Opinion : A hot glue gun and a memory

Today we received an obituary for Charlotte Knupp.

Now quite frankly, I didn't know Charlotte, but I knew Charlotte's store.

As a kid, I always enjoyed creating things. At Christmas, on my dad's side, our family drew names, and I always hoped that a certain aunt of mine would get my name, because I knew if she did, I'd get an awesome present, a craft kit of some kind or a book about how to make something.

Charlotte's store, Knupp's, as we called it, whether that was the full name or not, was housed in the current Ketchen building and on the top where it now says, "Ketchen" it had said "Knupp".

As a girl, there was only one store I ever wanted to visit, and it was Charlotte's store.

I could have lived in her store.

There were rows and rows of boxes of goodies. So many that I never made a dent in exploring them all.

My first large project was a lamp doll. I went in with my book and list of items I needed to create the lamp, and walked out with all of the supplies that I needed.

That started a short career in lamp making.

When I created my first lamp, and entered it in our school's state convention, I walked away with a first place ribbon. This gave me a ticket to the National Convention in Tennessee, Chattanooga to be precise. I didn't win there, but I still remember the trip.

I made countless trips to Mrs. Knupp's store after that, I was hooked.

Later I created a lamp for a gal who later became my aunt-in-law and sold a couple that we had sitting in the window of our home.

However, at one point, I ran out of parts, and hijacked the one I had made for my sister. I remade the outfit and sold it, and to this day my sister reminds me that I owe her a lamp!

There were the boring lamps that I made, and then there was the special one I made for a friend. I asked my dad to put a special hinged door in the base so my best friend could hide the notes we wrote to each other, from her snooping little sister, so of course he took out his saw, and we put tiny little hinges on the door at the base of the lamp, complete with a padlock.

All those memories, flood through my mind, usually when I have a second to think while I'm driving through downtown Vinton.

So dear Mrs. Charlotte Knupp, a gal I didn't know personally, you have influenced my life, and made it a lot more interesting, all thanks to the store on the corner, in a tiny town here in Iowa. If God gives you a chance, would you create another store up in heaven so it's well stocked by the time I get there? I can't think of anything I'd rather do through eternity that have unlimited access to a craft store, housed in a mansion labeled, Knupp on the outside, and maybe, just maybe, we could get to know each other over a box of treasures and hot glue gun...oh and if you could find the supplies I need for one more lamp, I really need to replace the lamp that I owe my sister...