I drove behind a long caravan of Illinois U-hauls today as they drove away from Thode’s Sporting Goods in Des Moines. It would appear to be the final chapter of the story of this little store. As many of you Des Moines people remember, Thode passed away well over a year ago. The store sat fully stocked; untouched from the day he locked the door for the last time. The front windows were adorned with signs proclaiming an anniversary sale. Although losing a fight with cancer, he was clearly looking forward.
I rarely visited the place when it was open. The few times I stopped in he either had half or nothing of what I was looking for. With the introduction of the Des Moines mega-stores with endless isles holding millions of dollars of inventory, the business may not have survived anyway. But with the building paid for and no payroll, who knows. All I know is that I paid more attention to it after he was gone. I pass it nearly every night and it was quite eerie at times to see the fluorescent lights flicker revealing walls stocked lures and landing nets sitting in the front window. Kind of like the parents who lose a child and leave the child’s bedroom exactly as it was for years.
Anyway, the company name was Sullivan Auctioneer’s. They have a website at http://www.sullivanauctioneers.com. I see no note of any fishing or hunting items on their schedule so this all may get resold or dumped into another estate sale in Illinois.
Dave