09/28/2020
A LONGER THAN ASKED REPLY TO ANDREW-
Hi Andrew, I am Kasum, owner of the “American West” in Cape May...
I just read your kind message and I want to thank you.
As you might have sensed, American West was not a typical business. It sure wasn’t for me. It was a whole world for me that let me live and share my life, through the spirits that came to life by the association of the numerous objects that I acquired from over 300 vendors during more than twenty years.
It was never meant to be a strictly money making venture, even though I wouldn’t mind making money if I could, like everyone else.
Lots of people came through its doors.
For some, seemingly unrelated items that they happened to come upon, didn’t make any sense, they politely said, “it was too eclectic for them”, some others got a headache from the sensation of all the color, music and aroma that seeped through and run out fast...
But fortunately, for many others it was a destination to stop, it meant so much for some that, they went as far as telling that, they got chill bums upon every time they entered. Some never could buy something; yet they couldn’t help coming and spending fifteen, twenty minutes of their time.
I started my business in 1993 as a Native American store, I at that time only carried American Indian made goods and my love and sense of justice was appreciated so much by my guests-well they were actually my customers but I felt them as my home guests- that they used to tell me that, they felt I was an Indian in a previous life. I wholeheartedly agreed with them on that.
Over the years, my feeling of love and the sense of justice and peace, overflowed to include the whole country and the world. From then on my motto was “Not just the American West, but; the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and all the rest that followed “...
Then I started to cary anything that moved me. Please don’t think that I put for instance, men’s crew socks and salt water taffy and Beanie Babies side by side to increased the revenue.
As you Andrew, might have sensed, I put everything that I wanted and couldn’t have as a child, or as a young adult. I also put what make us humans laugh and love and do some good to each other.
I loved to find a suitable space to display so many things into such a little space and help my guests to buy them, I also enjoyed selling ladies different clothes even though I had no prior experience on that...
Over the years I witnessed as some of my guests pass away, some others become young ladies and gentlemen, some others aged along with me, I worked almost everyday long hours in that store. So many times I worried about paying my rent and my bills. But I never felt really unhappy or tired. It was mainly because the feeling of being appreciated by guests such as yourself was what I needed to keep going...
Saying that, it would be really ungrateful of me to neglect the fact that Fortunately I had some of the greatest assistances to help and manage with me alongside my wife and my landlord who was very understanding.
Andrew, I don’t know how old were you in 2015, but I was 65 years old, my mom was 89 and my dad was 99 years of age and they lived in my country of birth in Turkey.
I at that time decided to go and live with them in case they needed me, since my younger brother who lived there, had a handful with a little baby and a very needy wife.
I closed the American West and, took a last cross country road trip with my wife and an old high school mate to say goodbye to some old friends from my youth and flew over to Turkey.
Andrew, that’s the story of American West of Cape May. Thank you for getting me to write about it. From your pictures I can see that you are quite an outdoors man. If my store might have also been an influencing moment on that I would consider myself real happy ...
