Spotlight on ... an idea

By Jane Hill

This month we shine our Merc spotlight on … The Merc itself! We’re celebrating our roots and inviting you to join the party.   

The beloved Mercantile in Twisp, where you could buy anything from axle grease to zippers, was going out of business. Carolanne and Egon Steinebach paused in front of the store window. “Everything is 70% off,” Carolanne commented. “Surely we can find something we need at that bargain price.”

Into the Merc they went, separating, wandering, each searching for the perfect sale item. Stopping at one display, Carolanne commented to herself, “Here, I’ve found something I can use.”

“What’d you find?” she heard Egon ask.

“Some lanyards to hang my reading glasses around my neck. Where ARE you?” she demanded, realizing that Egon was totally out of sight in another part of the Merc.

Finding their way back together, the two stopped to contemplate the store’s acoustics that allowed them to hear each other at a normal speaking volume clear across the store. Then they looked up. Ahhhh! Fifteen foot ceilings! Of course. An idea blossomed.

With the eyes of a person long involved in the technical aspects of live theater, Egon looked around the old store, considering floor space, possible layout, advantages of certain stage and seating arrangements, all the while noting the general charm of the place. “This space would make an interesting small theater,” was Egon’s assessment.

Inquiries confirmed that the building was already leased. “So, end of story,” Egon noted. “If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

For the next four years, The Merc served as a market space for antiques and collectibles. When the building became available again in 1998, the Steinebachs were living in the valley. The dream of turning the Mercantile store into “The Merc Playhouse” was more than tempting. Discussions led to deals led to signatures, and the building was theirs. Carolanne went to work drawing up papers to obtain a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status for the fledgling organization, and she and Egon began the physical work of transforming the department store into a theater, culminating in the welcoming valley space we enjoy today, our beloved Merc Playhouse.

---

Cheers to 25 years!