building shopped there, regardless of owner, her whole life.
“She came in on her 100th birthday to buy her party dress,” said Lynn. “Isn’t that amazing? There’s lots of history around here.”
And while times have changed, Kanngiesser Ltd. has changed with its market. In recent years, the store has aimed to accommodate an older crowd, since, as Lynn puts it, “kids are mall-shoppers.”
Lynn says they’ve already had some expressions of interest from people wanting to lease the building with unique dual storefronts.
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com