Losing a child, it is said, is one of the hardest events for a mother and father to endure. Jodie and Tim Schulz of St. Ansgar carry this pain with them every single day. The lost their daughter, Echo, to leukemia at the age of four. Echo would have graduated from high school this year if she had lived.

After Echo’s passing, Jodie looked hard at their lifestyle and decided life was too short and she wanted to make a change. Jodie was a nurse working for Dr. Ross of St. Ansgar and her husband farmed and worked at Hormel. The family took a new direction in their lives, purchased two houses in St. Ansgar and opened their businesses of selling one of kind gifts and home decor.

One of the businesses is called Thymeless Treasures and is in house that was built in the 1880s. The other business is named after their daughter, called Echoes of the Past, and is in a house that was built in 1910.

Tim and Jodie have turned these houses into unique showpieces. Tim is a carpenter and this is how he makes his living now. The Schulz's have four other children and they help them out with the businesses. This is their eighth year of running their gift stores.

The Schulz's have an eye for detail and have taken what others might consider junk and used these items to renovate and restore these houses to create breathtaking interiors. A working soda fountain from the 1920s was installed into Thymeless Treasures. Jodie explained how they found the soda fountain:

"My husband was working at Hormel and he saw in a paper that this fountain was for sale. It was in a former business called Pohle's. We have the stools, countertop and mirror. We found an original menu for the soda fountain from the 1920s. Our specialty is the mocha cappuccino smoothie with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream."

Other unique features in the interior of Thymeless Treasures are a staircase that was bought piece by piece and rebuilt by Tim. The floors of both homes are hardwood. Some of the rooms’ floors have been stenciled and a few are original linoleum covered from days gone by. Echoes of the Past, was the second house the Schulz’s renovated and they did work on the ceilings. Visitors are encouraged to &uot;Look to the Stars&uot; as they climb the staircase to the second floor.

The two houses are packed full from floor to ceiling with one-of-kind gifts and unique decorating ideas. One room is filled with exotic animal prints, pillows and lamps with animal themes and scarves with leopard and zebra prints. There are carved animal statues and other items with animals emblazoned on them.

"This theme is very popular and people can readily add a wild touch to their home with just one or two of these items," Jodie said.

The Schulz's do not have any items on consignment. Jodie goes to trade shows in January and July to purchase goods for her stores. She has an eye for what will sell. One room is filled with fairies, another room filled with patriotic items. Clothing, toys, jewelry, Christmas decorations, and hard-to-find items for men are in other rooms of the houses.

Jodie has six employees and three high school girls help her out with the businesses. She also tends all the flowers on the two premises. She works along with the other businesses in town such as Home Sweet Home, the Cottage Sampler and the Blue Belle Inn to help draw visitors and shoppers to St. Ansgar.

"We get people from Minneapolis coming to spend a day in St. Ansgar," Jodie said. "With the warmer weather our business is picking up."

Sheila Donnelly can be reached at 434-2233 or by e-mail at :mailto: newsroom@austindailyherald.com