Auntie Ques- High Class Junque
The West Old & New Page 22
Recently a small sign in the window of Auntie Que ' s proclaimed: " In dog years I would be dead." Bess the owner of the eclectic shop filled to the brim with stuff has a humorous side and is also a serious collector.
Side by side on shelves you will find funny, fun, old, 60s, and antiques, for instance beside a package of Shakespearian Insult Gum with the headline, ' Thy breath stinks with eating toasted cheese ' is an antique tea cup.
When asked how long she had been in the collecting mod, Bess cited one hundred and two years, laughing she counters that by stating she began at nine years of age at a rummage sale. Then her grandmother convinced her she had to start collecting things for her hope chest. Well it ' s just gone on since then, truck loads in fact.
Her new store located on the Main Street of Hot Springs, Montana is her dream come true. Bess is not into " niche " collecting, she is all over the board. She stated she has sold two of her coffee makers she put in the store for herself, and her microwave.
Two women were shopping when I went in to talk to Bess. I browsed the shelves and found myself intrigued by everything, including how it was placed, what it was next to and on and on down the shelves. The women also commented that they got the same feeling when they started cruising the aisles looking things over.
Bess does have favorites. Tea cups, especially one special Cobalt Blue Royal cup. It was never give away glassware in boxes of soap and was sold by Sears and Roebucks in their catalogue which offered a sixteen piece starter set.
If you find yourself in
Hot Springs, Montana then take a jaunt down Main Street and visit Auntie Que ' s High Class Junque. It is open most days from noon to five p. m.
Auntie Q is working on getting an online store up and running.