La Verne Magazine
Summer 2000

Business Offers Generations of Antiques

photography by Matt Wright

In the mornings from Tuesday through Saturday, Betty Klousek arrives at 9:30 to Generations Antiques for business. The store is located on the west side of "D" street between Bonita Avenue and Third Street, in a building constructed by Klousek's father-in-law in 1936.

Both young and old come in throughout the day to browse, buy or try on many items in Generations Antique shop. La Verne residents, Tuesday Rose Thornton, 6, and her mother Jacklyn, frequently stop by Generations to do mother daughter shopping. Generations is a favorite for the two because, "We really like Betty. She is really nice to my daughter, and her store is always so peaceful and sweet. She has fair prices and sells unusual things," said Jacklyn Thornton.

In her free time, Betty Klousek dusts, cleans and arranges the way her antique displays look. When holidays approach, Klousek tries to arrange the store's design to correspond with the theme of the holiday. Klousek and her daughter Rebecca, who co-owns Generations, share duties that include polishing silver, restoring old furniture and replacing missing beads and gems. "The things are made so much better than anything we have nowadays. And everything was made by hand with care. Things made of natural wood, it's not glued together sawdust," Klousek says.