GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—The “SHUT” sign on the door to The Junque Man used to mean this: Come back in the morning and feel free to browse through the 1950s high school yearbooks, the half-used tubes of toothpaste and the pile of old telephones that may or may not work if you plug them in.
Now, though, “SHUT” is a permanent state at the store at 175 S. Third St. in downtown Grand Junction.
Bill Hill, who owned and operated The Junque Man for 23 years, has closed up shop, figuring at the age of 91 he’s earned the right to settle down.
The man who made a hobby out of taking in the things people didn’t want anymore—imagine if your grandfather didn’t throw anything away for 30 years, and you get a picture of The Junque Man—said he was losing money every morning he opened the door.
“I don’t know how to say it. I guess it became a job for him,” said Hill’s son, Bruce, who runs Superior Alarm next door. “You want to be able to enjoy what you do.”
Today, the shelves on the other side of the window are still chock-full of candelabras, wrenches, books, crutches and all manner of knick-knacks. Bill Hill said he isn’t sure what he’ll do with all of it.
“I was hoping to sell it, but it seems there’s nobody interested in it,” he said.
Now that he’s retired, Hill said he reads more than he used to and spends a lot of time hanging around the house. But he still thinks about being The Junque Man.
“I miss it,” he said. “I enjoy meeting people.
