At Home with Tyler Fletcher
By MANDY SHELTON | Photography by JUSTIN BORJA
Fletcher’s Books & Antiques serves as Tyler Fletcher’s home, antiques store and a public place of worship—all located on the same property at the north end of Main Street in Salado.
Fletcher’s is the stop for DIY renovators. If an old home avoids the bulldozer, salvagers will bring Tyler flooring, siding, doors and windows to sell. The shop is brimming with salvaged items, so much so that the inventory spills out into the front yard of the house.
Minimalism is a trend that has passed right by Fletcher’s—as do shoppers more concerned with decluttering or feng shui. “They see the front yard of the shop, probably have a coronary and speed up, heading to the nearest IKEA,” Tyler jokes.
Those who stop to look around are usually searching for something that’s going to last, survive a military move or complement a collection. “Repurposing furniture and decor is part of the philosophy of sustainability,” he says, adding that antiques are frequently less expensive than new furniture. Even in antiques, though, Tyler sees trends.
“People aren’t as concerned about matching things to periods and styles like our grandparents and parents were,” he explains. “They’ll use interesting architectural components and industrial pieces in their homes. They don’t want it to look like everything is from a furniture showroom. Pieces don’t particularly have to match or balance; they’re creating a personal space, a personal statement.”
Though strongly associated with Salado, Tyler didn’t actually grow up here—he was a military brat. “My dad was career military and he always requested Fort Hood, but he’s probably the only person who never got it,” Tyler says, smiling. He briefly lived in Salado during his father’s tour of Vietnam and still recalls the parade the town organized upon his homecoming.
After graduating high school in Mississippi, Tyler briefly attended what is now Temple College. “Temple Junior College had wonderful professors and offered a great education at a bargain-basement price.” At the time, he worked as a waiter at the newly opened Inn on the Creek and finished his degree at Southwestern University, earning a bachelor’s degree in art history.
He also minored in French and, after graduation, spent a summer studying at the Sorbonne in Paris before beginning a year-long fine arts course at Christie’s Auction House in London. “I’d been working with my grandmother in her antique shop, so I thought perhaps I could make a living combining my interest in books, antiques and fine art,” Tyler says.
He undertook a three-year sabbatical in New York City, where he worked in a gallery and practiced his version of religious freedom. “New York has every flavor, every type of music, every type of preaching, every type of architecture. It’s a smorgasbord of religious experiences.”
Then his grandmother called, saying, “I need you to come back to Texas.”
A Taste for the Sacred
Visitors can also explore a different part of the property—the chapel Tyler constructed in 1995.
He spent summers as a child in Salado, where he attended church with his grandparents. “They went early in the morning, and it was very quiet and contemplative. So when I inherited this property and business, I wanted to honor them, and I built a small chapel in their memory.” He began to open the chapel for a weekly Eucharist, conducted in a manner that would make his grandparents proud—quiet and contemplative, early in the morning. “Surprisingly, people started coming. Eventually the diocese contacted me and we entered into a formal lease program.” St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church was consecrated into the diocese of Texas in 2013.
Tyler describes the Sunday morning and Wednesday evening services there as “fairly traditional, but the congregation itself is quite lively.” He’s served as youth director for more than 20 years and also leads parishioners on a Painted Churches of Texas tour, an easy day trip from Salado that combines history, art and architecture.
Naturally, the church and attendant buildings are filled with art, from the stations of the cross statuary to paintings by Salado artists hanging in the parish hall. The congregation of approximately 80 welcomes visitors, whether they’re admiring the art or looking for a church home. “It’s funny—people will come in and say, ‘We’re shopping,’ and I’ll say, ‘Well, the bookstore doesn’t open for 20 minutes,’ and they will say, ‘No, for a church.’”
Antiquing 101—Local Favorites
Ophie’s Red Barn
2802 S. 55th St., Temple
Now a “red barn” behind Clem Mikeska’s off Avenue M, Ophie’s resale shop spent nearly five years as a “pink house” on Avenue H. Ophelia de la Rosa, or Ophie, opens the shop four days a week and welcomes not only conversation but haggling as well. Her husband, Louis, runs the go-to moving company for many movers and shakers in the local antique and estate-sale scene. Ophie is hoping to celebrate their upcoming 60th wedding anniversary in the shop.
Paply’s Gifts & Antiques
5505 S. Fort Hood St., Killeen
This Killeen institution hides in plain sight off South Fort Hood Street … way south. The main building has booth rentals, but a side barn also offers a fit-what-you-can-in-it box for $5. With soothing music playing throughout the store, as well as free coffee and sodas stocked in the fridge, this retail concept is aimed at serious shoppers, the kind who need easy listening and regular caffeine intake while browsing.
Vis-à-Vis Galleria
3 Mesquite Ave., Rogers
“The name’s French,” says owner Patricia Posvar. “It means ‘face to face.’” Well worth the drive to Rogers, the building is the oldest storefront in town, filled with the scents of imported French lavender and authentic Mexican vanilla, both available for purchase. Patricia’s husband, a former fighter pilot, refashions kitchen islands out of Patricia’s finds. Vendors at the booths inside feature local antiquing legend Jenny Bickel, as well as a booth offering shabby chic letter transfers in a variety of fonts. “You can embellish anything you want. It’s fun to be creative.”
R&D Estate Sales
Debra Bartek of R&D Estate Sales (that stands for Russell and Debra) advertises on EstateSales.net and has an ever-growing email list. “We send out emails when we do an estate sale,” Debra says. “You never know what somebody is looking for, and you absolutely never know what you’re going to find in a sale,” Debra says. She posts lots of pictures prior to the sale so buyers can find furniture or decor to suit their style.
