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Clarabell Collectibles opens in time for holidays

By DAWN HANKINS - dhankins@t-g.com
Posted 10/31/20

The late Sam Gunter was known to most Bedford Countians as simply “Clarabell.” In memory of his beloved father, who passed away in 2019, Kevin Gunter has opened an antique, sport and outdoors shop on the public square at East Depot Street rightfully named, Clarabell Collectibles...

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Clarabell Collectibles opens in time for holidays

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The late Sam Gunter was known to most Bedford Countians as simply “Clarabell.” In memory of his beloved father, who passed away in 2019, Kevin Gunter has opened an antique, sport and outdoors shop on the public square at East Depot Street rightfully named, Clarabell Collectibles.

Tuesday was the grand opening and today will mark the first day of shopping for customers. Regular store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

While the historic building, known by most locals as the former Shelbyville Record Shop, is a big part of Kevin’s childhood memories, this new establishment has sentimental family value as well. It was his parents who collected for decades items which now serves as his inventory.

First off, the name. Sam Gunter was a man of very few words, so friends and family endeared him with the nickname “Clarabell,” which was reminiscent of the mute clown by the same name from the 1940s-1960s TV show “Howdy Doody.”

Because Kevin believes his father embraced that nickname, this commercial artist has included a caricature of Shelbyville’s own “Clarabell” on the store’s outdoor sign. “As time went on, toward the end, he turned into a clown. I always told him . . . when you die, I’m going to have to put ‘ClaraBell’ in the paper, because no one is going to know Sam Gunter.”

That’s just what they did when “Clarabell” passed away on Jan. 8, 2019, at age 88.

Sam was a Woodbury native, who moved here decades ago with his wife, Virginia, who survives; they had lived several places throughout their 67 years together. Professionally, “Clarabell” would also come to be known as a local “bulldozer man” working over 60 years for such groups as John Brinkley and Clanton Paving.

As long-time radio commentator Paul Harvey often said, “Now, here’s the rest of the story.” At least the one Kevin loves to share with customers about how he and wife, Angie, happened upon the business idea of Clarabell Collectibles.

Following his father’s passing, Kevin’s mother wanted their mini barns and garages cleared of all the “stuff.” The ‘Stuff” has since become known as Kevin’s “inheritance.”

Enter COVID-19 in early 2020. “When corona hit this spring, and you couldn’t go out and do anything, I started going over to Mom and Dad’s cleaning up . . . cutting down tree limbs,” Kevin said.

Angie says it’s been the process getting the thousands of items properly priced that’s been most time-consuming. “We look at each item online . . . for suggested prices.”

Having long talked about starting a business, Kevin, now 56, realizes there’s no time like the present. After just cleaning out one mini barn and the garage, inventory for Clarabell Collectibles was forthwith, requiring no immediate financial investment for products on their part.

The family’s still digging through boxes and storage containers of collectibles, which has turned out to be somewhat of an adventure for Kevin’s mother. “She recently found a teapot that was a wedding gift. This has been a healing power for her.”

As well, every item is special for her son, who fondly remembers spending almost every weekend of his childhood going to flea markets, auctions and yard sales with his folks.

“Back in the day . . . they’d go down to [Nashville] Fairgrounds; they’d turn me loose. I’d have my watch . . . we’d meet back in such and such time. I would run crazy with comic books and ball cards; they’d go looking for the older antique stuff,” Kevin said.

These are memories Kevin now shares with his son, Hayden, who will operate the store, while his parents continue to work at Jostens. It’s going to take all the family to operate Clarabell Antiques, he says, even his mom may be in the shop from time to time.

It’s something the family believes is doable, though they’ve barely scratched the surface of their family collectibles. Kevin admits he had no idea the quantity of antiques his father had traded and sold; he’s finding out piece by piece what he owns.

Following up on an email from Angie, celebrities like Mike Wolfe from the TV show, “American Pickers,” found a recent interest in their new treasures, particularly the old signage. Kevin says the white “Picker” van showed up at the shop on a rainy Friday, Sept. 11; they will likely return in the future.

In the meantime, the Gunter family is waiting to hear from applications submitted to outdoor wear companies like Yeti and North Face. If approved, they plan to display their merchandise in the basement, which has been remodeled by building owner/contractor Jon English, owner of the Antiques Sports and Cards shop next door.

“He was up here; we got to talking,” Kevin says. “I told him what I wanted to do. We had a gentlemen’s agreement right there. That’s how we got here.”

Inside the old record store, where Kevin used to take guitar lessons, shoppers will now find, what else, but a replica “Howdy Doody” lunchbox and other items like vintage ashtrays and an eclectic assortment of ceramics, art and vintage dishes. While prices vary, there are more specialized collector items, including Jack Daniel’s Whiskey decanters, Prince Albert tobacco cans and movie-themed memorabilia.

Kevin even has an antique, hand-push Times-Gazette newspaper delivery cart, which he’s placed in the store window as a conversation piece; he’s having a hard time putting a tag on that one. Other items brought from storage box into the light are certainly indicative of how Kevin’s parents had varied tastes-mom for the more delicate items and dad for industrious and vintage farm tools.

While he admits it’s certainly cool to have TV celebrities help jumpstart the business, Kevin credits such friends as Doug and Debbie Neff, Cathy Prater and Sherry Nowlin for helping put Clarabell Collectibles literally on the map. Even during the pandemic, he says they’ve spent countless hours dusting, tagging and shelving merchandise in time for the grand opening.

Friend and fellow church member, Sherry, comments in hindsight, “They have enough stuff to last them at least 10 years.”