CAVE CITY, Ky. — Walking into Wild Wonderful Gifts is a bit like stepping back in time, to an era when road trips were slower, roadside gift shops were part of the adventure and travelers could discover a little local lore along the way.

That experience has been part of Cave City for more than six decades.

John Strother and his late wife, Pat, took over the shop in 1979 after John served in the Navy, carrying on a legacy Pat’s mother started in 1954.

The shop eventually moved from the once-busy Dixie Highway corridor after the construction of I-65 redirected much of the traffic away from the area. It found a new home in the sprawling building across from Watermill Restaurant, where it has remained for decades.

Now, that chapter is coming to an end.

“I hadn’t planned on getting rid of it,” Strother said. “But Tuck walked into the building there about two months ago.”

Michael “Tuck” Barrick, owner of Treasure Trove Park just up the street, approached Strother about buying the building and the inventory inside.

Barrick is an artifact treasure hunter and antiques dealer.

Strother said he suffered a stroke in late 2024, prompting him to begin thinking about stepping away from the business. His wife died years ago, and his children have since gone their own ways, leaving him to carry on the business largely on his own.

“So, I thought about it for a while, a day or so, and he came back down to the shop,” Strother said. “I said, ‘Make me an offer,’ and then we made a deal, and he’s there now.”

Inside, rows of shelves are stocked with vintage Mammoth Cave memorabilia, children’s toys, clothing, postcards, glassware and other souvenirs.

“I like Tuck’s attitude toward trying to promote the area,” Strother said.

Barrick does not plan to continue operating Wild Wonderful Gifts. He plans to use the building for another purpose after the inventory is cleared out.

For Strother, the shop represents a different era of Cave City tourism.

When he and Pat took over Wild Wonderful Gifts, travelers were making stops at attractions like Gun Town Mountain, Opryland in Nashville and, of course, Mammoth Cave.

“I mean, there was stuff to do,” Strother said. “We would be there in July until midnight some nights and have a full house of people.”

Another big draw for the business, Strother said, was cigarettes. He remembers selling some cartons for as little as $2.76, a far cry from the roughly $80 to $100 a carton many smokers pay today.

Remnants of that era can still be found around the shop, including vintage Kool Milds advertising signs and L&M Long Lights memorabilia.

For years, the Strothers also made the annual trip to a gift show in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where thousands of exhibitors showcased their products. They would bring many of those items back to Cave City to sell in the shop.

But the crowds that once filled the store have become less common.

Strother said he believes the decline began about 25 years ago, as several of the attractions and tourism patterns that had once brought visitors through Cave City began to change.

He points to the closing of Opryland in Nashville and what he remembers as Mammoth Cave National Park moving to a reservation system for cave tours as two changes that began to hurt business.

“Nashville went that way, the cave went on reservation. People could stop at the cave, do their tour, and then go on down the road,” Strother said. “That’s the way it’s been since, and it’s suddenly going downhill since.”

But even as business slowed, Strother kept showing up.

He spent most days sitting in the shop, waiting for customers to walk through the door, just as they had for years.

“It’s really slowed down,” Strother said.

Now, Barrick is working to clear out what remains.

The closing sale runs Friday through Monday at Wild Wonderful Gifts, located at 803 Mammoth Cave Road in Cave City. All items are discounted.

“We haven’t opened the sale yet, but we’ve had people dripping in here,” Barrick said.

Barrick said his team has been unpacking boxes of inventory and preparing for the sale. He has researched many of the items, finding what he considers rare pieces and items in mint condition. He said some are being sold for much less than similar items listed online.

“We are not looking to be in the gift shop business,” Barrick said, pointing to the online shopping habits of modern consumers. “We wanted to give all the locals, as well as the tourists coming in from around the world that comes to Mammoth Cave, an opportunity to get a piece of the past.”

Once the inventory is gone, Barrick and his business partners plan to invest in an attraction and museum for the area.

“We’re trying to make enough money to do good with by selling cheap,” he said.