{"id":32579,"date":"2023-08-01T22:59:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T04:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-lone-heron-antique-store-in-dolores-has-something-for-everyone-to-enjoy\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:00:15","slug":"the-lone-heron-antique-store-in-dolores-has-something-for-everyone-to-enjoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-lone-heron-antique-store-in-dolores-has-something-for-everyone-to-enjoy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lone Heron Antique store in Dolores has something for everyone to enjoy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The Lone Heron Antique Store is at 350 Railroad Ave. in Dolores. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Lone Heron Antique store in Dolores is a hidden treasure, filled with unique antique items, metal sculptures, and a one-of-a-kind collection of comic books and action figures.<\/p>\n

Debbie Higman owns the Lone Heron. Her son, Brad Bonger, helps run the store, and maintains his own \u201cCollector\u2019s Corner\u201d in the store. The store features antique and collectible items, as well as estate services at fair prices, even if those prices mean the store loses profit on some items.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t care about getting the best deal for ourselves. We care about giving the best deal,\u201d Bonger told a Journal<\/em> reporter.<\/p>\n

The store offers great finds for anyone looking for something might not exist anywhere else. The store features several vendors\u2019 items, including a beautiful collection of metal sculptures by local artist Paul Yniguez. A whole room is dedicated to these sculptures.<\/p>\n

\"Debbie
Debbie Higman poses next to a metal sculpture of a horse head in the Lone Heron. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve actually had a stellar season,\u201d Higman stated. The store is low on inventory, so she is planning a buying trip to help restock items in the store next week.<\/p>\n

Higman moved her business to its current location in January 2021 after the building she was in, the Traditional Charm, was bought by another business in December 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in this business for 30 years,\u201d Higman said. Part of that time was spent abroad, making it a little more difficult to keep up with.<\/p>\n

The business was fortunate when the pandemic hit in 2020. The store was still so small, so sales weren\u2019t impacted greatly. Higman reported having continual customers coming in for what she called \u201cretail therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of an outlet for people,\u201d she said. The store\u2019s inventory grew during this time as well, which was helpful. \u201cThe pandemic really did not affect us that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

One-of-a-kind comic collection<\/div>\n

Bonger\u2019s collection of comic books and action figures is a sight to behold, especially for a rural area like Dolores. Featuring about 2,000 comic books, countless figurines and other vintage collectibles, there is something for every comic book fan.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Bonger moved around a lot, but he shared that Saturday morning cartoons kept him going. He started collecting action figures and enjoyed comic books until he turned 17, when he believed he had grown out of them. After that, his collection went to his younger brothers. Years later, while working in a prison, he took a part-time job at a friend\u2019s comic book shop, which led to a renewed love for collecting.<\/p>\n

\"Brad
Brad Bonger shows off two of his favorite comic books, which are both autographed. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Last year, Bonger was laid off from his job, leaving him unemployed for the first time in his life. His mother, Higman, needed some help around the store, so he jumped on the opportunity. His collection started in a small corner of the store, leading to the name \u201cCollector\u2019s Corner.\u201d Since then, his collection has expanded into a small room, where items are neatly displayed on shelves and all over the walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody has it here. I\u2019m the only one in Southwestern Colorado that has it,\u201d Bonger said, referring to his collection. \u201cI know it\u2019s not much, but it\u2019s more than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonger expressed how important comics and cartoons can be for him. He said that putting on old cartoons at the end of a long, hard day puts him in a brighter mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love doing it, it\u2019s a lot of fun for me, and I like to pass on this kind of stuff because there\u2019s so many things out there that bother people,\u201d he said. He believes that his collection can bring a little joy to people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Lone Heron sells items like these collectibles. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Debbie
Debbie Higman\u2019s passion is silver and turquoise, displayed in a few cases around her store. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Brad
Brad Bonger\u2019s \u201cCollector Corner,\u201d filled with comic books and other collectible items. (Shylee Graf\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

and her son Brad Bonger run the store and enjoy what they do<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-32579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81848,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32579\/revisions\/81848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32579"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=32579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}