■4—Lancaster Faming, Saturday, November 26,1963
(Continued from Page B 2)
A combination of factors worked
together to get this mother
daughter team into business. Pam
found no teaching job and her
husband needed a place for his
office. Ruth recalls, “When the
schoolhouse came up for public
sale the primary reason to pur
chase it was to use it as an in
surance office.” It also became a
home for Pam and John, and it
offered the perfect place for a
business.
Pam says most of the changes
they have made to the 1906
schoolhouse have been cosmetic,
including sandblasting in the
basement, and adding a loft to the
main floor. “It’s very Victorian,
with 12-foot ceilings.”
The builidng had served as a
restaurant and bar since giving up
its life as a schoolhouse, so the
basement was usable. The last
time a business was open there
was in 1965, although it continued
to provide a home into the recent
years.
Opening a business is not without
pitfalls, but Ruth notes, “We are
familiar with being in business for
yourself, and we have always
known the hazards and the
disappointments. We understood
the good and bad times.
“Some weeks are good, some are
slow, but it has been steady,” Pam
adds. “We picked the right time to
open and we plan to stay open
through the winter.”
Ruth says candidly, “Our
husbands have enjoyed having us
have the shop. We’re both people
who like to move furniture when
we dean so we’re always moving
furniture at home. Here we can
move furniture, pound into
walls and hang things and no one
minds.”
One of the reasons for constantly
Green Clovers 4-H Prep Club
Preppers in the Green Clovers 4- were raised. They were fascinated
H Prep Club held two meetings by the little glasses that the birds
during November. First they wore. A Thanksgiving project and
visited a bird farm. The group nature walk took place during the
learned how pheasants and quails second meeting.
Maple
Croft
moving things in a shop is that it
makes it easier for people to see
new items when they come into the
shoo. Pam points out, “We get new
things at least once a week, but we
also just move items and people
think it is new just because it
catches their eye.”
On a more serious note, Ruth
says, “Both husbands are very
supportive of us.” Pam agrees,
“They are both good helpers. They
will often come in in the afternoon
to see how things are going.”
Pam’s husband is involved in
making frames for her original
work, and also cuts some of the
wood for the houses she creates.
Up to this point they have done
very little advertising, and Pam
notes that their reputation has
spread by word of mouth. Their
location has been especially ap
preciated by people in the southern
end of the county, where there are
few shops of that kind.
Pam feels the growing number
of shops offering similar mer
chandise is no problem, “as long as
you carry quality merchandise at a
reasonable price.” Ruth adds,
“We’ve been selective with
craftspeople.”
Some of their consignments
come from people who have at
tended crafts sales and are not
happy to have to make that in
vestment in time and money. Pam
states, “That’s what I did. I went to
a lot of craft shows and it’s a lot of
fun, but it takes a lot of time.”
Nevertheless she says attending
the shows gave her some valuable
knowledge which she is putting to
work in her shop, as well as some
important contacts for getting
consignments.
Customers are mostly local
people and Ruth points out,
“People who make their own
crafts are often our best customers
because they know what goes into
making it. Lots of times people
who make things for themselves
want to purchase similar items for
gifts.”
Pam adds, “There are certain
tilings which take a lot of skill and
a lot of equipment and people
really can’t do it themselves.
Almost everything in the shop is
signed and dated.”
When asked about the popularity
of “country,” Ruth laughs, “We
didn’t get “country” with the
trend. We always liked country.
The farmhouse we live in is over
200 years old.”
Of course the country look is
very much a part of homes in
Lancaster County, but Pam offers
one reason why it is becoming
popular even in large cities.
These small pieces of folk art are one of a kind, and would add a whimsical touch to any
child s room. Pam creates these works of art at her basement workroom.
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“People work with high tech all
day and they want something a
little different. People who work
with computers want something
with a person behind it. A lot of
people don’t have the time or can’t
make things themselves so they
are glad to be able to purchase it.”
So just what are tiie elements of
a country Christmas? Pam thinks
about that and says, “The simpler
the better. Handmade is the
number one thing, and using red
and green.”
In the last five years Pam feels
that there has been real interest in
getting a new ornament each year
for children in a family. “That is a
touching thing, and as the children
get older they will always
remember the ornaments from
years past.”
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Personally, she reflects,
“Christmas isn’t fancy to us. We
always bake cookies at Christmas,
and always go to Christmas Eve
services at church. And I always
got a new pair of pajamas for
Christmas which I got to open the
night before.” This particular
custom ensured that she had nice
pajamas for the inevitable
Christmas morning pictures.
Pam says that grapevine
wreaths remain popular in the
shop, and sheep are a very popular
animal. “But we have not been
pressed for one particular thing.”
For most readers, a “county
Christmas” is a natural part of
their celebrations. For those who
want a little help in that direction,
a visit to Maple croft shop may be
beneficial.
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