When walking into Betty Jo Lamar’s antique shop, you might initially be surprised by the sheer volume of items displayed, or her reasonable prices.
You would be far more astonished if you sat down and heard how Lamar, who celebrated her 37th anniversary of her Tickled Pink Petunia antique shop on May 2, came to Hudson County.
Lamara, 82, was born in Birmingham, Ala. She said as a young girl she was transfixed by an experience at an auction during the Great Depression.
“Daddy had me over his shoulders,” said Lamar. “It was really sad because the people were sitting on the porch and they were auctioning everything they owned.”
Lamar said her father gave her a quarter, so when they started with a “beautiful bisque doll” at $25, she raised her hand thinking it was just 25 cents. She didn’t understand, but the people selling their belongings off wanted her to have it anyway.
That stayed with her, as does the doll.
“I’ve had a fascinating life,” said Lamar.
Life as a secretary
After her father died, Lamar’s mother remarried a “Yankee” and she spent time in New Jersey, developing a love of the state.
Her parents moved to Washington, D.C., and at 18, Lamar began working as a secretary for the American Automobile Association.
Her next job was as the receptionist for Robert Taft, a Republican U.S. Senator who ran for president several times.
He even printed a photo of Lamar in newspaper ads for his campaign.
Henry Ford II was the Lamar’s next employer at the Ford Motor Company, a corporation she called the “love of her life.”
She said that when Henry Ford was in the office, life was exhausting. “When he came in,” she said, “we were never allowed to say ‘no.’ ”
So Lamar said that she instructed the doorman not to let anyone in without a call, not even “Mr. Ford.”
Fatal day in Dallas
Lamar met her husband at AAA and began their courtship a year later while she was Ford’ Secretary. Eventually he worked for the Pentagon and asked for a transfer. They moved to Dallas, Tex.
There, Lamar worked at the Wall Street Journal. One morning, she walked to meet a friend for lunch at the Dallas Morning Star office and passed Pres. John F. Kennedy’s motorcade.
While she was at the Morning Star office, the head of the paper jumped out his chair.
“It was like the end of the world,” said Lamar, describing the madness that followed news of the Kennedy assassination.
When she got home she told her husband that she wanted to leave Dallas. Soon, they moved to West New York, N.J.
She claims that at one point when she lived in Texas, Jack Ruby, who later assassinated John F. Kennedy’s killer Lee Harvey Oswald, bought a dog from her.
Found flea markets
When she first moved to Hudson County, she didn’t really know what to do with herself. Then her mother asked if she wanted to go to a flea market.
She wasn’t sure why, since at first she thought her mother was speaking of real fleas.
After visiting the market, she tried having a “garage sale” at her mother’s house, but no one showed up.
She said that it wasn’t until that evening – when someone called inquiring why the house wasn’t being sold along with the garage – that she realized the moniker wasn’t being used on the East Coast yet.
Lamar wound up taking the items instead to the flea market.
Her own shop
Later on, a neighbor gave her a bunch of petunias after she had an operation. The bottom of the planters was labeled “Tickled Pink Petunia.” She told her husband that if she ever had an antique shop, she would name it that.
She did just around 10 years later.
Her store is a multi-tiered operation. Lamar has “pickers” who purchase items that are truly antique. She fills her shop and three warehouses with these items, which are sold in Guttenberg or at a monthly indoor antique fair in Wayne, N.J.
Some of the items in the shop are not for sale, like her antique elephant stuffed animal from Germany and a miniature piece of furniture once used as a “salesman sample.”
Antique jewelry, furniture, stained glassed windows, and cookie jars are just some of what is for sale.
Thankful for her customers
Every item in the shop has a story that Lamar knows. She says their pricing comes from her knowledge of what they are worth and years of practice.
While she has no living family, she said that her customers, some who even live abroad, keep her happy.
“They all remember me, and I’m so blessed,” said Lamar.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.