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Junketeria.
Junk
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Son of the owners . . . Steve stands in front of the Meehan shop.
by Michael Border
By another name, a junk shop is a repository for
memories. On entering, one may not immediately
discern that any of the objects have had meaning to
someone. But, upon inspection one wonders who
owned that now-dusty portrait of a little girl. Or
whose initials are on the back of a fancy gold
pocketwatch or on the inside of a wedding band.
In his own words "a junk dealer-hobbyist," Floyd
Mehan may be found sitting amid a vast number of
ancient and recent relics. He estimates there are
10,000 items in the two shops which he and his wife
Rachel run.
Between puffs on his pipe he recalled a long list of
articles which both of the Mehan's have handled since
she opened Rachel's Used Clothing, 16 years ago, in a
house at 1945 R St.
Mehan said the most frequent purchases by college
students are cheap furniture and cooking utensils.
Rachel Mehan originally rented the old house for a
month to sell some things which she no longer
wanted. Rather than closing, her venture expanded
seven years ago, to the house next door at 1943 R St.
It isn't hard to spot Floyd's. The front yard is
filled with large charred cauldrons, a railroad
pushcart, old chairs and many weatherbeaten objects.
He said he doesn't like to buy things from people
he doesn't know. They must sign a police record
book in case the articles are stolen.
"If it's hot don't sign the book," he said he
tells them, and he added that if they refuse to sign, he
declines to buy their goods.
"I don't want to get anyone in trouble."
Mehan said he never has handled a stolen article.
Because he doesn't make his living selling the
objects in his shop, he marks his goods up 15 per
cent, he said. He added that he lives on income from
an auto glass company that he owns.
'
ir rouoomui what you want
ASK FOR IT
Ryan's Junketeria at 1945 Q St., is owned by
Katherine Ryan, a slight woman in her seventies and a
widow of some 30 years. Her silvery hair is pulled
back into a pony-tail and her conversation is
punctuated with many a "honey." She told of the
many things which have been stolen from her shop
since she opened in 1922.
She also predicted that carnival glass, valued for its
rainbow hue and comprising part of her wares, will
come into its own again. Her shop, in a small square
room in a frame house, exhibits the many sets and
partial sets of dishware which she sells. She has a
multitude of salt and pepper shakers in a case with
glass doors. She said storing them in the case is
necessary because of shoplifters.
She doesn't mix with other dealers because she
knows "a lot of good ones, and some bad." She said
her markup is 20 per cent.
Ms. Mehan and Ryan both said that they obtain
many of their articles from the children of recently
deceased parents.
Mehan said he knows some people have parted
with cherished personel belongings because they need
money. It makes him angry, he added, when he hears
of someone buying something from an old person for
its antique value, for much less than it is worth. He
said this sometimes happens when one marriage
partner dies and the other is forced to move to a rest
home or apartment.
"No one with a conscience would do that," he
said.
In some cases though, the strength of a cherished
memory gives way to economic value.
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Rachel Mehan ... in business 1G years.
daily nebraskan
thursday, february 15, 1973
page 9
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