Jun 6, 2009

5 Questions: Setting up shop in Pettigrew HeightsBy Sheri LevisayArgusLeader.com

Ted and Bonnie Lambertus opened their gift shop, The Willow Tree, with little fanfare at the beginning of March.

But the store already is drawing upon the history of the Pettigrew Heights area where it’s located.

The house that their store occupies was built in 1922. The couple has a home only a few blocks away.

“The kitchen was in bad shape,” Bonnie Lambertus says, but they didn’t have to do a lot of refurbishing otherwise.

History played a role in the shop’s name, too.

“My grandma and Ted’s grandma both used to have willow trees in their front yards. I used to play under it,” she says.

The Lambertuses explain how business has been ever since they saw the For Sale sign at 824 West 10th St.

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