The Wooden Nickel, Jackson Hole

In July of 1984, as I was working with Lange and wasn’t quite happy with my stage in life and career, my interest had been perked up by a tiny ad I found in the “Business Opportunities” section of the serious Wall Street Journal. 

In it, a fashion clothing store was adverised for sale in the mountain resort town of Jackson Hole in Wyoming. I called the ad, talked to the store owner and found out that the asking price for the business (not including the building, of course) was around $120,000 (just under $400,000 in today’s dollars). 

The name of the business was the “Wooden Nickel” which, right in Jackson Hole, stood for western heritage, unique goods, honest value and rustic charm, a playful nod to frontier culture. So around that time, while on a business trip passing through Denver, I flew to Jackson to see the place. 

I had never been there and I loved it! The seller picked me up at the airport and showed me his business. I kind of liked it, but wasn’t too sure about that venture, so I said, I’ll think about it and I’ll talk about it to my wife. 

Work and daily life then flew by and later that year I began developing plans that would lead to my move to Utah in 1985. My western dream was getting on tracks and would become the game-changer it has been!