By Ed Simmons, Jr.
cpreporter@lcs.net
A Caroline legend, Boone's Antiques, like a dying swan, is breathing its last after 38 years in business, a victim of the economic downturn. "Antiques is one industry that's been hit pretty hard," said owner Bill French who's worked at the Carmel Church store since his college days in 1980. "We just haven't been getting the foot traffic."
With many of the antiques coming from England, he's been running the store with his mother-in-law Kitty Burke and his wife Bettie, a music teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary; they live in Woodford. He said he still intends to "dabble in antiques." Lois Abernathy, of "Mount Pleasant" just north of Bowling Green, has also worked at Boone's, coming in on Thursdays for the past three years.
"It's been a lovely way to spend my time around those beautiful antiques," she said. "There are generations of ladies who've told their daughters about Boone's." Helping to pack up, Lois enlisted her friends Carolyn Roth, Mary Bowie, Mary Prozinski, Alana Mallin and Mary Frances Coleman. "I love looking at pretty things," said Mary Frances, who enjoyed the labor. So far, five trailer truckloads have headed to Wilson, North Carolina where the original Boone's is located. Much will be warehoused for better days. By September the building will be empty. "It's sad to see it close," said Lois. "It's been in the county so long."