My crafty parents

My earliest memories of “Something Special” are vague and blended together. I remember the craft show in an old school. Our table was on a stage, and I remember lots of Christmas decorations and a bell choir playing. I know in the early days there were little angels of folded fabric and bead snowflakes. Gretchen and I made suncatchers for a long time—that may have begun even prior to the craft shows we did. I think I helped with some Kleenex box covers, and eventually graduated to the little clothespin race cars and locomotives.

You made everything under the sun, with lots of Santas and Noah’s Ark as mainstays. I have memories of shows at the Western Mall in Sioux Falls: we carted our giant, heavy tables and displays into the building and set up and we covered it all up with tarp for the night. I wandered around the ½ Price Store or Best Buy, and we ate at Burger King or various buffets in the area. As I grew up, it was just a part of life and I didn’t think very deeply about it. In retrospect, I am so impressed with the amount of hard work, intelligence, planning, and persistence required to run that business.

Two ubiquitous sounds in our home were the whine of the jigsaw and the zig-zig-zig of the sewing machine. Now that I've started a family, I know the value of a free weekend, and you gave up countless weekends to attend shows and generate income for our family. You went from curious spectators who dabbled in crafts to shrewd businesspeople, changing your inventory with the seasons and with the times. I don’t think I ever visited home after High School without some surprise at some of the new products you had gotten into.

You took pride in your products and in your ethics: you insisted your items would be high quality, and passed up many opportunities to simply copy another crafter's hot seller. I wish I could see a map that had little dots for all the homes around the Midwest and the country that have Something Special items on display at some time during the year. I wish you two could see a montage of all the joy people felt as they gave or received your products as gifts or surprises.

The hard work and courage that went into that business generated time together, pride, creativity, and income. Your kids are so proud of what you accomplished. It has been Something Special for all of us.