Ron Knappen, 87, founded Phoneco in Galesville with his wife, Mary, in 1971, but sales of vintage phones have slowed and Knappen is unsure what to do with his vast inventory. Knappen has barns, sheds, trailers and a museum that hold tens of thousands of phones.
An array of candlestick-style telephones are displayed in the museum at Phoneco in downtown Galesville. However, Ron Knappen is selling the building, which also has thousands of phones and needs to be cleared out by July. He's unsure if he will make his deadline.
Mary Knappen unloads vintage telephones from the trunk of her car into one of 33 semi-trailers on the former farm that is now home to Phoneco in rural Trempeleau County. Each trailer holds different kinds of telephones and parts.
Phoneco owners Ron and Mary Knappen's dining room table serves as a work station as they try to determine what to do with their vast inventory of vintage phones. At its peak, their company had revenues of a $1 million a year and sold phones to customers from around the world.
Ron Knappen, 87, founded Phoneco in Galesville with his wife, Mary, in 1971, but sales of vintage phones have slowed and Knappen is unsure what to do with his vast inventory. Knappen has barns, sheds, trailers and a museum that hold tens of thousands of phones.
An array of candlestick-style telephones are displayed in the museum at Phoneco in downtown Galesville. However, Ron Knappen is selling the building, which also has thousands of phones and needs to be cleared out by July. He's unsure if he will make his deadline.
Phoneco owners Ron and Mary Knappen's dining room table serves as a work station as they try to determine what to do with their vast inventory of vintage phones. At its peak, their company had revenues of a $1 million a year and sold phones to customers from around the world.
Mary Knappen unloads vintage telephones from the trunk of her car into one of 33 semi-trailers on the former farm that is now home to Phoneco in rural Trempeleau County. Each trailer holds different kinds of telephones and parts.
