CLOSE TO HOME: Arcadia family sees benefits of operating nearby antiques and gifts store

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 24, 2002 | by Cahalan, Steve

ARCADIA, Wis. - Ean Paul has special needs. That's why his parents, Chris and Roger Derrickson, opened North O'Town Antiques and Briar Patch Gifts in April 2000, in a building they constructed two miles north of Arcadia.

Chris works at the store full time. Her husband also is Arcadia School District superintendent.

Ean, who celebrated his 18th birthday June 17, is a special education student at Arcadia High School. At age 5, he was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that affects the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communications skills.

People with autism usually have difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities, according to The Autism Society of America. The Derrickson family belongs to the society.

"We decided to open a small antique and gift shop located directly down the driveway from our house," Chris said last week. That way, she could be with Ean at home and at the store when he gets home from school each day. Also, Ean can get work experience-such as helping unpack and price items-and interact with people at the store. Operating the store also gives Chris a way to meet people.

"He didn't say his first word until he was 5," Chris said of Ean.

"His main problem is communication," she said. "He can communicate. But if there's any anxiety, the words just don't come out. So you're always guessing."

"He's a very loving kid," Summer Slaby said of her brother, who was a groomsman at her wedding June 8. She also works at the store.

"He greets customers that he recognizes," Chris said. "He'll greet them with a hug and tell them that he loves them." Ean, who has dark brown hair and brown eyes, was reserved but very polite and-when prompted by his mother-quick to shake a Tribune reporter's hand last week. He wore a gray "Property of UCLA!' T-shirt that he had purchased.

"His reading ability is minimal, but he can match numbers, and he now knows, for example, what a Yankee candle tart, votive or tea light is and knows how to price each one," Chris said.

Through school, Ean also works at Arcadia Implement for one hour twice a week. He cleans tractors, mows lawns, has helped change oil in tractors and does errands at the farm implement business. "I thank them and give them a ton of credit for letting Ean work with them," Chris said. "Yes, Ean is 'different' but at Arcadia Implement he is just one of the guys."

Chris said she is grateful for the support the family has received from the entire community.

Chris, 45, was raised in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Her husband, 52, was raised on a farm near Blue River, Wis, They met in Sevastopol, Wis., where he was school district superintendent, and married in 1989. Roger later became school district superintendent in New Lisbon, Wis., before becoming superintendent in Arcadia in 1997.

In New Lisbon, Chris owned an estate sale and auction service.

When it opened in April 2000, the inventory in the couple's rural Arcadia store was one-fourth gift items and three-fourths antiques. Today, gift items account for about two-thirds of the store's inventory, and antiques account for one-third. Chris said she was surprised that gift item sales grew as fast as they did.

Since it opened, Roger has purchased small farm buildings at auctions and used the boards to create themed areas inside the store.

"Here's our bear area," Chris said, pointing out bear-themed figurines, canisters, a towel holder, lamp and other items. Some of the subjects of other themed areas in the gift shop part of the business are moose, cows, chickens, wolves, ladybugs, apples, angel figurines, candles, Red Wing pottery and North Woods decor.

The gift shop also offers items such as fountains, birdhouses, ceramics, log beds, garden statues, lamps, stationary, weavings, quilts, stained glass and stoneware. And it offers tuxedo rentals.

"The whole shop turns into Christmas at Christmas time," Chris said.

The antiques part of the business offers items such as collectibles, furniture, glass, pottery, toys, marbles, advertising, jewelry, linens and sporting goods. "We buy and sell," Chris said.

"I enjoy meeting people, and this keeps me busy," she said.

"She has good decorating talent and is good at helping people pick out things," Summer said of her mother.

Most customers live within 50 miles of the store. "We get a lot of people from Eau Claire, Mondovi, Arcadia, Whitehall and Independence, for example," Chris said. "We're getting some from La Crosse."