Vintage lunch boxes are available at Yesterdays Treasures in downtown Gladewater, Texas. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

GLADEWATER – For many people, fond memories of visiting grandma seem to center on homemade pies, ceramic chicken collections and bottomless cups of coffee from well-worn mugs.

There are two shops in Gladewater devoted largely to the way things used to be — when supper was consumed at the dining table and not a morsel was wasted because there were starving children in the world.

Those days may be over in some respects, replaced by fast food in an SUV, but warm memories of kitschy kitchen items have yet to thaw.

“I think people have always been interested in vintage kitchen stuff,” said antique enthusiast Penny Gunn. “It brings back memories of grandma’s kitchen … it’s fun and whimsical and brings back good memories.”

NO SIGN OF SHIPLAP

Home décor gurus Chip and Joanna Gaines may be building a legacy on transforming tired interiors into trendy, but there are some people who prefer comfortably cluttered, especially in the kitchen.

For those who drool at the sight of a battered, vintage Snoopy lunch box, Gladewater’s Yesterdays Treasures and Round Up Antique Mall, 105 and 109 W. Commerce St. respectively, are packed to the rafters with throwbacks from bygone eras.

The shops, which take up almost an entire city block in downtown Gladewater, feature oodles of kitchen-related conversation starters, from checked aprons to chippy cupboards.

Vintage furniture, lighting and primitive pieces are scattered throughout, as well as entire counters devoted to products that some might view as guilty pleasures.

“We wanted our store to be a little different,” said Ms. Gunn, who owns Round Up Antique Mall. “Part of the idea when we opened the antique store was to have old fashioned candy — we have about 15 or 16 different kinds of the old salt water taffy.”

Candy is sold by the piece or by the bag, attracting a steady flow of people with a sweet tooth, who love old school candy bars, cinnamon toothpicks and lollipops, just like the ones at grandma’s house.

Next door at Yesterdays Treasures, Linda Harrison understands the art of listening as customers reconnect with their past.

Her shop, co-owned with husband, Bill, is actually a collection of inventories from about 22 individual dealers, who dabble in everything from vintage Fiesta Ware to farmhouse cookie jars.

Almost without fail, customers who spend any time in the shop spot things that tug at the heartstrings — and stop to talk about it.

“If I had a dime for every people who said, ‘Oh my grandmother had one of those,’” Mrs. Harrison said. “Happens all the time … we sell memories.”

THE SEARCHERS

Many prospective customers stop by the shops with something specific in mind.

Many are after vintage advertising, coins, furniture and certain primitives while others are simply trying to sniff out bargains that remind them of their childhood.

There seems to be a renewed interest in china teacup sets and vintage glassware, the shop owners said.

“They want the same Pyrex that was in their mother or grandmother’s kitchen,” Ms. Gunn said. “We sell a lot of cast iron pots and frying pans and we recently got copper. People are also wanting Corning Ware and old utensils, like hand-held egg beaters.”

Ms. Gunn relies on “pickers” to sniff out merchandise for her shop and rents space to a handful of vendors.

Surrounded by so many one-of-a-kinds, one might assume the curators of these objects probably cart home things on a frequent basis to add to their personal collections.

“All the time, anything red,” said Ms. Gunn. “I love red. Can’t resist it.”

For her counterpart in the shop next door, not so much.

“I don’t really collect things,” Mrs. Harrison said, explaining she prefers to amass information in lieu of material possessions — she collects stories, told by people who stop in to browse.

“It always amazes me,” she said. “Most of our customers are from out of town, a lot are out of state. I just love it. The first thing I ask people is, ‘Where are you from?’ Everybody has a story, nobody is in a hurry.”

Just like the good old days, apparently.

Yesterdays Treasures maintains a small visitor log at the front counter to capture the hometowns of those who care to share.

Flip through the pages and it seems Gladewater is fast becoming a destination for collectors, who hail from places such as Illinois, Washington, Arkansas, England, Mexico, Australia and Maryland.

When it comes to the business of selling the past, the entrepreneurs apparently find the most satisfaction in helping customers rediscover memories of home.

“We give people an experience,” Ms. Gunn said. “They come to shop, but it’s also fun and feels good.”

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