: Based on both past and present history, it would not be wise to
plan a picnic in northern New York State on the same weekend as
the popular Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show. There is better
than a 90 percent chance that there will be some sort of rainfall
to dampen any event.
Cherry Gallery, Pine Plains, N.Y.
Such was the case again this year as the show moved onto the
spacious grounds of Byron Park on Route 28, bordering the
picturesque Indian Lake. Set up was under a cloudy and threatening
sky on Thursday and Friday morning, and shortly after the 235
patrons at the preview party entered the grounds at 2 pm Friday,
the heavens broke loose. Tent flaps began roiling down, umbrellas
popped up, and rain gear for the dealers seemed to appear like
magic from under canoes and out of the drawers of rustic furniture.
The rain slowed down many of the visitors, but others scampered
from tent to tent, eventually taking shelter in one of the two
large tents or in the park pavilion. And for those who sought
food rather than antiques, the caterers were under cover slicing
up a steamship roast and turkey breast in the midst of a
selection of fruits, cheese and "fattening" deserts.
Ralph Kyllo Antiques, Lake George, N.Y.
The show, now in its fourteenth year, is sponsored by the
Town of Indian Lake and it truly is a town-wide function. Students
at the high school are given time off to work as porters, moving
the dealers in and out as well as delivering sold items to the
pickup gate, town ladies help with the refreshment stand and ticket
sales, and maintenance men are about to take care of any mechanical
or plumbing failures. One lady in town who is too busy to help out
is the bartender at the local "drinkery" in the center of town. For
when not behind the bar mixing drinks, or pulling the beer tap, she
runs next door, unlocks the package store, helps the customer,
locks it back up and returns behind the bar to take care of the
thirsty.
Jerry Oliver, who with his partner Michael Gannon manages the
show, said, "Our gate was up this year and not a single dealer
came to me after the show and said it was a bomb." Attendance was
just under 3,000 and there was a good flow of sold objects
leaving the park. Adirondack furniture, representing several age
brackets, proved popular, and the largest moose head in the booth
of Jon Magoun left Indian Lake heading for Greenwich, Conn. Trade
signs, ranging from the Pines Café to blacksmith shop and from
vegetables to cabins for rent, were sold, and some of the
collectors spent hours sorting through the many cases of fishing
lures spread open for inspection. Hunting and fishing badges were
plentiful, some displayed by year from 1900, and among the
outboard motors were a few that looked as if they had just been
taken from the back of a boat, while others were "spit and
polished" and ready for inspection. Canoe paddles, oars, framed
fish pictures and hunting scenes, shotgun shells in the original
boxes, and many stuffed fish caught the interest of those
outfitting a lodge and those hoping to start one.
Ross Bros., Florence, Mass.
"It's easy to be bitten by Adirondack material," one shopper said
as he paid for an early fishing reel in the original box. And the
60 dealers in the show were more than willing to help.
