Hickory Stick: A gem in midst of historic district

Pat Waelder, as pictured in her shop in Hannibal’s Historic District. Hickory Stick photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Pat Juette had asthma when she was a senior in high school, 1959-1960, and was unable to take PE or participate in sports. Instead, she spent her extra curricular hours in home economics class, at Quincy Senior High School.

There, “I made my dresses and skirts,” Pat said, a process that came naturally. “My grandmother always sewed.”

Little could Pat have imagined, while still a teenager, that those days spent in home economics class, where she learned to work with fabric and thread, would ultimately guide her along her career path.

For the last 48 years, she has owned, (along with her husband, Kenneth Waelder, who died in 2024) Hannibal’s iconic quilt store, Hickory Stick.

Located -  since April 1977 - on the time-honored corner of Main and Hill, Hickory Stick is at the heart of Hannibal’s historic district. The Mississippi River (when it is within its banks) is an easy stroll to the east, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home is just a stone’s throw to the west. The store, which has expanded incrementally over the years - has also grown by reputation as a destination for quilters and seamstresses from far and wide. It is a quaint shop packed with a vast inventory of unique fabric and notions suited for any sewing project.

In 1962, Pat Juette, not long out of high school, and Kenneth Waelder, a brick mason, were married. Ultimately, her Hannibal-based husband lured her away from her hometown of Quincy.

“When we got married my husband wanted to come back to Hannibal. He was working for Mr. (Dean) Doyle” as a brick mason.

After a little while in Hannibal, they moved to St. Louis, settling in O’Fallon, where Kenneth Waelder and his brother, Jack, worked as commercial brick layers.

Pat and Kenny lived in O’Fallon for 13 years, where Pat worked for first Sears, then Venture, advancing up the ranks to assistant manager of Venture’s jewelry department.

Eventually, they moved back to Hannibal. “There was such a demand for bricklayers here in Hannibal. Dean Doyle and Mike Constable talked him into coming back.”

By the time they moved back to Hannibal, Pat, who had been working since she was 13, was bored by the prospect of staying at home.

She decided to open a store in a row of recently renovated buildings in the 300 block of Main Street. She did some consignment work out of that storefront. “I outgrew that building right off the bat,” she said.

“Charles Anton offered to rent me the building I’m in now, at 326 N. Main St., she said. That was April 17, 1977.

“The first year I put in 100 bolts of fabric. I realized I either had to get in or get out. I decided to go bigger.”

Adding more inventory necessitated the acquisition of additional retail space. She rented a second, and ultimately a third storefront from Charles Anton.

“My husband put an archway between the buildings, so you can go from one to the next. My husband and Bill Jameson, they helped get those buildings painted and fixed up. My husband built all my fixtures to hold the fabrics.”

“Now I have thousands of bolts” of fabric, she said. “I also have all the batting, threads. I have everything that has to do with quilting.”

In addition to quilts, she carries two different embroidery thread displays, and kits ranging from beginner to advanced.

The building’s owner, Charles P. Anton III, died in 2008, and his daughter and son-in-law, Sara and Frank North, are now the landlords.

“The building has the original floors, and the original ceilings. All that tin is still there,” Pat said, which in itself is a customer draw.

Within the store’s walls, “I have every kind of fabric you can think of,” Pat said, from 15-20 different companies.”

Coming up on the horizon is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Hickory Stick will be ready. Multiple designers are preparing fabric to commemorate this anniversary. “It will be a really big celebration next spring,” she said. Hickory Stick will also carry Civil War reproduction fabric during the celebration.

Secret to success

She said the secret to her store’s success is multifaceted.

First and foremost, Pat gives credit to her staff. Her employees, all experienced quilters, work with customers to help them get started on their sewing projects.

Marla Frame is Pat’s most tenured employee. Previously, Marla’s mother, Neva Gay Dinwiddie, “worked for me in the very beginning,” Pat said.

“I have some very, very talented girls that work for me. They are experienced seamstresses, and are very good to the customers.

“I have eight employees; they are the nicest, most friendly, hardest working and most knowledgeable ladies. All my employees are wonderful.”

Hickory Stick employees, in addition to Marla Frame, include: Diana Jones, Belinda Ebers, Judy Haught, Beth Caldwell, Becky Woodward, Dawn Barnes, Nancy Henley and Shannon Rosenkrans.

“All those girls who work for me,  can show you how to work your patterns. I have some of the best employees all around. I can’t tell you that enough.

“They study so much, they have to. They have good personalities. They give customers a lot of time.”

A second contributor to long-term success of the business is the way the store is set up, Pat said.

“The way we decorate,” has a lot to do with bringing customers into the shop, she said. The walls are covered with completed quilts and sewing projects, (Pat calls the projects ‘models’) so the customers can see what the finished product will look like. The models are made by locals, some of whom also work in the store. When it is time to redecorate, Caleb Henley, Nancy Henley’s son, hangs and rehangs displays throughout the seasons.

“We sell some of the quilts,” that are made for display, “but not very many. I provide all the fabric, and quilters make the quilts for me. They own (the quilt) after we’re done with it. They pay to have it quilted, and they choose what they want to quilt.

“People tell us our displays are the best; we’re not a one-look store; each building is a different theme. The walls are plastered with models. We have quilt kits, and they can actually see the finished product.”

A third key to success, she said, is quality of the products sold at Hickory Stick, always top notch. In addition, Pat keeps her inventory current. “I really see all the new trends, everything that is new in the industry, I want to be on top of stuff.”

They carry fabric for men, featuring wildlife and hunting designs. They also carry college and sport-themed fabric, and flannels, “from some of the biggest designers in the industry.”

In addition, they carry a big selection of solid color fabric.

The final element to Hickory Stick’s successful longevity is her customers, Pat said.

"I can’t thank the ladies of Hannibal and the surrounding area enough for their support. They are all such good customers. The Piecemaker’s Quilt Guild of Hannibal has been so good to me, to support me” from the beginning.

“Without their support, I would not be where I am today. Without their encouragement and support.”

Shop Hop

During September and October, Hickory Stick was part of “Shop Hop” for the state of Missouri. This was their fourth year to participate.

“Shoppers traveled from store to store, there were 88 participating stores. They take their books in and get a stamp; we would give them a little gift. This year it was a greeting card. They go around to all the stores, enter into contests.

“Quilters, they bring their husbands, and a group of women travel over the whole state; the Missouri Shop Hop is real big. This year there were 88 participating stores across the state.”

Prizes include trips, sewing machines, “all kinds of things.”

Tom and Becky

For 47 years, Pat Waelder and the Hickory Stick have supported the Tom and Becky program, working with seventh-graders and their parents to pick out fabrics for their costumes.

A few years ago, they upped their contribution by creating a unique quilt to be raffled, with proceeds going to a scholarship fund for each year’s official Tom and Becky.

This year’s donated quilt, pieced by Belinda Ebers and quilted by Heather Dodd, is on display at the Mark Twain Museum. Raffle tickets will be sold up until the naming of the new Tom and Becky on July 4, 2026.

International exposure

Thanks in particular to the riverboats that dock on Hannibal’s shoreline, Hickory Stick is not just a local store. Docking riverboats bring people to Hannibal from around the world, and that exposure has contributed to the store’s notoriety.

In addition, “I’ve been in several magazines,” Pat said. “I was in Quilt Sampler by Better Homes and Gardens. I was one of the top 10 stores in North America. That was in the fall and winter of 2009.

“I was brought back five years later as an encore store; only 20 stores were chosen in the whole U.S.” 

Her store was also featured in American Quilt Retailer. “They had pictures of my store, they had pictures of me; we had three pictures in that magazine.”

Kinderhook Lodge at Barry, Ill., owned by Andy Sprague, has also been a boost for  Hickory Stick.

They host quilt retreats, and they all come over to my shop,” Pat said.