Tom & Jerry's Antiques/ Mercer, PA

Located next to the Helen Black Memorial Chapel and the Mercer County Historical Society in Mercer is a little brick duplex that houses Tom & Jerry’s…
This is a just the kind of shop a “rummager” would like. It contained things that may or may not have came from the Kauffman Estate in Pittsburgh, some legitimate high end crockery and trinkets and some things that may eventually become an antique. Huge ’estate like’ picture frames sitting next to a figurine of what looked like the rapper 50 cent dressed up as Santa Claus. Get the picture…
I found a crock perfume vase that I just had to have, I do have my doubts as to its age but as I have said before, I buy what I like and it looks good holding my dried flowers. You do need to know what something is worth I am afraid to say things in this little shop tend to be a bit pricey. I know I have been told ’Mr. Mercer’ is a wealth of interesting stories and information and some say that is why he opened shop… to visit!
In all fairness I would have to suggest you stop and look around, after visiting The Courthouse Square Dry Goods and on your way to the Mercantile. If you aren’t in any hurry stop over at the Historical Society and look around, I think they have a great display of history of Mercer and the surrounding area!!

Courthouse Square Dry Goods Shop / Mercer, Pa.

I promised my first post would be my favorite shop, so here goes. The dry goods store was at one time a corner market. From what I am told there was not a better place to get your meat. I can only remember as a teenager the great aroma and the cool creaky screen door and the wooden floors, those are all still there, but the aroma is now Yankee Candle.

I think just the front window says relax come on in and enjoy! When you get inside the people are always friendly too. The shop is not large but it is a multi dealer store that is nicely stocked. You can find hard wood furnishings, lamps, lace and linens, kitchen gadgets, fiesta ware, depression glass, hats and jewelry, or ‘fixer upper deals’. My husband has even found some patent medicine bottles which are not the daily finds in most shops! They also have a few ’crafters’ that specialize in vintage look alikes, but they are clearly marked as such.

This shop has such a nice cross section anyone will find something they enjoy. If you are interested in local art the late Tom Schubert’s paintings are on sale here too. For those of you that don’t know, Mr. Schubert was the art teacher in Grove City and called Mercer home. He was my favorite teacher and my children were also lucky enough to have him for art as well. They will always remember him directing traffic for the literary parade…he always made you feel cared for. Anyway, sorry about that little side trip but that is what the DRY GOODS SHOP DOES, IT BRINGS OUT GOOD MEMORIES!

That reminds me also at the shop they have great prints of the national flag truck event! Every year in Mercer there is a Memorial day parade it is called the Memorial 500 and it is one of the most moving patriotic displays you may ever see, that is a reason alone to come to Mercer once a year, but that is another story, to read more about that go to the memorial day 500 link on my favorite links.

The Dry Goods Shop is located on the corner of South Diamond Street and Pitt Street in the ‘Mercer Square’. If you are in the area it is definitely a place to stop and enjoy, If it is warm out they will have some wares flowing out onto the sidewalk. This is also where you may find a deal. Make sure when you come through town you give yourself time to stop at Tom & Jerry’s antiques and the Mercer Mercantile (an old fashion soda shop) they are all with in walking distance, but remember they aren’t open on Sunday.

Please feel free to comment on this post as it may help others get a feel for a great little shop. Stop back soon for the rest of my trip through Mercer and the shops in Leesburg.

What am I trying to accomplish here... Simply a place to tell you about neat shops. My disclaimer is I antique as a hobby and I will rate the shops I go to as open minded as possible, but please remember, again I say “I do this as a hobby“…That said, lets have fun!! As we take these trips together please keep in mind my “trash may be your treasure”. I may not care for some of the shops that are heavy in one department and light in another but please NEVER avoid a shop because of what I think, and I will try to never be to critical of any shop…You can get a good feel for a place within minutes so stop by…just in case. I respect the beauty of high end furnishings, but I am not in that market. I live in a farmhouse over 200 years old, in Western Pennsylvania. I shop for primitives, vintage kitchen gadgets, advertisement containers such as coffee tins and tobacco tins and spice containers. That was just the kitchen! I love to find tea cups, doilies, gloves, hankies, and sewing supplies too. I have a great helper, my husband, not only does he keep me company but he digs and collects medicine bottles… and he lets me steal all of his cobalt bottles. I am attaching my prized possession (the sewing machine) covered with some of the things I collect. This will show you I buy what catches my eye not necessarily valuable items… Plus I have a great mother-in-law that gave me the sewing machine…(I rate her house as a four star shop!!) Next stop would be my mom’s house and her tea cups or that one item I dream of for my dinning room… all I will say is ‘Donatello’ in my book is not a ninja turtle! First I will tell you all about my favorite shop, after that they are not listed in any certain order. Stop back soon ~ Me