By Sarah Kirchner ,staff writer

NEW RICHLAND &8212; Wayne Wenzel started by collecting kerosene lamps. Soon he had 14 buildings full of stuff and nothing to do with it all. That&8217;s when Wayne and his wife, Merlys, decided to open Dad&8217;s Good Stuff, 100 S. Broadway Ave.

He said he enjoyed going to auctions and went often, which is where he bought most of his stuff. The song and the rhythm of the auctioneers was exciting to him. Soon the auctioneers would look to Wenzel just to make a sale.

&8220;I used to get half toned up and go to these sales,&8221; he said. &8220;I didn&8217;t care, I&8217;d give them bids.

&8220;But it was the music, the rhythm of the auctioneers that I liked.&8221;

The collecting started in the 1970s, when Wenzel would go to the auctions, sales and even dig through dumpsters when people cleaned out their houses.

Wenzel was a truck driver for 32 years and even picked up stuff when he was on the road. His favorite stops, he said, were in Texas and Tennessee, where there were huge sales and great antique shops.

When Wenzel was on the road there were times that he bought so much stuff it filled up the cab of his truck, and he couldn&8217;t fit into the sleeper so he slept behind the steering wheel.

That&8217;s when he started buying things and &8220;one thing led to another,&8221; Wenzel said. Eventually he learned what was valuable and what wasn&8217;t.

When it got to be 14 buildings full of stuff &8212; &8220;And I didn&8217;t even know what was in them&8221; &8212; Wenzel said he and his wife rented a store, laid out all the stuff and decided what to keep and what to throw away.

Eventually people started coming in and it got to be a business, he said.

In 1995, the couple bought the current building and have been running an antique store, a repair shop and even a paint shop ever since.

The name of the store came from one of Wenzel&8217;s daughters. When he returned home from collecting he would unload his pickup truck on the front lawn. As he was doing so, his four kids would ask Merlys where he was, and she would tell them Wayne was out unloading what he called his &8220;good stuff.&8221;

When Wayne and Merlys moved into the current store, their daughter suggested it be named Dad&8217;s Good Stuff.

Now his kids are grown and Wayne and Meryls&8217; grandkids and great-grandkids come around the shop. There is a particular pedal car that comes down every time great-grandkids are around, Wayne said, along with some old &8220;trikes&8221; and other toys.

Walking into Dad&8217;s Good Shop, it seems visitors could find almost anything. Wayne said usually he gets people wandering in just to look around, but sometimes he gets someone looking for a particular item. Either way, he said his items are reasonably priced.

&8220;I don&8217;t pretend to make a billion dollars on my items,&8221; Wayne said. &8220;I sell it as cheap as I can.&8221;

In addition to repairs, buying and selling, Wayne and Merlys also refinish furniture and antiques.

Dad&8217;s Good Stuff

– 100 S. Broadway Ave., New Richland

– Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week

– Repairs windows, window screens, antiques, sells Pittsburgh Paint, buys and sells antiques