BY MAGGIE BEAMGUARD
Insider Editor
The landscape of West End evolves daily as backhoes shift dirt here and there. At least half of the old buildings comprising the little town at the western terminal of the former Aberdeen & Star Railroad were razed two years ago, making way for more lanes and more cars hustling down NC 211.
But a colorful relic remains at the intersection of N.C. 73. For over three decades, Harriet Wicker, the owner of Medleyanna’s, has been a cornerstone of West End.
She has worked in dentistry offices for 52 years, 35 of those with Dr. Pete McKay in Seven Lakes, where she is now office manager. And she runs a thriving antique business entering its 30th year.
At 70, she isn’t slowing down. Just like the road out front, she is expanding her flagship “junk” store into a five-building antique shopping concept.
The Cornerstone
It’s hard to miss Medleyanna’s at any speed when you drive past. The front doors are painted a cheerful yellow and framed with bold, teal shutters. Magenta planters grow “trees” of colorful bottles. The windows, dressed for the seasons, sit beneath a black, rippled awning from another time.
Sundry pieces of furniture dot the sidewalk. Brightly painted doors and windows hang along the sides of the single-story brick building which shares a drive with Cagle’s Auto Repair.
Medleyanna’s, named for Wicker’s two oldest grandchildren Medley and Andianna, specializes in junk, antiques, primitive, French country, shabby chic, garden necessities, quilts, candles, pottery, and stocks Annie Sloan paints.
“Junk” has been a passion of Wicker’s since she was a child. It all started with trips with her mother to Saturday auctions. Her mother would slip Wicker a $20 for her to spend. Wicker got hooked on the thrill of the hunt.
She never stopped “junking.” As her garage filled with treasures, she joked with her husband and business partner, Jerry, that if she had a little building she could sell some of her stuff.
Jerry took her at her word and the next day presented her with a plan to build a shop in the backyard and Medleyanna’s was born. After 9/11, people stopped buying like they once did. Drowning in inventory, Wicker rented the current space, wondering, “What have I got to lose?”
That Old Corner Spot
Long before Wicker hauled in furniture, chalk paint and architectural salvage pieces to 5357 N.C. 211, locals came here to send mail, buy a soda and swap stories.
The curiously wide back door to the shop betrays the building’s purpose as the second post office in West End. (The first one was across the railroad tracks). The expansive entry allowed room for large mail bins.
Rooms beside the post office held a general store and a thrift store.
The surrounding buildings and exterior spaces Wicker incorporates into her vision each hold their own histories.
The old, white-clapboard Boarding House to the rear of Medleyanna’s used to stand on the corner where the auto shop sits. Wicker believes it was rolled back to the current location in the late 1950s or early 1960s and wings were removed. People continued to have Sunday lunch there for many years. It was boarded up in the late 1960s or 1970s after vandals broke the windows.
The old Uphold house had a dress shop in the back section. And one of the free standing garage buildings on the property was the original, one-room jail for West End. All of that might fade entirely into the past, except for Wicker’s eye for reinvention.
A Corner Vision
The Wickers rent the space for Medleyanna’s and The Boarding House, but they own the other properties behind Medleyannas. Renters in their two cottages were paid by the state to relocate when road construction began.
Medleyanna’s was left the only independent, local homegoods store on the strip that once held Pastimes, The Log Cabin Country Store and West End Antiques and More.
For Wicker, this endeavor is personal. She grew up at a Southern Pines address near the airport, but has lived in West End since her twenties. As she has witnessed the inevitable changes to West End over the years, she has felt a responsibility to preserve its small-town charm and to create spaces that inspire creativity and community connection.
“It makes me sad we’re losing our small-town feel,” she said. “I know the need for traffic flow. I drive that every day. But I don’t know if folks realize where we are headed.”
Where it would be easy to surrender to an ending era, Wicker saw possibility. Suspecting people might not go out of their way to visit one store, Wicker wanted to create a shopping destination, a place where people could spend an afternoon exploring. “People want to stop and go to more than one place,” she said. “And you have to stay one step ahead of women, because we get bored.”
Turning the Corner
On Oct. 31, she opened the four buildings and the garden between them, each offering a distinct, but cohesive shopping experience. Each space has its own role.
Medleyanna’s will stay much the same. The Boarding House needs some repairs before it is fully opened, but it will house large pieces of furniture, but the porch is open for shopping.
One of the cottages, named Sweet Eva Jane’s has a French country, shabby chic vibe.
The other cottage hosts the Design House and will be open every other month with a different theme. Closed for December, the store will open in January with a sophisticated winter white theme. Future themes might range from spring gardening to nautical.
The outdoor space, My Sister’s Garden, holds a haven of delights for gardeners hunting for whimsical hardscape. She is also working with a customer who is a horticulturist to create a perennial sanctuary with unique plantings.
Wicker has plans to open two garage spaces by spring. And a vintage bus will be moved from The Warehouse to the back of the property. It will become a self-serve tea room.
The Amen Corner
Her team of nine is small, but seasoned and mighty. About one third of the group women who work with her are also in their 70s.
They clear out two estates a month, hauling off everything from antique furniture to yellowed Tupperware. They sort the goods into donations, trash and resale.
All the newest finds first make their way to the Warehouse where a trio of talented women stage and fluff the inventory. Shoppers can visit the showcase at 7297 NC 15-501, Carthage on the first consecutive Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month. “They’re so good,” Wicker said of her team. “They stay current on home decor.”
She sources items from High Point markets, local artisans and creative collaborations. Architectural pieces, quirky furniture and unexpected finds are her specialty, offering customers the thrill of the hunt and the chance to, as the sign on Medleyanna’s exterior says: “open the doors to your imagination.”
There is no way I could have done this without my husband,” said Wicker. “He is the most supportive person.” She sometimes wakes him at 3 a.m. with ideas. “Okay,” he’ll tell her. And onward the plans roll.
The rock at the center of all this is Wicker, who loves junk and the community. Such a venture would likely exhaust someone half her age.
Still bursting with ideas, she attributes her stamina to her passion. “It all boils down to this: if you love what you are doing, you’ll never work a day in your life,” she said.
And her passion is junk, she acknowledges with a chuckle. This love is reflected in the business phone number: 910-673-JUNK. Even her license plate declares: “I Love Junk.”
Her vision for a unique ecosystem of shops combining antiques, home decor, DIY projects and garden art has become reality.
“Now that we’re finally getting going, I don’t want to stop,” she says. “It took so long to get here.”
The hours of the shops will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for now. The Warehouse in Carthage is open the first consecutive Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. depending. Find Medleyanna’s and the other storefronts on Facebook or learn more at medleyannas.com.
So far, the response to the reimagined corner shops has been encouraging. “I feel like Sally Field,” said Wicker, “like – ‘they like me!”
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
