treasure hunting – Catching Marbles

I have driven by this antique mall hundreds, if not thousands, of times as I travel to Keene for various errands but I never stopped in because the outside of the place looks confusing and uninviting. These days this doesn’t bother me, I’ll still poke around, buy in previous years I wasn’t so adventurous. This time around I decided it was time and drove into their dirt parking lot that promised antiques through various signs. I parked near a door I thought was the entrance but alas it wasn’t and I had to hop and skip around a number of icy puddles around the building to get into the correct door. I wasn’t expecting much but this place turned out to be huge and filled to the brim with all sorts of neat things.

There were a few probably haunted dolls, oodles of absolutely bizarre knick knacks, a delightful smattering of cast iron, a herd of Breyer horses (appaloosas to be exact,) two black Raggedy Anne dolls, a depressed Gothic Raggedy Anne doll, a series of old toasters that looked like they’d work better as inciniary devices, and some fun vintage hats and clothes including a lacy Victorian child’s nightie that looked fit to be buried in. You know, ghost clothes.

This store also did well what it didn’t have – no N@zi bullshit, not a single item I could find, no “Chinamen” type bricabracs, no weird Native American stuff clearly made by white people, and no mammies! Hell, I only found one racist doll that looked like a Yeti doing a minstrel. At least he had character.

Every time I go to a place like this I tell myself I need to educate myself on what’s actually valuable so I can start a career in picking. I sometimes flip through cases of old vinyl records hoping to find gold but this place oddly didn’t have many vinyls. And my phone had no internet or reception in the building so I couldn’t even look it up if I found something. I was however really drawn to this particular cast iron cauldron I found. It was $125 and I couldn’t really justify spending that much but boy it was weird and beautiful. After I got home I looked it up and found out it was an early piece from Fall River Massachussetts, produced at a mill that burned down in the 1920’s after nearly a century of production. There was a mint condition one selling on ebay for seven and a half grand. WHAT?! I didn’t even know cast iron could have that kind of value! I mean this one wasn’t in mint condition as it was clearly used and loved with chips along the rim but there’s a huge gap between $125 and $7,500+! So I went back the next day and bought it. And while I was looking through this place again I found a cast iron ladle in another booth and they looked so fetching together it came home with me too. I guess I’m probably an honorary witch now.

The cashier was sweet and asked if I had an old house to put my new purchase in. I smiled broadly and said, “Not yet!” But I do have a terrible fondness for houses from the 1700’s, especially shakerbox style, and if it still has a fireplace this cauldron would be a hell of a showpiece to put in it. She warned me such places are money pits, she knows because she owns one, and I laughed. I know, but it’s worth the ghosts that probably haunt them. I know these days my daydreaming might seem a bit childish when the world feels like it is collapsing around me, but it’s these moments that make life worth living and memories of these moments no one can take away.

Anyway… If you’re looking for a large place to pick through and maybe find your own treasures check it out! It’s not only large but there’s two other antique stores across the parking lot. Make a day of it and be happy.

After visiting the cemetery and general store we were all ready to check out the three antique stores, The Town Trader, The Old Post Office Antiques, and Old Stone Mill Antiques and Treasures, that exist right next to each other in the reportedly highly haunted little village of Chepachet RI. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day. The sky was bright and blue, the weather was fair, and everyone was in a good mood after coming out of a long winter.

I am used to going “antiquing” in Maine where I can find dirt cheap treasures in mounds of rusted junk piles. So far my visits to Rhode Island antique stores were far more refined and expensive so I figured Chepachet would be no exception but it really was. These antique stores all sold a variety of goodies for exceptionally reasonable prices. Everything from old cast iron pans, creepy probably possessed clown dolls, old paintings, furniture, and random little piles of vinyl records. And they were all located in very old buildings which were a delight to poke around. The Old Stone Mill antique store had the most to offer as far as ambiance with its exposed post and beams, wooden floors, and masonry. Clearly this was once the heart of this whole area and you could feel the history emanating from it.

On this particular day I didn’t end up coming home with anything although I had strongly considered a cast iron “pancake ball” pan as my travel companion called it. It was Swedish and I was unfamiliar with the particular word on the label but I’d like to hope it translates as pancake balls because that’s hilarious. He did end up going home with an old copy of a Julia Childs cookbook which we’d later flip through and see if ANY of the recipes were devoid of butter. Clearly we’re both easily entertained. And nostalgic of growing up on a steady diet of PBS.

And speaking of food – we were able to walk a little ways down the street and eat lunch at the Black Forest Café which was the best way to round out the afternoon. I had a turkey and gouda sandwich and my companion had a Rueben. We both behaved ourselves and didn’t get a slice of cheese cake or any of the other delicious looking goodies at the dessert counter.

Tag: treasure hunting

Fairground Antique Market – Swanzey New Hampshire

Antiquing in Chepachet Rhode Island