: - Milon Alton Barnes, 63, well-known antiques dealer and partner
in Hastings House Antiques, died on Saturday morning, August 2,
at Weiss Hospice Unit of Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Conn.
He died of complications of the liver resulting from hepatitis C.
Milon was born on the Fourth of July, 1940, in Kinston, N.C., and
grew up in eastern North Carolina where he attended elementary
and high school. He furthered his education at Asbury College in
Kentucky. From college he went to Boston and was employed by Blue
Cross/Blue Shield for a good number of years.
It was also in Boston where, 41 years ago this past June, he met
Philip Hastings McNemer. "About three years after we met we
decided to go into the antiques business, bringing together both
our interest in antiques and our desire to work on our own,"
Philip said. That business, originally in Boston for the first
few years, has flourished for the past 38 years and Hastings
House has been represented in major shows across the country, as
well as with a presence on Main Street in Essex. Customers always
knew when Hastings House was open for business as a large sign
depicting a carved pineapple was leaning against the front of the
shop. This symbol of hospitality and warm friendship truly
represented the character of the shop and its two owners.
Among the shows in which Hastings House has participated over the
years are The Winter Antiques Show in New York City, The
Philadelphia Antiques Show, The Ellis Memorial Show in Boston,
shows in both Houston and Dallas, The Southport-Westport Antiques
Show in Westport, Conn., Antiquarius in Greenwich, Conn., the
Grosse Pointe Show in Michigan, The High Museum Show in Atlanta
and many others.
In addition to the antiques business, Milon enjoyed many
interests. "We were walking down one of the streets in Boston one
day and passed a theater staging The Unsinkable Molly
Brown," Philip said. It was then Philip learned that Milon
had never seen a musical and tickets were immediately purchased.
The bug bit and Milon became a great fan of the theater, taking
in shows in New York and becoming a regular attendee and
supporter of the nearby Goodspeed Opera House. He was an avid
reader of antiques related and design magazines, and never threw
away an issue.
Milon's sharp eye kept the shop filled with an eclectic mix of
antique furniture and accessories, with emphasis on Japanese and
Chinese material. And the time was rare when Hastings House did
not have an Oriental screen to offer. Over the years many
wonderful things passed through their hands into both private and
public collections, and at one point their house looked like an
Indian reservation with 40 cigar store figures standing about.
Among the clients Hastings House has sold to over the years are
Vladamir Horowitz and Wanda Toscanini Horo-witz, Pittsburgh
Steeler running back Rocky Blier, Mr and Mrs Dan Dietrich, Edgar
Cullman, Houston Rockets basketball star Mike Newlin, Mick Jagger
and Jerry Hall, Mrs Henry C. Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman
and Joanne Woodward, Morley Safer, Mario Buatta, Andy Warhol, and
Sister Parish and Albert Hadley. Milon and Philip have also
placed objects in the collections of John Deere, Conoco Oil
Company, Fleet Bank and Donnelly Publishing, to name but a few.
Dudley Sharpe of Houston, the former secretary of the Air Force
under President Eisenhower, purchased some screens from Hastings
House that are now in the permanent collection of the Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston.
In addition to his companion Philip, Milon is survived by five
sisters, Frances Pridgen of Dudley, N.C.; Carolyn Moore of
Franklin Springs, Ga.; Nancy Williamson of Emerald Isle, N.C.;
LaNell Cobb, Goldsboro, N.C.; and Donna Morris, Raleigh, N.C.;
and one brother, Norman Barnes of Goldsboro, N.C.
A wake was conducted on Sunday at the Sage American Restaurant in
Chester, Conn., and burial will be private. Donations in Milon's
memory may be made to Weiss Hospice Unit, Middlesex Hospital,
Office of Philanthropy, 28 Crescent Street, Middletown, CT 06457
or Goodspeed Opera House, Box A, East Haddam, CT 06423.
Milon will be remembered for his warm smile, his attentiveness to
others and his love of beautiful things. His life was made joyous
by his many close friends.
