Forty years ago, Carey Bogg discovered his enthusiasm for Civil War-era artifacts.
As he collected items, especially everyday things used by the common soldier, he would study their history.
"I'm not a history buff by any means, but I do enjoy reading about one of our toughest times in this country," Bogg said.
One set of pieces he is particularly fond of belonged to Union Col. Haldimand Putnam, who died at Fort Wagner, S.C., alongside Col. Robert Shaw, the main character of the movie "Glory." In addition to the sword came a photo of the man and some items of his childhood.
"I used to be a Yankee," Bogg said. "Then, about five years ago, we found out we could be in the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).
"There's certainly two sides to war; that's what's been good for me."
Bogg hosts the local SCV organization's monthly meetings at his business - Frenchie's Antique Mall and Cafe, where he has Harper's Weekly prints and portraits of officers on display, as well as a replica cannon he built himself.
"I always had a love for antique collecting," Bogg said.
That stems back to his Boys Scouts days, when he earned the coin-collecting badge.
Working in his father's hobby and retail shop at 811 Jefferson St. as a pre-teenager, Bogg said he would swap out new coins for old ones paid by customers.
When his brother Albert Lee drew him into the Civil War antiques, the coin collecting slowly faded into the background.
"As a collector, sometimes your interests change," he said.
The swords and weapons are fascinating and make for an impressive display. But Bogg is proud of the smaller, less eye-catching pieces like leather-bound glass flasks, dominoes and cards, or stationery.
"These are personal items they would buy from sutlers," he said.
At the discount store his father started in 1959, Bogg provides similar everyday items customers might need.
His father, Albert Edward Bogg, was given the nickname "Frenchie" soon after arriving in Mid-Missouri from England at age 9. Bogg's grandfather was a civil engineer who had come to the United States after World War I and became the Missouri state bridge inspector.
Among Bogg's personal antique collection are photos of his father's bowling team in Jefferson City and his immigration records through Ellis Island. Albert Edward Bogg bowled the first 300 score recorded in Jefferson City.
Bogg learned not only business skills and responsibility but also risk-taking from his father, who at age 21 quit his jobs as a taxi driver and grocery clerk to open a restaurant in the middle of the Depression. And Bogg's father expanded the original Frenchie's Cafe to include a tap roomafter prohibition was repealed in 1933.
Another piece of Bogg's antique collection are labels from his father's own Kentucky bourbon brand.
"It's neat people still remember that," Bogg said of strangers who will talk about working for or eating at his father's place.
By the late 1940s, Bogg's father sold the restaurant and opened a hobby and machine shop, where Bogg began working at age 10.
It was one of the fondest times of Bogg's life.
"811 Jefferson St. meant a lot to me," he said. "I loved the machine shop and learned all kinds of things."
The 1950s were a time of do-it-yourself attitudes, and many people came in for tools and machines.
But before Bogg had graduated high school, his father struck out after another opportunity - the discount store.
"I was heartbroken," he recalled. "I grew up in that shop and loved working there."
His father had bought a corn field about 8 miles from downtown Jefferson City on what was U.S. 50 at the time, when the western city limits were about where Kmart is today.
"We thought we were in the boonies," Bogg said.
In hindsight, Bogg said he appreciated that his dad could see an opportunity and go after it.
Another piece in his personal collection is a rounded-wood display cabinet, one of the first in his father's store, but acquired used from the former Millsap's store downtown.
"My dad influenced me more than anybody else," Bogg said.
When it was time for college, however, Bogg returned to his building interests, earning a degree in mechanical construction from Lincoln University, where he also was involved with the early renovation plans of the second Lincoln University President's House, the Landmark Hugh Stephens House on Jackson Street.
Then, he was trained as a construction draftsman for the U.S. Army. However, he worked in company operations with the 864th Engineers in Vietnam 1967-1969.
Bogg keeps the engineer's emblem on his desk, in the business he has operated with his brother since 1972, when his father died. The antique store was added in 2000, and Bogg took over the new Frenchie's cafe in 2002.
Whether he's delivering food for bereavement or tinkering on restoration projects in his workshop, Bogg rarely sits still.