]From boats to bears
Valpo landmark store welcomes new owners but keeps trading post tradition
It's not just a store. It's not just an unusual store packed with a mind-boggling assortment of merchandise.
Fetla's Trading Co. in Valparaiso is an old-style trading post where vice president and managing owner Greg Moats said some business is still done through barter.
"You can bring in your old boat and motor and put it toward a new boat and motor," he said, adding that the trades have brought in some unusual merchandise. Moats recently got an antique Coca-Cola machine as part of the barter for a pair of mopeds and a property owner once traded all the mailboxes from his apartment building for other store items.
Former Fetla's owner Burt Langer, who bought the store in 1964, said he once traded 10 cases of Pepsi-Cola for a live bear named "Sally." Sally lived in a big cage outside the store for many years, he said, and amused customers by drinking Pepsi from a bottle. At one time, he also had two peacocks, but he had to give them away -- they made the bear nervous, according to Langer.
Because of the nature of the trading business, as well as the Fetla's tradition of being all things to all shoppers, the variety of merchandise verges on the indescribable. Moats estimates that his inventory hovers around 47,000 items.
"People like to find the unusual things here," he said. "It's really intriguing."
Used goods that have come in as trades stand next to new items in the cavernous, packed-to-the-rafters store on Indiana 2 just south of Indiana 30. Fetla's does not accept used clothing or shoes, but there are manufacturer's "seconds" available in some of those products.
If there were a theme at Fetla's -- and the array of stuff makes naming one difficult -- it might be "outdoor gear." Boats and motors, both new and used, line the outside of the store, next to ladders and barbecue grills. Rifles occupy the wall backing up to go-carts. Sports equipment of all kinds, from skateboarding to bow hunting, dominate the front of the store, with two wings that stretch farther back than any shopper would expect offering work clothes, shoes, horse tack, motorcycle saddlebags ... and on and on.
"We get a lot of hunters and fishermen in here, and outdoor enthusiasts -- mountain climbers, rescue workers, campers," Moats said. "We're also an authorized dealer for Boy Scout equipment." Local steel workers and dock workers buy their work clothes and boots at Fetla's, which offers whatever range of sizes any manufacturer makes -- up to 6X in many cases, and up to 10X in some.
About 80 percent of the shoppers are men, but there are items that appeal to women as well. The store offers a small selection of jewelry and gift candles, as well as goods that might be considered decorative -- one customer purchased a pair of wooden practice artillery shells to use as doorstops, Moats said. There's a disarmed surplus military missile launcher, too, for people who think one of those might look good in the front yard.
Fetla's also features nine cases of pocket knives, camouflage wear for paintball games, mountain climbing ropes, yard windmills, belts and suspenders, pressure cookers, pitchforks, and safety helmets in sizes infant through adult XXL. There are cozy acrylic blankets for horse or car trunk, or to wrap around yourself while in your hunting tree stand, which they also sell. There are kayaks, barbecue grills, inner tubes, skateboards, motorcycle saddle bags, Little League uniform pants, and MREs -- those packaged military meals that will get you through times of electricity outages or social collapse.
Store president Eugene Moats, Greg's father, said he believes two things make Fetla's unique. One is that people can bring in goods to trade, as well as barter on the price of any item, new or used, in the old trading post tradition. The other is the sheer quantity and variety of things for sale, which he said makes the store unique in Northwest Indiana.
"If you can't get it anywhere else, you can get it here," he said.
"If you can't get it here," said son Greg, "you don't need it."
SIDEBAR
Guns coming back
Former Fetla's owner Burt Langer voluntarily stopped selling handguns in 1999 when the store was one of several named in a lawsuit filed by the City of Gary, after a Fetla's employee reportedly sold a handgun to an undercover officer in a "straw purchase" sting operation. The agreement to not stock handguns and a cash settlement resolved the store's part in the case.
However, the new owners plan to begin stocking handguns again.
"We have people coming in here all the time asking, where are the guns?" Eugene Moats said. "This is NRA country. We only carry high-end items, not Saturday Night Specials, and we have to get approval from the FBI for every gun we sell."
Of the previous owner's decision to stop selling handguns, Moats said, "We're not bound by that agreement. That's the bottom line,"
SECOND SIDEBAR
20 things you can buy at Fetla's
1. Men's black t-shirt, size 10 X, $9.99. For the guy in your life who weighs more than 600 pounds.
2. Cotton driver's cap, multi-colored floral print, size adjustable: $2. To attract stares when you drive the convertible.
3. Walls-brand snowmobile bib overalls, men's size M, extra heavily insulated: $99. Oh, it's going to get cold again, don't you worry.
4. Leather biker's bandanna-style cap, with five silver skull studs attached to flap: $16.99. For when you've got to be "bad to the bone."
5. Used Russian military rifle with bayonet: $99. For collectors, we hope.
6. Heritage-brand safe with combination lock, weighing 950 pounds: $1,699. A good place to store your Russian military rifle.
7. Bamboo Samurai katana sword: $79. For martial arts enthusiasts and John Belushi fans.
8. Futurebeach-brand 4-man paddleboat, one-piece plastic construction, self-baling: $1,199. Environmentally friendly lakefront fun.
9. Yerf Dog-brand Fun Kart, unassembled, bright red with black interior: $699. Less environmentally friendly lakefront fun.
10. Unisex rubber beach sandals: $5. Last forever. Will be here after the apocalypse.
11. Necklace featuring character of "Cook" from South Park TV show: $5. You know, Cook was the coolest of the South Park crowd.
12. Lucky Charm-brand rabbit's foot keychain made from actual rabbit: $1.99. Not that lucky for original owner.
13. Red wool beret, size L, unisex: $13.99. For that warm Parisian Freedom Fighter look.
14. Coonskin cap, fake fur base with authentic raccoon's tail: $5.99. Because Davy Crockett will never go out of style.
15. Jewelry stud for pierced naval, imitation pink gemstone on each end: $14.99. You'll have to get the piercing done somewhere else.
16. Lucky Dog-brand training dummy for hunting dogs: $7.29; bottles of rabbit and duck urine scent also available
17. 10 mm wooden practice artillery shell: $19. No exploding parts, but realistic enough to fool the neighbors.
18. Dinosaur-shaped zipper pull with light-up eyes, giant head: $1.99. Probably intended for children.
19. Five-gallon crockery pot: $50. My neighbor used to make fine untaxed spirits in one of these. But it could also be a nice planter.
20. Six-inch cast iron dinner bell: $55. Iron triangle like the one Hop Sing used to announce dinner on the Ponderosa also available
