There was a time when tents were spread like litter along Route 28 in Indian Lake, each filled with all manner of Adirondack material and other antiques and not-so-old articles to please the people who motored up there, or down there, to add to collections or to just find something interesting. And such a trip was all the more worthwhile with an antiques show of close to 75 exhibitors filling the Indian Lake Park and parking area, all under the management of Oliver and Gannon.
Unfortunately, the Adirondack Antiques Street Show that just ran for five days, September 12‱6, is a far cry from “what used to be.” Actually, Saturday and Sunday were the peak days for the number of exhibitors, with about five clustered near the traffic light in the center of town, several sharing a large garage near the school, and three dealers, one with all new and very attractive furniture, tented in front of the school. Further down the street, the Magoun Road Show filled a good-sized lot, a spot it has occupied for many years now, with the Magoun Bros and seven other Adirondack dealers offering canoes, pack baskets, mounts, full-size bears, paintings, paddles and hundreds of other pieces to use or decorate a cottage or camp.
Other tents along the way were not to be overlooked, as they offered interesting collections of fishing gear from tiny flies to large reels and poles, early fishing and hunting licenses, minnow pails and ice fishing tip-ups. Long and short knives were in glass cases, and racks of guns came with the right shells.
“Attendance built over the weekend and at one time we counted 33 visitors on our lot,” Jon Magoun said. He added, “The show is going well for us and we have sold three deer heads, plus many small things.” Midday on Saturday he had a gentleman considering the purchase of one of his standing black bears, but little interest was shown in his fleet of canoes. A couple of the dealers noted that “people are spending a little more than last year,” while from the next tent we heard, “Things are slow.”
Antiques and The Arts Weekly has been covering this event for many years, watching as the show closed at the park and, in recent years, the number of street vendors decrease. Hopefully, it will start turning around, attract more exhibitors and bring more visitors into the area. It is too good to lose.
