Sheets moved to Lebanon from Indiana at 18 and took a job at the Golden Lamb. She met her husband, Harold “Gus” Sheets, who worked down the street at the bank, as well as Elsie Burke, another woman who also wanted to open a clothing store for babies. The two each contributed $500 to start the Lebanon Baby Shoppe. Her mother-in-law, Myrtle, made the store bonnets.
Burke left the shoppe a few years later when her husband’s job transferred him out of town. Sheets stayed with her dream.
The store changed its name in the ’50s, when it expanded its line to include children’s clothes.
“Kids didn’t want to have their clothes come from a baby store,” Sheets explained. The fanciful name was suggested by a supplier, who believed it was French and sounded cute. Sheets later found out it was Italian and meant “beautiful boy.”
Lori Cook, Sheet’s daughter, worked at Fella Bella from the time she was 3 years old, when her mother put her in a dress and stuck her in the front window as a living display piece. She eventually purchased the store in 1992, but sold it in 2000 to devote more time to her family.
Current owner Meg Frommling said she had to close the store due to slumping sales. Frommling said she hopes to reopen when the economy picks up.
Sheets said she hopes the store will inspire people to enter the rough waters of small business.
“We didn’t have much, but we made it work,” Sheets said. “I hope it impresses somebody to give their dreams a try.”
Cook said her favorite memories of the store were the special promotions, including dress-up days and beauty competitions.
“As an individual business we had to be more creative and unique to fight the big stores,” Cook said.
Sheets said she loved being a part of families’ live.
“Most every purchase was a happy purchase and it was wonderful to be a part of that,” Cook said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
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