73-летняя Сара Палмер управляет магазином комиссионных товаров в штате Теннесси более 30 лет

BOONE — Sara Palmer lives by trusting her gut, saying the only times she’s messed up are when she ignored it, which has paid off after owning her store for over 30 years. Sara Palmer never planned to own a store; she was just a regular customer at the Kids Korner when the owner said she was selling it. Palmer saw an opportunity to do something fun for herself, and it has lasted over 30 years as the Corner Consignment, located at 1434 Highway 105. “The most creative, interesting people shop secondhand, and I’ve had some wonderful conversations with them here,” Palmer said. “Incredible things have happened here.” Palmer grew up in East Tennessee, where she remembers hiking for herbs for her great-grandmother, who was a grand healer. Throughout her childhood, Palmer’s father survived a serious brain illness that was misdiagnosed as an inoperable brain tumor and prescribed cobalt. After asking a golf buddy who was a neurosurgeon to explore his brain, they found a small mass in his brain and were able to remove 97% of the benign tumor. She started as a social worker, working with welfare recipients and connecting clients with railroad work before becoming a registered nurse to help injured coal miners throughout Appalachia. While she enjoyed helping people, she wanted time to raise her two sons. “After my second son was born, I decided not to go back to travel nursing because of the overnight drives, and I was in prayer about what to do,” Palmer said. While shopping at the then-Kids Korner on a Tuesday with her 2-year-old and 7-month-old sons, Palmer was told by the owner that she would be selling the shop. “A light bulb went off, so I went home and talked with my husband, and he thought it was a great idea,” Palmer said. “I’m a risk taker, and it felt good in my gut, so I bought it on Thursday, two days later.” She stocks the shop with clothes, shoes, household items, and jewelry from various barter arrangements, a handful of consignment items from years ago, and whatever Palmer picks up from her travels. She doesn’t accept donations, as she said she always finds and has enough for the store. “The funniest things happen: I bought a Russian art book because I thought it had beautiful illustrations but didn’t think it would ever sell. Months later, a woman came in and told me she had been looking for that book for years,” Palmer said. She’s 73 now, working four days a week, only in the afternoons, but the people keep her coming back. “I’m in profit for myself, but the people I’ve met, the conversations I’ve had and all the memories have fed my soul,” Palmer said.