Review and Photos by Andrea Valluzzo
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — Despite a misty start on the morning of May 22, buyers still flocked to the Elephant’s Trunk Country Flea Market as they have every Sunday during its season for the last 40 years. A decent turnout was noted for the early buying session and two long lines queued up outside the fence for the 7 am opening.
Sisters Joyce Legregoire and Carol Blantato, both of Southington, Conn., have long been loyal Trunk dealers; Joyce for 18 years and Carol for 12.
“For me, it’s something very special: these relationships and the continuity,” said Trunk owner Roy Young as he led a visitor around the field, stopping in to visit some of his longtime dealers. Dealers like sisters Joyce Legregoire and Carol Blantato, both of Southington, Conn., who now share a booth. Joyce has been selling here for 18 years and Carol for 12. The Trunk opened as a market in 1976, with dealers setting up tag-sale style in front of the Victorian house facing Route 7. Over time, the number of dealers grew, taking over the alfalfa fields behind the house, bit by bit.
The Young family has made several site improvements in the last year, including installation of the flagpole in the center of the field, Wi-Fi and additional seating near the food trucks. “We try to keep this a comfortable place for everyone to shop and to have a good time,” Young said.
Variety is what draws people to the Trunk. “It’s pretty much a market for everybody,” he said, noting people love that they can find antiques and collectibles here along with plants, butter and cheeses and more.
The line for the 7 am opening is always a long one.
Evincing the variety of “merch” for sale here are dealers like Coal-Bin Antiques, Montgomery, N.Y., which offered a nice Select coin-op candy machine that distributed candy at 10 cents a pop; Hanapple’s Antiques, Branchville, N.J., which featured a tuba horn, and Aunt Millie’s Attic, Manchester, Conn., displaying a selection of large back iron hinges.
Unlike indoor wall-and-drape antique shows, the Trunk embraces informality. Some of the dealers interviewed were shy about giving their names. An Ansonia, Conn.-based dealer who says he goes by his nickname, “44 Coldcuts,” was featuring a fine B-52 bomber camera that came in its original case, having lenses and film rolls.
The Trunk takes place every Sunday from April through December (weather permitting on the front and back ends of the season).
For additional information, www.etflea.com or 860-355-1448.
