| Issue #33, November 10, 2006 |
A Very Feel Good Kind Of Store
A Giant Fiberglass Cow, Reindeer, Beatles Memorabilia And Other Stuff
By Debbie Tuma
As you’re driving through the quaint little hamlet of Jamesport, you can’t help but notice a six-foot long cow, dressed in cowgirl clothes, with a gun and holster slung over her waist, and a wide-brimmed hat on her head. All around this cow are other fiberglass animals, including a huge white sheep, a six-foot pig, a ram, and a reindeer.
As you slow down, you will also notice lots of other interesting items strewn on the sidewalk, from a plastic Santa Clause, to old wooden sleds, wooden signs and bears, bird houses, and a large display of hand-crafted picture frames. If you’re driving too fast, just the sight of all these nostalgic characters might make you want to yell, “Whoa! Nellie!” as you stop and realize you have just called this store by its name.
“Whoa! Nellie!” is a really fun retro and vintage store, located in the heart of downtown Jamesport, and is worth a stop to bring you back to all your childhood memories. The owner, Linda Seaton, collected much of the contents of her store from her former world travels as an airline stewardess aboard corporate jets. Just when you thought all these cool fiberglass farm animals at the store’s entrance came from somewhere like Ohio, Linda tells you she got them from the Philippines. “Whoa! Nellie!”
As you squeeze your way into this two-room fantasyland of dolls, toy racing cars, jack-in-the-boxes, magic games, vintage jewelry, masks, pillows and space guns, your imagination will instantly be swept back to your childhood days spent playing with all these fun things. There is one section of the classic bendable “Gumby” and “Pokey” dolls, there are Nancy Drew books and postcards, and there are Barbie dolls and “Betty Boop” dolls. There are “Davey and Goliath” tee shirts, from this TV show of the 1960’s, and there is a huge collection of Beatles memorabilia also of the 1960’s. Seaton has collected almost all of their old albums, and a great selection of Beatles tee shirts as well.
But are people still interested in reading Nancy Drew stories? “I sell more Nancy Drew books than you can believe,” quipped Seaton. “It’s good summer reading—people take these mystery books to the beach. They evoke good childhood memories. And the “Davey and Goliath” tee shirts? She said she can’t keep them in stock.
“My store is really a ‘feel-good store,” Seaton explained. “I started it as a way to get people’s minds off all the terrible things in the news today, like terrorism, and to help them just feel better. They can relive their childhoods, when things were simpler.”
Seaton had her own personal reasons for going into the retail business, after 9/11 when she decided to quit flying after ten years. She made the big decision to give up her glamorous career as a flight attendant for corporate jets owned by such companies as Rolling Stone Magazine, Tommy Hilfigger’s CEO, U.S. Surgical Corporation, and various aviation companies, which she did from 1991 to 2001.
“Throughout that time, I enjoyed my time traveling around the world as a flight attendant and waiting on such fascinating famous passengers as Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Lorne Michaels, and Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Ed Schlossberg,” she said. “I also waited on the ‘Smashing Pumpkins,’ and they liked me so much that they invited me to go on their road trip, on their concert tour, which I later did. They all had different dietary needs, and I got their food on the tour.”
Seaton said she enjoyed her years flying in corporate jets, until around 2000, when her jet was detained by government officials in Siberia, and she feared a possible hijack or hostage situation. “They came onboard our plane in an intimidating way, and it made me feel really uncomfortable,” recalled Seaton. “Then, the next year 9/11 happened, and I just decided I didn’t want to continue flying after that tragedy.”
With all her years spent traveling and collecting “treasures,” and with some prior experience working at the former Ralph Lauren Polo Country Store in East Hampton, Seaton decided to try her hand at her own retail business. “I started with my own collection, and I began going to estate sales, auctions, and yard sales in the Hamptons, upstate New York, and in South Carolina,” she said. “It didn’t take long to fill my store with fun and unique treasures from the past.” She also buys antique and collectible items from people who come into her shop.
Seaton has even added a section of old-fashioned candy, such as the colorful sugary “Dots” you can peel off paper, and also a selection of bubblegum cigarettes, Necco wafers, Charleston Chews, and Teaberry gum.
Remember the sock monkeys? She has them too, as well as original Fisher-price toys, pink ballerina tutu’s, Découpage lunch pails, and the old “cash register” banks of the 1950’s. So when you feel like a trip back in time, slow down, and check out “Whoa! Nellie!” located at 1572 Main Road in Jamesport.
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