R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press To show that there is “no wasted space” at Christopher’s Antiques, owner Rick Wodzinski begins to pull out a drawer in a vintage dresser that extends still a few feet deeper. The shop, at 211 Oak Street in Manistique, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday from April through December.

By R. R. Branstrom

rbranstrom@dailypress.net

MANISTIQUE — An antique shop in Manistique came to life by the efforts of a couple who took care to curate a collection of interesting, quality vintage items that have tickled the fancy of customers from around the world.

When Richard (“Rick”) and Sandra (“Sandy”) Wodzinski purchased the building at 211 Oak Street in 1988, it was from Barbara Lamb, whose husband Christopher had operated a gift shop there and had recently passed away.

It was in memory of Christopher Lamb that the Wodzinskis named their antique shop and used a sheep for its logo.

In eras prior, the historic building had served as a livery stable, dry cleaner, hardware store, and other small businesses.

Rick and Sandy, both employed by Manistique Area Schools, had enjoyed antiquing prior to opening the business, but it wasn’t always a goal of theirs to run an antique shop. The couple used to walk downtown in the evenings and sometimes peer into the shop, Rick recalled, and one day Sandy suggested that it would be nice to start an antique store of their own.

When they first bought the building from Barbara, a little restoration took place before the Wodzinskis opened shop. Christopher had only used the front part of the ground floor as a gift shop; the rear served as his work space, and the upstairs needed some remodeling.

But before long, Rick explained, he and Sandy moved in antiques that they had collected from auctions and whatnot, and the ground floor opened as Christopher’s Antiques.

Before the pair retired from the school system, they were juggling their jobs there and running the shop, which was challenging, Rick said.

In the early days, they spread the word of the new business with advertising on the radio and on restaurant placemats. Those methods aren’t as effective these days, Rick said, but large billboards on the highway still snag passing tourists.

Today, seven rooms on both the upper and lower stories contain antique furniture, collectibles, military paraphernalia, jewelry, books, tools and more.

While some antique shops feel chaotic, with piles of disorganized merchandise, Christopher’s Antiques is tidy, with different themes in the various areas. The curation was mostly Sandy’s doing, Rick explained. She had the artistic eye.

Sandy was a painter, too. At one point, the upper floor served as what was called the Purple Lizard Gallery and featured work from Sandy and a few othger artists, but the artwork has since been incorporated around the shop in other ways.

Many of Sandy’s paintings sold and journeyed on, while some still hang for sale in Christopher’s Antiques.

Sandy passed away on Thanksgiving Day in 2024.

Following his wife’s death, Rick closed the shop early last year. It’s usually open seasonally, from April 1 through December 31.

After the usual pre-season cleaning, but with less rearranging than in prior years, the shop opened back up this spring. Along with daughter Tammy and employee Carol, Rick continues to operate Christopher’s Antiques, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

People offer to bring things in to the shop, and though they don’t do consignment, Rick is open to purchasing items that fit the character of the shop and that he thinks will sell. One class of things he’d like to acquire more of is maritime antiques.

He described one item that came into the shop a few years ago — a 52-inch mahogany ship’s steering wheel with brass joining, which he guesses came off a three-masted sailing ship that came into the harbor years ago. It was found locally, but the young man who sold it to Christopher’s Antiques didn’t know how his grandfather had come into it.

“Those are the things you’d like to know the story behind that you’ll never know,” Rick said.

The ship’s wheel was one memorable antique, but Rick has acquired a number of noteworthy items over the years.

One still in the shop is a carved wooden carousel horse made by a German artist who died in 1919. It’s displayed next to a book about early carousels which credits the sculptor as the first to depict carousel horses with their mouths closed, believing that an open mouth could frighten children.

Another object Rick was proud of securing recently and which sold quickly was a Newhouse bear trap — a model manufactured between 1865 and 1888.

People often come in looking for specific things, and Rick keeps a book behind the counter where he takes down contact info and the object(s) they seek. Sometimes, a person will walk in offering to sell such an item the very next week.

In the summertime, visitors from all over come into the shop. Many vacation at nearby campgrounds; some are passing through. A few years ago, when cruise ships anchored off Manistique and brought guests ashore by tender, Christopher’s Antiques welcomed European customers from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, some of whom took tokens of American history home with them.

One recent customer was from Patagonia in South America.

As a community staple, the antique shop is also frequented by many locals. Area residents help to supply stock as well as make purchases, keeping the cycle of quality memorabilia flowing.

Rick said that all the customers who have supported Christopher’s Antiques over the years are appreciated.