Louise is closing shop but not retiring
As Louise Petersen prepares to close her Apple Crate Gifts & Collectibles after 15 successful years in Cotati, she looks back on a lifetime of activity.
Jeff Kan Lee / Press Democrat
“I was the child of Depression-era parents who were very thrifty,” she says. “I’ve always been working, thinking of ways to make money. I was a coupon-clipper, a survivor.”
Speaking at her home overlooking Rancho Roblar de la Miseria, she looks east to Sonoma Mountain across the vineyards that replaced the less profitable apple trees, reviewing the past and considering her next steps.
“I’ve been in business in Cotati for 23 years,” she adds, “but I’ve really been in business since my first lemonade stand.”
Before The Apple Crate, Petersen operated Café Louise, and before that it was Bud’s Ice Cream and Louise’s Pies, all at the Grapevine Center on Old Redwood Highway.
And before that she raised five children, supplied local restaurants with pies made from the apples in her family orchard and sold crochet work.
In the ’70s, she even developed a line of “three-legged” pantyhose as a joke gift that gained a national following. She moved on to other enterprises for the sake of embarrassed family members, though the idea lives on seriously as Mantyhose.
“Having a business is a 24/7 responsibility,” says Petersen, 65. “I like to take charge. I’m a Type A personality but very positive-minded.”
Petersen’s story begins in Cincinnati and continues in Palo Alto. She recalls moving to Petaluma in 1958, the town’s 100th anniversary.
“Everyone was growing a beard” to take part in the costumed celebrations, she says.
Outgoing and socially active, she graduated from Petaluma Junior and High schools.
In fall 1964, she enrolled in business studies at San Francisco State.
“I only stayed one semester,” she said. “My husband Gary and I started dating when I was 16, and being a dairyman’s wife was what I wanted in the ’60s.”
As newlyweds and young parents, they lived in a trailer on the Petersen family farm with four children born in five years. In the 1970s, they built a house overlooking the dairy and had their youngest son.
“I was no women’s libber, haven’t burned a bra and don’t swear or use harsh language,” Petersen says with a laugh.
Neither was she content to stay down on the farm, taking leadership positions in 4-H, PTA and Beta Sigma Phi, a Petaluma social sorority. The kids grew up but stayed close. Three live in sight of the house they grew up in. The other two are in Cotati and Penngrove.
So, in 1988, Petersen bought tiny Bud’s Ice Cream, adding baked goods to the menu and Louise’s Pies to the name.
When the business grew into Café Louise in its own building, Petersen found that she enjoyed decorating with country-style gift items along the ceiling shelf and around the café. This led her to open The Apple Crate across the parking lot and sell the restaurant to family members.
In 1999, she transformed the late Dr. John Roberts’ 14-room medical offices at La Plaza and West Cotati into four gift showrooms and became one of Cotati’s major retailers.
Petersen enjoyed buying and selling home, garden and seasonal décor, baby gifts, children’s toys, jewelry, books and religious items. Sometimes she bought so much she had to rent more space elsewhere in town.
Three years ago, though, she knew that the economy dictated cutting back on expenses and, sadly, staff. She suffered an accident. Even as the store celebrated its 15th anniversary in October, Petersen knew that her days in retail were numbered.
“I love listening to people’s stories,” she says. “That’s what the store has been all about, really. I love to talk. I love to listen. Everybody has a story. Some are sad and some are miraculous.”
Petersen is no stranger to miracles. In 1990, she made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina. The site is widely recognized as a holy place where Jesus’ Blessed Mother Mary may be seen. Petersen testifies to her own mystical experience there.
“My life was changed on my very first visit,” she says. “I’ve been back 13 times since 1998.”
What now? After a few month’s rest, Petersen will look at a may-do list that includes finally getting a college degree, spending time with grandchildren, traveling, writing her memoirs and founding a spiritual retreat overlooking the vineyards.
Has Louise Petersen retired? She wouldn’t know how.
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