Texas woman purchases former Tiemeier's Store at Lincolnville
Barbara Mahone, living in Arlington, Texas, with two sisters, was depressed. She had suffered the loss of a mother, son, and husband. She began searching the Internet for a place of her own and found herself drawn to Kansas.
When she found the former Tiemeier's Store building listed for sale on Ebay, she called Kurt Spachek, the contact person, and soon owned the building, sight unseen.
Loading her belongings into a U-Haul truck and hitching her car behind, she made her way to Lincolnville. She arrived March 16.
"I'm an adventurous person," she said. "Some people call me a crazy, old lady but I love it here. I love this building, and I'm having a ball."
She said she likes to sit outside and listen to the birds sing.
Mahone has set up housekeeping in the west room. A smaller room to the back serves as a bedroom. A makeshift kitchen features a microwave and hot plate.
Mahone plans to establish a business of some kind in the main room of the store within six months.
The historic brick building was constructed in 1925 after the first store, built in 1887 by H.W. Tiemeier, was destroyed by fire.
The store was closed in 1998. Marion and Carol Lauxman of Hope purchased it in 1999 and operated it as Main Street Grocery until October 2005. The building had been vacant since then.
