LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — With it being so close to Christmas, I was going to look in on what's its like right now at our very biggest shopping centers. Then, I saw an alien in a Santa suit outside a Lebanon shop, and I wanted to go in there instead.
"Do you run the show around here or what?" I asked 11-year-old Gibson Minor.
"Uh. No," he laughed.
Gibson wasn't around for a lot of the stuff at New Era Vintage in Lebanon. Still, sporting his Metallica t-shirt and recommending AC/DC vinyls, Gibson has a respect for the classics.
"I bet your dad probably tells you about a lot of this stuff," I told him.
"Yeah!"
"These phones over here are older than you," I said, looking at other things on the shelves.
"I like all these VHSes back here," Gibson said, showcasing the store. "I have a lot of favorite scary movies. They're fun."
Gibson has some family who work at New Era Vintage. He gets it. The weirder, the better. Now, that's the mantra of store owner Kason Lester.
"I'm obsessed with just vintage in general," Lester said. "I think stuff was cool in the 90s, and I love to be surrounded by it."
Lester's mom is a longtime antique dealer in Lebanon. When the opportunity to launch the shop on the square happened this year, Lester took it.
"Sometimes I find my rock shirts back here," Gibson said, filing his way through a rack of t-shirts.
You never know who you're going to see.
"Santa, what's bringing you out here?" I asked James Harvey, who carries a striking resemblance to Santa.
"Well, I found some Frightening Lightnings today," he laughed, holding up some toy cars. "They were kinda along the lines of The Munsters, the old show from the 60s."
You could say New Era Vintage is the kind of place for people who know what it means to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. Or perhaps it's for people who remember getting the Indiana Jones trilogy at McDonalds. It was a thing.
However, Gibson likes what's in the shop. For him, it's all new.
"I've just kinda been introducing the 90s to a whole new generation of people around here," Lester said.
Lester has found a lot of Christmas shopping at his store has been for things from the past that just remind people of someone. It's always some specific memory.
"I want you to go home with something that reminds you of a different era," Lester said.
It all happens by the fire of the yule log; Instant Fireplace on home video cassette.
"What are your thoughts on Paula Abdul?" I asked Gibson.
He laughed, not recognizing the name.
"It's this woman over here!" I pointed to a picture. "There she is!"
That's the thing about cool retro stuff, there's always something else to discover.
New Era Vintage will be open Christmas Eve from 11am to 3pm on the downtown Lebanon square.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Recently while home sick, I got to watch the news just like you — a viewer! And I have to brag on my co-workers. Not only are they great people and journalists, but they are also tremendous advocates. Look no further than the recent reporting by Amanda Roberts and Jennifer Kraus. This kind of reporting takes dogged commitment. To us, it's always more than a story; this is our home too.
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