Over 30 years in the antique business

Retirement is on the horizon for Jim Heinemeier of Holiday Shores. He has been in the antique business for more than 30 years, collecting, trading, and selling. He and his wife, Patri- cia, will be closing down their current store, J&P's Edelweiss, at 435 East Broadway in Alton after 20 years in business.

Heinemeier is a local man who grew up in Worden, has lived in Livingston and currently resides in Holiday Shores.

He had always enjoyed going to auctions and various sales in the area and had collected antiques on a small scale. His interest expanded from collecting just for fun to having booths in area antique shops. Eventually he opened his own shop – Heine's – in the Alton Mineral Springs Mall in the 1990s. He and his wife opened their current business, J&P's Edelweiss, in 2002. It's a 6,000 square foot building consisting of two floors of antiques and collectibles with over 20,000 items. It is jam-packed with everything you could possibly think of and, most likely, many things you didn't even know existed.

Heinemeier says you really have to experience it yourself to understand the scope of his vast collection.

Now Heinemeier is moving toward retirement and has sold the store building and will be selling everything that's in it. Through April, goods will be 25 percent off, and in May there will be a 30 percent discount on everything in the store. By October, he intends to have sold all of the merchandise. Heinemeier will turn 70 in December and has decided it's time to start taking it easy. His plans include spending some quality time with his grand- daughters and taking a lot more time doing the things he enjoys – like fishing.

In the meantime, time is run-ning out for the opportunity to browse through the unique and fascinating items in Heinemei- er's shop. You can stop by and visit with Jim and look through his discounted collection for a few more months. Store hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed on Mondays.

After that you will only be able to catch up with Jim enjoying the good life on the banks of the Holiday Shores Lake.