08/22/2026
🌿 VENDOR HIGHLIGHT — CORA GIDDENS | CORA’S CORNER 🌿
Some booths are filled with beautiful things…and some are filled with memories, meaning, and a story. Cora’s Corner is certainly one of those. ❤️
Cora Giddens was born in San Antonio and grew up an Air Force brat, spending much of her childhood between two sets of grandparents. One grandmother was a schoolteacher—at Cora’s own school!—while her other grandparents owned a motor motel, where she spent many weekends. Both homes gave her treasured memories that she still carries with her today.
Cora moved to Irving while in junior high and went on to build a remarkable career of caring for and teaching others. Before retiring in 2022, she worked at UT Southwestern Medical Center, teaching physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses how to care for HIV patients. ❤️
After experiencing numerous deaths in their family within just a few months, Cora and her husband, Brian, purchased a lake house on Lake Ioni. Shortly after her retirement, they made the move and began a new chapter of their lives.
But Cora’s love for vintage treasures has an especially meaningful story behind it.
Cora was very close to her sister, and the two spent many Saturdays together going to vintage markets and sales. They dreamed of someday having a booth together. Although they never had the opportunity to see that dream through together, Cora is now living it in honor of the dream they shared. ❤️
And she truly loves the hunt! Cora enjoys estate sales, cool thrift stores, and searching for those unique and unusual treasures you don’t see everywhere else. She especially gravitates toward pieces from the 1920s through the 1940s, with the 1940s holding a special place in her heart because it reminds her so much of her childhood and her grandmother.
She loves everything about that era—the history, the style, and what it represents to her: a simpler time when family and patriotism were deeply valued. 🇺🇸
Cora is proud of her Christian faith and her love for this country. She loves God, America, helping others, animals, and, of course, her husband Brian. ❤️🐾🇺🇸 And although they don’t have grandchildren, Cora still gets to enjoy being around young people as a substitute teacher for Slocum ISD.
Cora waited three years for the opportunity to have a booth at Old Town Vintage & More, and we are certainly glad she did! She says what she enjoys most about being here is that it feels less like a business and more like a family—with fellowship and shared faith-based beliefs.
That means a whole lot to us. ❤️
We are blessed to have Cora as part of our OTV family and appreciate the history, heart, memories, and uniqueness she brings to Cora’s Corner. The next time you’re in, slow down and take a closer look at her booth. You never know what unusual treasure she has found—or what memory it might stir in you. 🥰
📍 Old Town Vintage & More
306 N. Sycamore Street
Downtown Palestine, Texas
🕙 Tuesday–Saturday | 10 AM–5 PM
✨ Something Old • Something New • Something Uniquely You ✨
