‘It’s time’: The Farmer’s Wife closes its doors, leaving behind strong legacy

For the past 21 years, Bonnie Terpstra took pride in making sure she utilized every square inch of space in The Farmer’s Wife to display her home decor merchandise, and after announcing last month that the downtown business would be closing its doors, large gaps have started to appear on the walls.

But none will be as large or as impactful as the gap left behind by one of Newton’s most popular and most resilient small businesses.

In a series of Facebook posts, Terpstra explained she has no specific end date; it all depends on when her inventory is depleted. It is a bittersweet decision, she said, but she had her reasons. At 59 years old, the demanding work of filling the store literally from top to bottom has finally caught up to her.

Between the stairs and the ladders and the lifting of boxes, her knees are all but spent. She needs knee replacement surgery soon, and with that comes a long recovery. The store has withstood the closing of Maytag and the pandemic, but running a retail shop while also healing from major surgery is just not possible.

Another reason Terpstra wants to close up shop is to have more time with family. In less than two years she lost both of her parents and her mother-in-law. She realized through the pain of loss that life is short. With almost 11 grandchildren in her family, Terpstra is tired of the business taking away time from them.

“I want to be that grandma that is always there for them, and I just can’t with the responsibilities that come with this,” Terpstra told Newton News last week inside her shop, which has remained in its current location at the northwest corner of the town square for two decades. “It’s time. It’s time for me.”

Hundreds of people have reacted to the Dec. 17, 2023 goodbye post from The Farmer’s Wife. Customers coming in for one last shop tell her how much the store meant to them. They understand. Terpstra is purposefully understaffed in the interim, so it is only her, her daughter and a few part-timers working the store.

“I’m at peace with the decision,” she said. “I’m ready.”

When one door closes, another door opens, Terpstra said. For the past year or so, her family has been renovating a barn into a wedding venue they call Country View Barn. The barn has been on their farm long before they moved in 41 years ago and it is full of history; it still has the name tags of the cows stored there.

Across the way from the 75-year-old barn is a shed that will one day be filled with a number of home decor items. Sound familiar? Terpstra can’t completely get away from her design and retail work. The smaller scale shop has its benefits, like setting her own hours or deciding to be open only once or twice a month.

The Farmer’s Wife was an outlet for Terpstra’s creativity when all of her kids were out of school, and the shop flourished in large part because of her natural abilities and her dedication to the community. Of course she admitted it also survived through sheer stubbornness and willpower.

“I’m not a quitter,” she said. “My parents raised me to not being a quitter. Things have been tough and stressful. I had many nights where I didn’t sleep wondering how I’m going to pay for everything. But, yeah, it’s only through my determination and my husband understanding businesses don’t always bring back a cashflow.”

To her core, Terpstra is a designer with a strong penchant for decorating, a skill that only improved over time with her countless hours spent at The Farmer’s Wife creating displays for her merchandise. Customers loved her sense of style and how she placed items in her store to match what it would look like at home.

“This is what I love and this is who I am,” Terpstra said. “This is me.”

The people coming through the doors each day is what made owning a small business enjoyable for Terpstra. When she announced the shop would be closing she was touched to find so many people in the comments posting heartfelt responses. They’ll miss the shop, but they’re going to miss her most of all.

“That’s hard, but I’ll still see people around,” she said. “It’s just going to be different. I love to help people. I’ve been able to console people in these walls when people are looking for a memorial gift because of a loss of family member. I’ve been able to listen if people need to talk. I’ve been here for them.”

Terpstra has been told by many customers that The Farmer’s Wife was their “happy place” or “a piece of heaven.” It was a comforting environment made all the better by her presence for more than 20 years, which no doubt contributed to the shop’s reputation for good products and equally good company.

“I’m just happy I’m a piece of Newton’s history now,” she said. “Being on Newton Main Street I know how much history means, and being in this location for so long I know I’m a piece of the history. This building is going to be The Farmer’s Wife, in which that’s me.”

Despite many people understanding her reasons for closing up shop and having personally come to terms with her decision, Terpstra is sad for doing it and she’s worried how it will affect downtown.

“Everybody says Newton is going to be hit hard losing The Farmer’s Wife. They called me the anchor of the downtown,” she said. “But it is also potential for something else to be that in the future. People are allowed to retire all the time, and I’m retiring. Nothing lasts forever.”