Hitching Post Antiques Mall -Celebrates 40 Years

By Melissa McCance

Antiques malls are fascinating places, even if you don’t collect things from the past. The sheer number and variety of items is amazing, many of which will bring back memories. Marlene Nelson and son Ken, owners of the Hitching Post Antiques Mall in Tecumseh, are getting ready to celebrate their mall’s 40th year in business.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the mall, there will be a storewide sale from June 1 through June 15. Everything will be at least 20% off with some things marked down as much as 40%. (Savvy antiques shoppers should plan to visit beforehand and make a list of what they’ll hope to purchase during the sale!)

Marlene and her late husband John got into the business through visiting an auction at which they purchased 15 antique clocks. They sold them out of their garage and enjoyed that so much they decided to open an antiques shop. Their first store was located in Northville, Michigan, and was called The Village Pump. The Nelsons ran that store for 10 years.

A love of the Irish Hills area drew the Nelsons to this area where they bought a horse farm. They opened an antiques shop on the property but it ended up being too small for their needs and they realized it was time to look for a commercial building. The current location—1322 E. Monroe Rd. (M-50) in Tecumseh—was purchased in 1984. It was originally a furniture store that sold Ethan Allen furniture and manufactured furniture in the rear section of the building.

The building encompasses 8,000 square feet of retail space divided into 24 rooms, each of which holds items from different dealers. In addition to the main building, there’s the “Furniture Barn” with another 1200 square feet of space and two storage barns. The dealers rent their space monthly, and the Hitching Post’s dealers offer everything you can imagine. There’s a nice selection of Victorian items, beautiful lamps (and lamp parts), toys, military items, china and glassware, furniture, books, magazines and other ephemera, clocks, collectibles and more. (MUCH more!)

“The building is perfect for this kind of business with the different rooms,” says assistant manager Kelly Overholt. “The first dealers who rented space here were Jim and Dede Taylor from Birmingham, and they’re still here.”

Kelly started at Hitching Post Antiques Mall 14 years ago working weekends while in college. That progressed to part time and then full time. “I love it because it’s different every day and I’m always learning new things. The customers and dealers are fun. This business can be a challenge to stay on top of, though. Things can change quickly!”

Among the more unusual pieces available at the mall are a carousel horse and a number of old slot machines. According to Kelly, current hot trends in antiques are advertising pieces like signs, uranium glass, clocks and lamps, toys, and coin-operated items.

The Hitching Post Antiques Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day but New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It’s two miles west of Tecumseh and not far east of the intersection of M-50 and M-52. You can reach them by phone at 517-423-8277 or through the website: www. hitchingpostantiques.com.