Gem changes hands

Paul and Pam Fowler quickly agreed about Indiana with a middle-aged couple hauling rustic collectibles to the second floor of the National Road Antique Mall building. Introducing themselves as the building’s new owners, the Fowlers fell into conversation with the couple, who, it turned out, are new vendors there. 

Both couples found they had moved to Indiana during 2024; the Fowlers from Utah and the other couple from Rhode Island.

“If you compare Indiana and Utah, Utah is a little more uptight,” Pam said. “I think Indiana lives up to its reputation for Hoosier hospitality.”

The Rhode Island couple agreed, saying they have been pleased by the friendliness and easygoing nature of local people. In Rhode Island, people seem always rushing to get somewhere.

Hoosier friendliness is part of the reason Paul and Pam decided to buy the Antique Mall building at 39 W. Main St. in downtown Cambridge City. The purchase will be final on Feb. 1.

Paul Fowler grew up in Cambridge City but moved to Utah in 1988 with his parents, Wilbur Fowler and Julia Hunt. His wife Pam is a Pennsylvania native. The couple met as students at Brigham Young University. In early 2024, they moved – sight unseen – into a 200-year-old farmhouse west of Cambridge City and are restoring it.

Business seems part of Paul’s DNA. His grandparents started the former Fowler Vending Co. in Pershing. His parents owned the True Value Hardware store in Cambridge City. On his mother’s side, the Dale family owned a local grocery store and bakery in the 1800s. 

In Utah, Paul worked with his father in a statewide business systems company. He started a printing and shipping business which still has two franchise shops there, and Paul Honey, which they intend to operate from the farm. Pam has been employed in childhood nutrition for 17 years.

Although Paul finds the history of old things interesting, neither he nor Pam is an antiquer. Paul readily tells people he is a businessman and promoter. He had hoped to start a hardware store but found the odds against success too long. 

“We were looking for a building in downtown Cambridge City. This building was available and the antique mall came with it,” Paul said.

They moved to Cambridge City with three goals: run a local business, get involved in the community, and help their church grow its congregation. 

“One of the treasures in this town is it has a small downtown full of old buildings. Being able to use these old buildings is an asset,” he said, adding that in some places, building codes make it too expensive for owners to modernize their buildings, and they sit empty.

The couple plans to continue the Antique Mall much as it has been run under the guidance of Beth and Rick Leisure. The Leisures divided the space on the building’s first and second floors into booths. People rent space and fill the booths with antiques they want to sell, setting their own prices. The store’s staff can help customers find particular kinds of merchandise and will ring up the sales.

“It’s a date destination. It’s more than antiques. There are all kinds of things to see here: if you want Elvis, there’s Elvis,” he said, pointing to a stack of vinyl albums by the rock-n-roll icon. “If you want furniture, if you want the ’60s, the ’70s, the ’80s, they’re here. If you like seeing how things worked a hundred years ago, you can walk through here. It’s a fascinating way to spend a date. And down the street are places to eat.”

The Leisures started the antique mall in 1998 when Veach’s, a five-and-dime store, closed. Since then, antique stores and eateries have opened along a city block in each direction.

“I mean, we had no idea it would kind of start a revolution,” Beth Leisure said. “Some people complain now because the downtown is full of stores for people from out of town. But without them, the downtown would be empty.”

She and her husband are retiring, having also sold the Archive, an event space in the former Cambridge City library. They still own a laundromat on North Foote Street.

“I have mixed emotions,” Beth said. “I’m sad because we’re not going to be doing it (the mall) anymore, but I’m happy for them. I think Pam and Paul are going to do well.”