THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412140185
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: K11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEAN GEDDES, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
The scent is lilac, lily of the valley and fragrant roses. The background music? Old-fashioned waltzes and carousel tunes. There are Victorian hat pins in a container on the glass counter and near the front windows are ladies gowns from the same era.
Victoriana's General Store, seven rooms full of romantic reminiscences plus a garden for contemplation, is only steps away from the ocean at 518 Laskin Road, but years away from the resort traffic outside its doors.
Eleanor Hendrick and her daughter, Tanya, are partners in the small brick shop.
Old trunks are filled with such items as copies of early Life magazines, sheet music and old photographs - some of them local.
Antiques and collectibles abound. There's an early Victrola that still works. A desk holds a secret compartment and there's an oil portrait of a handsome military man hanging on one wall.
There's an entire room devoted to elegant dolls of all sizes. There are also miniature carousel horses refurbished in satins and gold and silver and sequins.
But not everything is old. Today's products: fine coffees, gift baskets, Victorian greeting cards and modern cassette tapes playing Christmas songs and other favorites are also on hand.
Eleanor Hendrick explained that the house is about 75 years old. It was here that Catherine Wade, who currently resides in the Shadowlawn area, lived as a child with her parents. In the 1940s, L.D. Murden and his wife, Lucy, bought the property where the house is and opened an appliance store, which is still there, on the corner. The house eventually became commercial, housing various businesses over the years.
``When my husband and I were in business about two blocks away right after we were married, I remember looking over at this house and admiring it. I never thought at that time that one day I'd be running my shop in it,'' Eleanor Hendrick said. She also went on to explain how she happened to buy the shop.
``I remember stopping by one day and admiring it as it reminded me of a shop in Ghent. As I spoke with the owner she said, `Would you like to buy it?' And that's what I did.''
She was the third generation in her family to love antiques and now daughter Tanya has also become interested in them. ``We love going to auctions, garage sales and finding the unusual, the unique item to put in our shop.''
Often people drop by with items they want to sell or put on consignment, or theater groups will come in to rent vintage clothes.
The two women are thinking of serving tea and lemonade in the enclosed garden next summer.
Eleanor Hendrick said she was brought up to love old and beautiful things. ``I was raised to appreciate them,'' she said, explaining that her great-grandmother, Emma Prehatin of Harvey's Lake, Pa., and her mother cherished antiques. The family farm at the lake still has the Prehatin name on the barn and the family owns Revolutionary War items as well as many oil paintings.
Although both mother and daughter were trained in the medical field - Eleanor is a registered nurse and Tanya, a trained medical assistant - they both said they love to shop and always wanted to own a shop of their own.
They both have eyes for unusual items such as a sterling silver corset lacer, hand painted flue covers and old metal spoons turned into wind chimes. In the glass counter cases and there are cameos, shoe buckles, unusual jewelry, beaded bags and lace collars. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Eleanor Hendrick and her daughter, Tanya, are partners in
Victoriana's General Store, at 518 Laskin Road.
by CNB