By Deanna Roux
After over 40 years of traveling, collecting antiques and doing auctions and flea markets, Paul and Mary Tetreault opened the Charleston Shop on North Main Street in Belchertown (across the street from McCarthy’s Pub). The store opened this past July and only a couple of months later, Paul passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.
Mary decided to keep the shop open and is holding down the fort with the help of her daughters and her aunt. She say’s her experience in Belchertown has been a good one. “The people here are so good,” she said. “I was working here the day after he died. A woman came in and she saw I was upset. I told her I had just buried my husband the day before. She gave me a big hug and told me her name was Mary. About a week later she left me a gift. It was a big white flower with a black background that read “light.” I thought it was a Georgia O’Keefe but it was her own work - she’s a photographer. That just shows you the kind of people that are here in Belchertown. It’s such a nice place to have a shop.”
Over the years, the pair have stockpiled furniture, collector’s items (records, stamps, cards, etc.), tools, ringer washers, organs, wood stoves, windows, doors and all kinds of knobs and gadgets from just about every state in the south. “We are like the General Store of the twenties,” Tetreault said “minus the food.”Tetreault encourages people to come look and come ask. “If I don’t have it here, I can get it,” she said. “We have a lot of things in storage so whenever we sell something, I’ll bring in some more. So the inventory is always changing.”
Also available are used furniture, building supplies, and wood. Prices are reasonable and usually negotiable. The shop is currently open Friday and Saturday, 9am - 4pm or by appointment by calling 413-512-1373. They will expand their hours in the spring by opening on Thursdays as well.
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