By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
When 55-year-old Per Hanson’s mother, Jane Hanson, passed away in October at age 87, he inherited the reigns of Two Lights Antiques, a small white building on the side of Two Lights Road on the way to Two Lights State Park.
The shop is packed with postcards, lamps, jewelry, blankets, birds’ nests and cupboards full of wooden carvings. Even an old, yellowed edition of the Sentry can be found amongst the treasures.
“We always figured we’d keep it going,” Per Hanson said of the business. “That’s what she would want, and I love it out here.”
Although small in size, the shop has deep roots with the surrounding community as one of the oldest businesses in that section of town. Per Hanson said before his mother began peddling antiques out of the building, it was known as the “Gull Shop.” It was not uncommon to spot the building’s original owner sitting on the front step carving wooden bird figurines, he said.
“I think we still have some of them around here somewhere,” Per Hanson said, and plucked one of the winged creatures from a shelf.
In addition to the wooden birds, the shop sold penny candy, and at one point the “Gull Shop” was occupied by an entire family, who were forced to rent out the main house on the property during the Great Depression, Per Hanson said.
“It was quite different back here then,” he said.
Per Hanson said both of his parents were involved in the antique business prior to moving to Cape Elizabeth, and it was only natural his mother converted the “Gull Shop” into Two Lights Antiques when they purchased the property in the 1970s.
For nearly the next 40 years, Jane Hanson devoted herself to the shop from June to October.
“It was really her baby,” Per Hanson said.
While Per Hanson helped maintain the building – he put on a new roof and repainted the outside – he said his mother was the real antique connoisseur.
“She had a really good memory,” he said. “You could ask her about anything in this room and she’d tell you the story behind it.”
Jane Hanson specialized in discovering old Shaker antiques. A large spinning wheel and other shaker tools still sit atop an old drafting table Per Hanson donated to the shop.
“A lot of Shaker stuff has been through here in the years,” he said. “Mom was kind of an authority on it.”
While his mother ran the shop in Cape Elizabeth, Per Hanson made his living as a musician on the road. An accomplished drummer, he said the most successful gig he has had so far was the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
“I thought ‘What a horrible title, what could that be about?’” he said. “Then they told us Mary Stuart Masterson was going to be in it, so we decided it must be good.”
Per Hanson played drums for the song “Rooster Blues,” chosen to be on the soundtrack to the 1991 movie. The success of the film helped Per Hanson – who still receives royalty checks – continue to perform and tour until he decided to return home to his mother in 1997 “just to help out.” Per said he is looking forward to getting back into his musical career after taking a break for almost 10 years.
“I felt good about it, but then realized as time went on I had jumped off the top of the mountain,” he said. “It’s a hard act to follow, we’ll have to see how it goes.”
Per Hanson said the antique industry has become “a tricky business” since his mother first opened the store more. Online purchasing, trade shows and popular flea markets have forced antique shop owners to stock specialty items for their customers.
“A lot of times people come in looking for a specific thing, and sometimes they’ll find something else,” Per Hanson said. “People aren’t buying antiques. Other things are more important now.”
 Although this time of year most of the shop’s customers are seeking directions to Two Lights, after the Fourth of July the small building is a big stop for tourists and locals alike.
“Sometimes you can get four cars in here at once and you feel like you’re just besieged,” he said. “Other times, there’s nothing going on and it’s nice to just be down here.”
Per Hanson and his dog Idgie – named after the character Idgie Threadgoode in “Fried Green Tomatoes” – may not be at the shop every day this summer, but he said he is looking forward to meeting returning customers who have grown accustomed to stopping in during the peak of summer.
“You get a huge cross section of people in here, people from all over the world,” he said. “And there are a lot of seasonal locals that come back every year.”
This year he plans on keeping the shop “pretty much the same way it has been,” although he is pondering plans to use his musical talents to create a coffee shop atmosphere inside the building. He said he has thoughts of also hosting some online auctions and installing a heating system to stay open longer.
“This is a summer business,” he said, peering at the backside of the bare walls. “Once it gets cold, you’re out.
Per Hanson said while it won’t be easy to run the shop single-handedly, the decision to keep Two Light Antiques open for business was an easy one to make.
“It’s not much of a building but it means a lot,” Per Hanson said. “It’s been a part of my life forever.”