On a Sunday afternoon in West St. Paul, Glenn Rossong prices crystal to join the thousands of other items for sale in his store. The co-owner of Candle Company Antiques has spent more than four decades of his life buying and selling things. “Funny thing is I know, every single item I buy, I remember where I buy it from,” Rossong said. “My daughter has the same ability. You have to like what you’re doing if you’re doing the same job over and over and over.” Rossong recalled the day he and his wife were looking for a place to open their own antique shop. In July of 1986 their dreams were met as they passed by an old brick building on Highway 9. At one time, it was the home for the Winnipeg Electric Company Middlechurch Substation, built around 1907, according to the Manitoba Historical Society. “To this day, and my wife still believes me, at that day she said, ‘You must’ve had a 2 p.m. appointment’,’ Rossong said. “I said, ‘No, I’ve got no appointment.’ (Then) a man walked out with a for sale sign.” Within days Rossong said they sold their home, they just finished renovating in Elmwood and moved on-site. He said he built up a collection of antiques to sell through sales in Winnipeg and trips to Chicago, buying at their annual coin-op show. He would attend the same show in Chicago for two decades. Over time, the store expanded to a second and third floor of items. “I get 100 people a week that have never been to my store until this day,” he said. “They say, ‘Well, how do you remember all these prices and everything else?’ Well, it’s just the same repetition over and over and over.” However, Rossong said it was a connection to an antique store in Iowa that built him a base of sellers to buy from to this day. He still makes trips to the American Midwest with his trailer a couple times a year. He’s been making these trips for 33 of the 40 years he’s been in business. Years ago, Rossong and a friend travelled down to Iowa when his friend pointed at a store on the side of the road and wanted to stop and check it out. “It’s all about fate,” he said. “The lady looks at me and says ‘Where are you guys from?’ and I say, ‘I’m from Winnipeg,’ (and she said) ‘Oh we have a good friend in Winnipeg.” By sheer coincidence - a family in Iowa knew Rossong’s uncle, who would come down for hunting pheasants. Friendships were made from there. “It’s a 2,400-mile trip that I take when I leave here to Iowa and back, and I go all over the place buying,” he said. “I have friends in Grand Forks that sometimes I’ve had to leave stuff behind.” Many years later, Rossong said he knows his buying days are numbered. On Sept. 6, Candle Company Antiques will officially celebrate 40 years of business. He said he is considering downsizing over the next year and will potentially sell the building. “What they are going to miss is this stuff,” he said with a laugh. “I’m still going to do that, I’ll do it at an auction or something. Wherever I live is going to be the best garage sale. Whenever I decide which weekend I’m having a garage sale, it’s going to be the best garage sale of anybody’s life.” He said he still gets a thrill from the reaction that an individual item will bring. “When you’re in business for 40 years, you never get pushed, you have to be patient,” Rossong said. “It’s not about money or anything else. I’m going to miss the surprises. I’m still excited about somebody buying a $2 item, if they were really looking for that item.”
