Island Gallery and
Christmas ShopBY
SANDY SEMANS
SENTINEL STAFF
When Edward Greene and Richard Lacerre
announced in June 2005 that they were
closing the famous Island Gallery and
Christmas Shop in Manteo, customers from
near and far cried "say it ain't so, Joe!"
Visiting the shop had become an annual
ritual of many families made up of multiple
generations who had visited the store during
its almost four decades of "spreading the
sparkle." Christmas decorations, gift
items, art and very rare and unusual antique
pieces used for displays made visiting the
store an adventure akin to going into a
museum of oohhhs and aaahhhs. In 2006,
several months after the store had closed,
the antiques were inventoried and catalogued
in preparation of what was perhaps the
largest auction ever held in Dare County.
But there was still much left to be done to
completely clear the premises and prepare
the property for a new owner. Recently, the
office equipment and communications lines
were moved from the property to a
newly-built office at Greene's and Lacerre's
home in Manteo. And,
now, they will have to move it back again -
they are going to put the sparkle back in
Manteo.
"In the 1970s, we advertised ourselves as
the store of stores," said Greene. "And this
year, we will be a store of stores -- small
boutiques, studios, galleries, craft shops
-- all manned by new and budding
entrepreneurs."
Greene said that the decision to reopen
the business has been prompted both by
wanting to and by practicality. "I
will be 83 in May and had plans to be on the
beach in Hawaii," said Greene. "But given
the current real estate market, it seems
that this isn't a good time to be selling
the property."
It's time for the building to once again
begin producing income to cover the ongoing
expenses of the property, said Greene.
To some, this might be a bitter sweet story
but given Greene's track record with the
Fates, there's sure to be sparkle on the
horizon and unique surprises both for him
and Lacerre, as well as the admiring public.
During WWII, Greene served as a
pharmacist mate in the US Navy, a job that
inspired him to go on to medical school
after the war. But Fate moved in when he
signed up for an elective course in modern
dance. With the help of a counselor,
he found a dance school that accepted the GI
Bill for his tuition.
A few years later, while studying in New
York City, he was approached about coming to
Roanoke Island to be in a play -- The Lost
Colony. After that first introduction
to Dare County, although he continued
performing on the Broadway stage as well as
traveling productions, Greene knew he wanted
to settle in Manteo. It took a dozen years,
but at last he returned to buy a
1200-square-foot cinder block house and the
Christmas Shop was born. With him was
Lacerre who worked alongside Greene for
almost the next four decades. Today,
the building which has been added on to
often, encompasses approximately 30,000
square feet.
In a story about the closing of the store
in 2005, the Sentinel reported that "because
his hasn't been a path of predictability, no
one can say what his future holds, but one
thing is for certain, whatever it is, it
will have its own magical sparkle."
How true, how true...and we can't wait!
sandy@obsentinel.com | 252-480-2234
