Published: October 02, 2008 11:17 am      

Love of antiques, Tuttle brings native back home

A love of numbers and fine antiques has brought a former Tuttle native back home.

Jennifer Harvey, a former accountant whose shop “Cherry Tree Market” opened on Main Street this week, is a 1993 Tuttle High School graduate whose parents, Tim and Connie Lingle, have lived in Tuttle for many years.

She and her husband Jason, a land surveyor for Cardinal Engineering in Norman, and other family members have worked tirelessly over the last several months to make Cherry Tree Market a reality.

The shop, located at 306 W. Main, housed a movie theater several decades ago and, more recently, a family of cats.

After evicting the felines, Harvey and a crew of helpers got to work making the old building presentable, filling it with an assortment of fine antiques, artwork, floral arrangements and an abundance of elegant items for the home.

In addition, Harvey’s mother, who once worked as a florist, is responsible for creating the tasteful floral arrangements that dot the store. Harvey also carries a line of children’s clothing and accessories made by her sister-in-law Michelle Lingle and her mother Terri Skaggs.

“I have always loved antiques; my house is full of family heirlooms, so it’s a shop that I’d love to shop at,” said Jennifer. “And I hope everyone else does.”

In it’s movie theatre days, part of the building burned when the projection room caught fire, accordintg to buildiing owner Lonnie Paxton of Tuttle, as evidenced by smoke-darkened ceiling rafters and the absence of pressed tin ceiling tiles.

Today, the old building has a new lease on life with a new coat of golden-yellow paint, complete with patches of exposed brick, and while the ancient plank floor gleams, it still has the familiar creak of an old wooden floor.

Fresh new curtains and window boxes filled with pansies give the building’s exterior a new look.

“We’ve done a lot of work and it’s coming along,” said Harvey. “We’ve done lots of advertising and our goal is to get people from all over for “destination” shopping days.”

Although Harvey says she would love to be back working in an office in Oklahoma City, she is the mother of two small children, Brandon, 6, and Kendal, 4, and she wanted to spend more time with them.

“They’re the reason I decided to do this,” said Harvey.

As luck would have it, the shop provides the perfect solution to being a working mother.

The former projection room at the front of the store makes the ideal place for Brandon and little sister Kendal to play while Mom is hard at work only a few feet away.