Longtime teachers moving onto the next phase
Vickie Cackler now has a chance to pursue her dream at great length and she is taking her husband, Jim, with her.
The Cacklers have taught in the Tonganoxie school district for about 20 years each. Jim taught at the junior high and Vickie at the high school. But, they have decided it’s time to move on and enjoy their next phase in life.
That next phase means devoting more time to their business, Evening Extraordinaire, 12109 Shawnee Mission Parkway.
Vickie Cackler started the business six and a half years ago. It has grown more than she ever expected.
“It took a lot of dedication and a lot of hours all those years,” Vickie said. “Now we have the staff, an office manager and two or three full-time employees. I am very happy with our business.”
Vickie wants to dedicate more time to the business that she loves and has established.
When her business started, she just wanted to provide an avenue for girls participating in beauty pageants to get dresses in the Kansas City area.
“There was no place in Kansas City to buy gowns,” she said.
Vickie started it in the basement of a home in Olathe. After three years, the business moved to its current location in Shawnee.
In the beginning, the business focused on pageant dresses. Now, it provides dresses of all types, swimsuits, wedding gowns and tuxedos.
Their dresses can be seen on participants in the Miss USA pageant. One of the Cacklers’ swimsuits was even worn by a woman in Sports Illustrated.
As the news of their business spread by word of mouth, the company has sold dresses to customers in states that include Washington, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado and South Dakota.
“At the shop, we have a large span of prices and merchandise,” she said. “We try to meet the needs no matter what the budget is. Whether a customer is wanting to spend $300 or $4,000, they will receive the same service because customers are our focus.”
Her initial vision has become a dream come true as the Cacklers have worked together.
“I have had the dream all along,” Vickie Cackler said. “I get all these wonderful ideas and visions and he (Jim) is the cement that makes it happen.”
Vickie Cackler’s daughter, Danielle (Boatwright) Hayes, was the reason she became involved with pageants in the first place. Hayes was crowned both Miss Teen Kansas and Miss Kansas. Since then, she has done some modeling. Married to country music artist Wade Hayes, Danielle Hayes has even appeared in some of his videos.
The Cacklers will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary in May. They met at a summer writing course when they were already teaching in Tonganoxie.
They both had children when they met. Jim has two children and Vickie three. Their children are grown.
The Cacklers both said they will miss teaching.
Jim Cackler has taught for 31 years. He taught geography, English, American history and physical education while in Tonganoxie.
“I will miss teaching, but we’ll be so busy that I don’t think I will have that big empty feeling,” he said. “Being a role model for students is probably my biggest accomplishment teaching.”
Jim Cackler coaches seventh-grade basketball and football and seventh- and eighth-grade boys track.
Vickie Cackler has taught world history, American government, psychology and various English classes.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said. “We have spent a lot of time in the community and really appreciate the community. Tonganoxie has been a good place to raise kids.”
Within the next three years, the Cacklers plan to expand the business to a couple more locations. The couple said that one of the new locations possibly might be in Nashville.