LENA — Walking through an antique shop can feel like stepping through decades, where familiar objects quietly stir memories long tucked away.

Down every aisle and around every corner await those moments when you’ll hear someone say: “I remember that,” or ask, “I wonder what that is” — a place where nostalgia and curiosity meet at the crossroads before heading down memory lane.

That’s the case at the Lena Mercantile Co., where the husband-and-wife shop gathers dozens of vendors under one roof — most of them from within a 50-mile radius, including a few from Lake Carroll — who offer an eclectic mix of antiques, handmade crafts and sweets, from Amish baskets and hickory rockers to candles, chocolates and a plethora of nostalgic treasures. Owners Ruth and Larry Maedge also sell some of their own antiques as well.

With memories built in to the merchandise, pieces have stories to tell — sometimes from seller and sometimes from the buyer. Those connections are part of what Ruth enjoys most about running the shop, she said.

“There’s much more to them as far as display and color, and the graphics are much more finer,” Ruth said. “The history of what people used to do with an item, or when someone had something growing up and they tell me their stories, there’s a lot of fun and joy in that.”

Shoppers notice that atmosphere, too. Beyond the merchandise itself, the inside of the building invites visitors to wander. A painted red brick road winding along the floor guides shoppers through the various vendor spaces while helping define where each booth begins and ends.

The store is open every day, and Ruth is behind the counter during most of that time. She and Larry, who have been married for 56 years, live upstairs. Larry, who used to own a sign shop in town, occasionally helps with making the booths and arrangements look appealing to customers — whether it’s filling spaces or rearranging his own personal, not-for-sale, antique collection on high shelving around the store.

“We have people who come in here and say, ‘This place makes me happy.’” Larry said. “There are people younger than I am, say, in their 60s, and they remember the stuff. They’ll say, ‘I remember the Blue Star potato chip tins,’ or ‘I remember when you bought potato chips that way.’ One person comes in every day and always says the place makes him happy because he’s surrounded by things from his childhood.”

Customers are also surrounded by song — courtesy of music curated by Ruth and piped over the store’s stereo. Ruth, who studied music in college and once taught it at the town’s schools, has a stack of CDs with songs ranging from a Ragtime hit to crooning from Frank Sinatra or Sam Cooke. Customers “appreciate it because it’s relaxing to them,” Ruth said.

Unlike most antique stories, the place also has an eatery with sandwiches, wraps, salads and quiches — the Maedges simply request that customers keep the food in the eatery and not the sales floor. The menu also has beverages such as a creamy mint soda, steamed and caramel apple ciders, and a variety of coffees. Specials and desserts also are offered. Ruth and Larry also have their names attached to a pair of offerings: Ruth’s low-carb plate of tuna, ham or chicken salad with cheese, lettuce, tomato and cucumber; and Larry’s layered Dagwood sandwich of salami, brick cheese, lettuce, tomato and horseradish.

“We offer a menu that can appeal to people,” Ruth said. “Our quiches are our best sellers, and our cold sandwiches do very well. We try to offer a good variety every day. If people just come by to eat, hopefully they’ll also shop, and vice versa.”'

The shop also hosts evening watercolor and acrylic art classes each Tuesday, taught by local artist Vicki McArthur.

The mercantile’s roots stretch back decades through the Maedges’ shared love of antiques. It’s an interest shaped by family, memories and heirlooms passed down through generations. Family ties often surfaced in meaningful objects. One wedding gift, for example, came from Larry’s parents: a grandfather clock made from wood salvaged from an old bar counter where his father’s band once played.

The Maedges grew up valuing family history. Ruth recalls receiving small heirlooms from her mother, such as doilies, dishes and other keepsakes that deepened her appreciation for the stories objects can hold.

“We’ve antiqued all of our married life,” Ruth said. “We both have a love for the old. We didn’t necessarily realize that when we were dating, but afterwards we both realized that was very much what we liked to do. We both have strong family ties, and we were both very sentimental toward things that our families had. We treasured what we had gotten from grandparents, and Larry was even lucky enough to have had a great-grandparent that he even knew.”

Their hobby gradually turned into a business. In 1984, the couple began selling antiques at Rebecca’s Parlor in Lena, where they spent 22 years building relationships with collectors and customers. When the longtime Noller’s Grocery Store building — used as a grocery for about 60 years — sat empty after closing in 1999, the opportunity eventually opened the door for something new. With encouragement from the village to see the space used again, the Maedges opened Lena Mercantile Co. in 2004.

The business name itself nods to an earlier era of commerce.

“That’s why we have the old-fashioned name,” Ruth said. “Mercantile is an old-fashioned name for merchandise. Some people have spelled it ‘Merch-an-tile,’ but it’s really ‘Merc-an-tile.’”

Today, Ruth and Larry live above the shop. Larry often hunts for new antiques while Ruth enjoys connecting with visitors and learning the stories behind the objects they recognize.

“You learn history from your customers as well,” Ruth said. “I enjoy history, and it’s something that I respect a great deal.”

Trending interests ebb and flow with collectors’ tastes. Coins and silver see periodic surges, while sports cards experienced renewed enthusiasm during the coronavirus pandemic. Other items, from green uranium glass to vinyl records, draw both longtime collectors and curious younger shoppers who wander in to browse.

“With silver going up and down, there’s been a lot of interest in coins,” Ruth said. “We have several dealers who have sports cards, and Covid brought that back to life. With the other collections, it’s a matter of having the right person coming in at the right time for the right item. We could have something sit for a while, and all of a sudden they all go out. That’s what makes the business so fun, you don’t know what’s going to go out next.”

For the Maedges, their Mercantile is a place where memories, craftsmanship and community all meet under one roof.

“We call it a specialty shop mall, if we defined it,” Ruth said. “Because of the multiple vendors, we have a multiple variety [of items], and that’s what I enjoy very much.”

Lena Mercantile Co., 101 West Railroad St. in Lena, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. The eatery serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Find it on Facebook, go to lenamercantile.com or call 815-369-9955 for more information.