Reprinted from Matthew Dickerson's July 7 outdoor column in the Addison Independent (reprinted by permission).
For the past 33 years, it has been an outdoor store bearing the family name. The Thomas Store is the epitomy of an all-purpose outdoor store. "Out-of-staters love to come in here," Madine commented. "Especially the young guys." Moving from one end of the store to the other one finds fishing gear, knives, snow boots and hiking boots, hunting apparel, winter wear, archery equipment, and guns. Lots of guns.
It was guns that got Tony into the sporting goods business in the first place. Neither he nor Madine particularly liked running a restaurant. (When asked why not, they just smiled knowing smiles.) As an avid hunter and fisherman, an outdoor store seemed like a more natural fit. And it was. Of all their various endeavors, the sporting goods store was their favorite. Not that there was ever much money in it; outdoor stores in little towns are not the ticket to great wealth. But they always loved the people they got to meet and talk with.
The locals certainly know them well. It's rare to walk into the store and not see somebody chatting with Tony about guns. Indeed, 3 children, 6 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandaughters later, Tony and Nadine are as much fixtures in town as Holley Hall, Howden Hall, or the gazebo on the green. Not for much longer, however. After more than three decades, the store is preparing to close its doors for the last time. When New Haven resident Deb Wilkinson saw the going-out-of-business sale, she was a bit surprised. "The Thomases have been in business since my grandparents were young."
If you've ever walked through the store, that's not surprising. The cash register looks like an antique. Tony boasts that it has been there almost as long as him. (They still don't take credit cards, so if you go in to take advantage of the sale be sure to bring cash or a checkbook.) And though there are plenty of new guns and modern merchandise hanging around, there are a few bows that look as though they've been there since our grandparents were kids. The same is true of some of the fish poles. (The Thomas store doesn't carries "fishing rods", but "fish poles".) There aren't many fish poles left, though. At a discount of $10 apiece they were the first things to disappear when the sale began. Guns they still have aplenty, however. New and used and all on sale. About 50 are on display, with another 100 or more in storage. And Tony isn't in a rush to shut down, either. He'll keep the store open until he can sell the last of them. As for what's next, neither Tony nor Madine were saying.
"That's a good question," Tony laughed. "Everybody asks if we're going to Florida. We're not. I've already been there." With a son still living in Bristol, another daughter in Vermont, and the third child in Massachusetts, they have reason to stay in the area. He also still enjoys hunting and fishing which is another reason to stick around. He admits, however, that these days hunting usually just means going to the camp for a few days with the guys. He doesn't get out into the woods much. As for fishing, he sticks to the beaver ponds now where he can just sit still and watch. Not a bad way to spend time, it seems to me.