The Aneita Fern story begins in the late 1800s in the small southwest Minnesota town of Worthington. Settlers, including Aneita Fern's forefathers, the Garbersons, came to this prairie community seeking the prospect of a bountiful harvest and an opportunity to enjoy Worthington's beautiful lake. The Garbersons were industrious Germans who demonstrated a talent for farming. Within a few years Delbert Garberson and his new bride, Katherine, moved to more fertile ground in nearby Sibley, Iowa. In Sibley, a 360-acre farm became home and the Garbersons soon welcomed their first child - Aneita Fern, born July 3, 1907.
As a young child, Aneita Fern would lament to her father that she didn't like her misspelled name. She wanted her name spelled 'Anita'.
"You can spell your name Anita if you like," her father teased. "But, remember, when it's your time to go to Heaven how will the Lord tell you apart from all the other Anitas? The small girl looked curiously at her father but then understood that the 'e' in her name would always make her special.
Doing chores on the row crop and livestock farm instilled in Aneita and her sister a hearty Midwest work ethic. Hard labor and attention to detail became a part of her everyday life. When Aneita Fern was older she often recalled a speech she heard during her formative years. "Black the heels of your boots" was the speaker's refrain. The speaker's emphatic mandate became the core of Aneita Fern's being - shine the area nobody sees, pay attention to all details - do your job completely.
Her early years on the farm prepared her well for her parent's move to Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, during her teenage years. She met her future husband. Willard, at the high school from which she graduated in 1925. Aneita Fern continued her education at Drake University and graduated in 1929 with a degree in Psychology and minors in French and Spanish. She also earned a state teaching certificate.
Sadly, Aneita Fern was widowed at a young age. Still youthful and with a family to care for, she was forced to become self-sufficient. She used her decorating and teaching skills to provide the family's income.
After putting the last of her children through school, she began to travel extensively, primarily in Europe. While she had always been a collector of beautiful furnishings, it was during her early traveling years that she developed an intense passion for antiques. Aneita Fern's home would become a personal museum for all her collectibles and one-of-a-kinds.
Aneita Fern is the matriarch of our family and the inspiration for our store. In many ways, she shares the same values and passions of Gustav Stickley, the master craftsman who created the Stickley heirloom furniture collectibles. Aneita Fern and Gustav lived in the same era and both loved beauty in design, simplicity of form and the satisfaction that comes from creating and owning generational pieces.
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