FREMONT, Neb (KMTV) — There are plenty of good places to do your holiday shopping in Fremont but if you want something one of a kind, you should stop by the Wise Olde Owl.
They offer a lot of gifts and they are all made to make you smile.
“It is so heartwarming when people bring their friends in, they are really proud of having this store here and it makes me smile,” said Thom Ender, a co-owner of the Wise old Owl and Purple Dragon Paper Company.
Thom Ender and his partner Brian Seil always knew they wanted to start a business.
“The gift store kind of evolved. It just got more fun and more fun,” said Ender.
For the last decade the Wise Olde Owl has been offering Fremont a little bit of everything. From snow globes to jelly and jams, stuffed animals and everything in between.
In the ten years it has been serving Fremont the Wise Olde Owl has grown, moved locations, and now is sharing space with Thom and Brian’s latest endeavor.
“When the space next door became available we were able to expand over there,” said Ender.
Whether it’s hard cover or paperback the Purple Dragon Paper Company has you covered and the Purple Dragon, along with the Wise Olde Owl, are always looking for new items to keep folks interested.
“It’s just a fun experience where you never know what you will see,” said Ender.
Now the Wise Olde Owl has something for everyone but if you are looking for something a little more old school you can head down the street to Yankee Peddler West.
“The name came from me being originally from Connecticut. So I am the Yankee Peddler who moved West,” said Vince O’Connor, the owner of Yankee Peddler West Antiques.
Vince O’Connor and his wife Kerstin aren’t originally from the area but for more than 40 years they have called Fremont home.
“I am a native of Stockholm Sweden and I came over as a nanny in 1965 for a family in Connecticut. And this guy behind me here, we met on a blind date,” said Kerstin.
The couple moved to Fremont in the 1970s when Vince began working in the area as a hospital administrator.
When he retired in the 90s the couple knew they wanted to stay and that is when they opened Yankee Peddler West.
Its not the only antique shop in town but in Fremont the other shops; Hidden Treasures, Fia + Belle, Junktion Flea Market, Park Avenue Antiques, Pickens and R Antiques all work together.
“If somebody comes in and they are asking for something and I will say, hey we don’t have it but try A, B, C or D in the other shops. And they do the same with us,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor says that spirit of cooperation between business makes Fremont one of a kind.
For him, the only time he sees them as competition is at auction house.
“If we go to auctions together and we want the same thing there might be a little bit of fighting but thats normal,” joked O’Connor.
