WLM | people
HERMANS
ANTIQUES
– Timeless Beauty in
A
Gillette
By Kati Hime
Images by Levi Hime
ntique lovers, take note – there is a 6000 square
foot treasure trove waiting for you in Gillette
called Hermans Antiques. Just three miles off
Interstate 90, at 370 Wyoming Highway 50, look for the
giant, colorful rocking chair that is a siren to antiques
aficionados. Their website (hermansantiques.com) is
quick to point out, “…if you go past the UPS you’ve
gone too far.” When Levi and I visited their shop this
summer, we shared a laugh thinking on how this is
truly a small state statement. My groundwater geologist
hubby can’t tell you how many Wyoming well sites, new
clients, etc. he’s gone to meet whose directions included,
“Take a right at Old Man Smith’s place, round the bend,
take the left fork and turn right at the second big rock.
If you reach the Jones place, you’ve gone too far.”
We spotted the giant rocking chair, as promised, and
found our way inside amidst a Secret Garden collection
of iron work, a beautiful ivy-covered arch and a colorful
frog that greeted us near the front door. Our purpose
today was to check out the shop, but also to learn more
about Garey Herman, who owns Hermans Antiques
with his wife Ann.
Our introduction to Garey and Ann came via one of
Garey’s greatest fans in Wyoming – a delightful reader
of WLM in Torrington, Mary Houser. Ms. Houser
shared that Garey is an avid supporter of folks in Gillette
via the local Kiwanis chapter. Wyoming folks helping
Wyoming folks is something to celebrate every day,
and we appreciate Ms. Houser taking the time to share
Garey with us. I replied to her that we would be sure to
make a trip to check out Garey’s shop, and this summer
provided the perfect opportunity to do just that.
6
Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Fall & Holiday 2017
When I was a kid, trips back to Kearney, Nebraska
to visit family included a stay in my Great-Aunt and
Uncle, Cecil and Elsie Hendrickson’s, basement. The
chilly, dark basement with narrow steep stairs was
a time capsule, complete with original dark wood
paneling, a short-backed, firm little green couch with
round throw pillows from the 1960s, a TV with rabbit
ears, and Elsie’s collection of salt and pepper shakers
housed in antique cabinets. I was told every time,
“Look but don’t touch,” and I knew that my mom
meant business.
Walking into Hermans Antiques brought those
memories flooding back. Garey’s nephew directed us
between the various buildings that comprise the shop,