The items we had for sale, at the Job Lane Farm Museum, when we first opened in 1983, was held in a box in the Kitchen cabinet. These items, post cards and the Bedford Sampler, were among the items we sold. They did not take much space, so we put them on the Welcoming table inside the kitchen.

As the barn was in the planning stage, having been written down by the Board of Directors during their long-range plans, and a sketch drawn by Sing Hanson, we considered having a room in the lean-to we would call the Gift Shop.

The barn was raised in 1993, and after a few years, the inside was complete. We did this all on a volunteer basis, except for plumbing and electricity. The room to the south side, in the lean-to, was designated as the Gift Shop. It has an exit door, a nice window, and the west wall is a half wall, giving more light and a view into the barn for those entering by either the west main doors or the north door.

The shelves in the Gift Shop had to be built, and a Rotarian came forward, after much coaxing, and built those lovely shelves. To hold up the shelves we put wooden scroll pieces – lovely. An Eagle Scout project came about, and we have a nice oak table for the sales table, that could be in your dining room. And, a bookcase was also created for the east side, but most important it is filled with books, cards, Bedford Flag items, kids’ colonial games, vintage linens and much more. Staff is provided for the days we are open from our volunteers.

It seemed that the Gift Shop should have a name, so we held a contest, via the Broadside, our newsletter and we found a proper name: The Memory Lane Gift Shop.

People have said to us that it is a nice shop, better than most!