LIMA – For those who have seen the discount signs hanging in the windows of the long-standing and much-loved Lima Antiques, the rumors are true. The shop is closing its doors.
Although at this time owner Tecla Benson is working on selling as many of her antiques as possible, she said that she plans to be closed down by the end of June. The shop continues to be a fixture, but for Benson, it is just time.
“I’ve had a shop in town for 45 years,” said Benson. “So I’m going on 82 years old and I don’t need to be doing this forever. For me it’s just time.”
Benson and her late husband Al Benson met through their shared involvement in the antique business. Benson stated that they both owned booths in a co-op run antique shop in Lima just down the road from her present store.
She said they bought that facility in 1977. Fast forward 15 years, and they moved to the current location as Lima Antiques, which has been open for 30 years.
“It’s been something I love to do,” Benson reminisced. “I quit working Kodak to come here and be an antique junkie. So, it’s just something that I love. And my husband loved it and we did it together. We did shows. We traveled out west, and it’s just been a way of life.”
Although Benson believes not having the business may take some getting used to, when asked what she plans to do after the shop is closed she decisively replied, “Nothing.”
Tecla Benson inside Lima Antiques (Photo/Anna Leslie)