Those Cronies Of The Antique Shop

HANGING AROUND THE ANTIQUE SHOP - THE DEBATES, THE POLITICS, AND THE HISTORY LESSONS

LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER FOR YEARS AND YEARS…..ABOUT WHAT MADE US TICK-TOCK

     NOTE: THE VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS POSTED ABOVE, WERE FOUND IN A CHARITY SHOP IN BARRIE, ONTARIO, THIS PAST WEEKEND, AND SHOW A FIRST WORLD WAR ERA PARADE, PRESUMABLY IN MONTREAL, AS WELL AS A MUSTER, IN A SPORTS FACILITY, PLUS AN ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPH OF A GRADUATING BUSINESS SCHOOL, IN THE LATE 1920'S, ALSO FROM MONTREAL. IT IS PRESUMED THERE IS A FAMILY CONNECTION TO EACH PHOTOGRAPH, AS THIS WAS AN ESTATE COLLECTION, THAT HAD BEEN DONATED TO THE CHARITY SHOP. THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR ALL THREE WAS $60.00, AND THE IMAGES ARE IN GOOD AND CONSERVED CONDITION. THE PARADE PHOTOGRAPH IS OF COURSE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OF THE THREE. THERE IS A TAVERN SIGN VISIBLE ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH.

     THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION, ESPECIALLY THE WAY SUZANNE AND I HAVE LIVED IT, HAS BEEN A COMMUNITY, KINSHIP, SHARING KIND OF RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND VISITORS. I CAN REMEMBER BEING BORED AND FRUSTRATED, AND BECOMING INSTANTLY PLEASED, HEARING JACK KIERNON'S FAMILIAR FOOTFALL, DOWN INTO OUR BRACEBRIDGE SHOP. HONESTLY, I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THOSE YEARS OF THE EARLY TO MID 1990'S, IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE BIRCH HOLLOW LIAR'S CLUB, WHICH HAD A MEMBERSHIP OF REAL CHARACTERS THAT'S FOR SURE. JACK WAS THE UNOFFICIAL CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, AND HE WAS A PASSIONATE COLLECTOR OF MILITARY ITEMS AND TOYS, PARTICULARLY VEHICLES ATTACHED TO COMPANY NAMES LIKE LESNEY, CORGI, MATCHBOX AND ANY HOT WHEEL THAT STILL HAD ITS WHEELS AND PAINT. HE LIKED ANY TOYS FROM THE 1960'S BACK, AND HE KNEW A LOT ABOUT EACH OF THE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS, RIGHT DOWN TO THE COLOR CODING OF PAINT ON LIMITED EDITION TOY VEHICLES. WHAT I ENJOYED SO MUCH, DEALING WITH JACK, OFTEN SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK, FOR MANY YEARS, WAS THAT HE WAS LIVING A RETIREMENT DREAM……AT LEAST THIS IS MY OPINION AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS CHARMING WIFE THOUGHT OF HIS PRE-OCCUPATION WITH TOYS AND MILITARY COLLECTABLES. HE HAD SUCH A GOOD WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF EVERYTHING HE WAS CONNECTED, AND COULD DISCUSS ANY OF HIS COLLECTING INTERESTS WITH OTHERS WHO CAME INTO THE STORE, LOOKING FOR SOME NEIGHBORLY CONVERSATION, OR BECAUSE THEY KNEW I LIKED TO DEBATE LOCAL POLITICS. I'M STILL DOING THAT TODAY, NOW FROM OUR BOYS' MAIN STREET SHOP HERE IN GRAVENHURST. I ROAST GRAVENHURST COUNCIL DAILY. THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING COOKING!

     IT'S ONE OF THE FASCINATIONS I'VE HAD ABOUT THE ANTIQUE TRADE…..THIS SHARING OF INFORMATION, ANECDOTES AND TALL, TALL TALES. EACH OF US BACK THEN HAD A PLETHORA OF AMUSING AND ENTERTAINING STORIES, THAT INVOLVED COLLECTING ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES. NONE OF OUR GROUP EVER DENIED THAT THEY HADN'T BEEN BURNED IN THE BUY AND SELL, AND HONESTLY, NOT ONE OF OUR REGULARS, TO THE SHOP, POSSESSED EVEN A SMIDGEON OF EGOMANIA. THE BOASTFUL WERE SHOT DOWN IN DUE COURSE. WE WERE ALL ABLE TO KID ABOUT OUR FOIBLES IN THE FIELD, AND IT WAS NEVER THE CASE, THAT WE FELT EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT OUR PROBLEMS. EVEN GENERAL PROBLEMS. WHAT STARTED AS WEEKLY AND EVEN DAILY "ANTIQUE TALKS," MORPHED INTO DISCUSSIONS ABOUT EVERYTHING ON EARTH AND BEYOND. POSSIBLY IT WAS KIND OF A LONELY HEARTS CLUB, FOR SOME, A BAR WITHOUT BOOZE FOR OTHERS. JACK WAS SO ENTHUSED TO TALK ABOUT HIS COLLECTING INTERESTS, THAT HE ALWAYS LOST TRACK OF TIME, AND HIS POOR BRIDE WOULD HAVE TO COME DOWN TO THE BASEMENT SHOP TWO OR THREE TIMES, OVER THE COURSE OF AN HOUR, TO HAUL HIM OUT. VISITORS LOVED TO TALK WITH JACK AS WELL, WHO WAS, IN MY OPINION, THE UNOFFICIAL MAYOR OF BAYSVILLE, AND AMBASSADOR OF THE GOOD LIFE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LAKE OF BAYS. YOU KNOW, AT TIMES, IT WAS LIKE "CHEERS" IN THAT SHOP, AS MEMBERS OF THE LIARS CLUB (TAKEN FROM PAUL RIMSTEAD'S BOOK) ARRIVED FOR THEIR VISITS, AND WERE IMMEDIATELY GREETED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS, AND A SHIFT OF FEET AND BODIES, ALLOWED ANOTHER MEMBER TO SADDLE UP TO THE SALES COUNTER…… WHICH WAS ACTUALLY A DINING ROOM BUFFET FROM THE 1940'S, TURNED AROUND, SO I GOT THE DRAWERS ON MY SIDE, AND WE SIMPLY WHITEWASHED THE BACK SIDE. WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY WITH THAT FIRST SHOP TO BUY FIXTURES. WE WORKED WITH WHAT WE HAD, AND IT WAS THE RIGHT HEIGHT FOR ELBOWS AND COFFEE CUPS. I DIDN'T HAVE A CASH REGISTER. JUST A TIN BOX THAT WORKED WELL…..IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A BEAT-UP CALCULATOR SOMEONE HAD KINDLY GIVEN US. WE WERE A NO FRILLS SHOP THEN, AND NOW. BUT IF YOU WANT A LITTLE EXTRA, WE'VE GO SOME CONVERSATION FOR YOU…..THAT WILL MAKE UP FOR THE SHORTFALL IN GLITZ AND FACADE. 

IT'S WHATS I LOVE ABOUT THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION AT ITS WARM, SOULFUL CORE

     The charter members of the LIARS CLUB, back then, including debating chums like Asgar Thrane, Tom MacFarlane, Brian Milne, Art Campbell, Rick Krist, Rob Bound, and Dick Ivey, plus Jack of course, were a wonderfully compassionate lot, and they brought me more coffee than I should have ever consumed, and this explained why for those years I was up until 2:00 a.m. most nights trying to go to sleep.

     Asgar Thrane taught me about life in Denmark during the Second World War. He let me know what it was like to face a German soldier's gun, late at night, while biking home form work at a bakery I believe…..with a trace of light coming from a headlamp. Living in a black-out environment at night, during this occupation, was a law and your life was at risk, for failing to comply. Asgar's wife Mary is an outstanding Muskoka artist, and he would be so proud to tell me about her latest art projects. Tom MacFarlane was a hobby "picker," and economic survivalist from Port Sydney, and over the years of our friendship we sold lots of his antique and collectible finds. He was also a pretty fair musician, but used the stage name "Tommy Farr," and we sold some of the cassette tapes he produced at that same LIARS Club desk. So we talked about all things Muskoka, life in small communities, the music industry, and oh yes……the buy and sell which he really enjoyed. Tom could talk about anything, and was always interested in the conversation going on at the particular time he dropped into the store with bundles of new antique finds.

    Brian Milne was the spouse of our business partner, Sharon, (her father was Jimmy Hillman, who I wrote about recently, regarding his Bracebridge sugar bush) and he and I spent hours talking about anything and everything. Brian taught me about chair caning, and on summer Sundays, he'd do his re-caning workshops in the open air, at the entrance to the shop. He was our boys stand-in father, on occasions having to fetch Andrew and Robert from Bracebridge Public School, if I had customers at the time I was supposed to leave. I once complained to Brian, who had been in the phone business at one time, how frustrating it was to have such a short cord on the receiver of our wall phone. He came in the next day with about ten yards of coiled cord, and said, "Ted, I'm here to answer your wish. Stand aside man, I've got work to do!" I could walk upstairs I had so much chord. He was a Mr. Fix It, and a wonderfully kind and caring human being. Like the others, we met as a direct result of our involvement in antiques and collectables. Many of us antique veterans don't spend a lot of time thinking about our associates in the business, until it's too late. I had two of my store buddies pass, and I had never told them how much their friendship had meant to our family……and how their contribution kept me in the antique trade….and yes, right up to the present.

     Art Campbell, of course, was our auctioneer friend, and former employee of Brewer's Retail, if memory serves. Art had a lot of fascinating stories about collecting vintage Canadian glass, and I once had the pleasure of seeing his massive inventory, during a luncheon at his Bracebridge home. I was speechless. It must have been worth a fortune…..but he didn't collect it all for the money. It was a pleasurable investment but he didn't really have much interest in selling it. He could have written a guide book about it however, and I remember thinking that I should have asked him about cooperating on a project. We would talk for hours on end about auctions and strange occurrences he'd experienced working estate sales. Rick Krist refinished steamer trunks beautifully, and we went on to have an interesting relationship with him, when he joined the sports card craze of the early 1990's. In fact, we rented him a room in the shop, where he entertained hundreds of kids a week, needing to build their hockey, baseball and football card sets……plus others, like Marvel collections. We got into these cards as well, by one toe, then the other, but we never fully immersed ourselves, for fear the boom in sales would falter…….as it did. In the antique trade, you get used to this happening frequently, but the folks in the card business, at this time, weren't privy to what we knew as fact…..and an ever-lurking danger. Booms that go bust! We still got stuck with a lot of cards but one day, our grandkids will carry-on where we left off. Rick was a good woodworker, and refinished antiques with great attention to detail. He helped us with inventory, as a consignor, when frankly, I was about to close up the shop, due to the fiscal burdens of the recession of the 1990's. We sold quite a few of his restored trunks, and other collectible pieces, and we co-operated on some other interesting joint projects that earned us a wee profit when it was needed most. We both had young families. Times were getting worse as the recession matured, and it seemed like all we did was hustle, work and hustle some more, to get only the smallest gains. It took courage, let me tell you, to fly a business through that recessionary cyclone.

      Dick Ivey was the husband of a financial advisor, who lived in Orillia, and at least once a month he'd show up for another history lesson. Dick knew his military history that's for sure, and he loved to get into these discussions with Jack Kiernan, and then with anybody else who came into the shop, with an opinion and an interest in war heritage. I used to place my elbows on the desk, head in hands, and let the masters educate me. It was like having drop in professors on a daily basis. There were many others who came in once a month, or so, like Harry Ranger, who loved to talk hockey……as we had been two of the original Herald-Gazette Rink Rats. Harry was a career printer / pressman, and I was one of the writers who benefitted from his services, as I wrote a couple of books. Harry liked to remind me that he was related to Paul Rimstead, who like himself, had roots in Sudbury, Ontario. There were many others who liked to saddle up to the backwards buffet desk, like Mrs. Rice, and Audrey Judd, two of my favorite ladies, back then, who regaled me with some highly entertaining stories about life and times in Muskoka. We sold antique and collectable items from both ladies, and they had very fine heirloom pieces to offer through our shop. They were very good at spinning stories, at that same counter, and I was the beneficiary.

     There was very seldom, back to back days, when someone wouldn't break the monotony. In the days of the early 1990's, from the end of October to the end of April, you might only see upwards of ten customers in six days, so honestly, as a preserver of sanity, it was always great to see these antique shop chums show up for a wee debate about this and that. Asgar Thrane used to arrive with coffee, chocolates, donuts, and even soup, to add to our bull sessions. He'd even bring clothing for our two boys, that his sons had grown out of……and I can't describe the feelings then, because for most of our time in the shop, we hung on by a thin strand of available cash, and sometimes it meant having to stretch everything including the clothing budget for the whole family. He was just a generous guy, and I don't think I ever fully thanked him for being so kind at a difficult time. All of our friends, made in the antique business, were special to us, but I fear they never knew this before we had to shut the shop down, in the mid 1990's, due to Suzanne's transfer to Gravenhurst High School, and my public relations job with the newly established Crozier Foundation, working for former Detroit Red Wing goaltender, Roger Crozier. We didn't have much time to react, when these changes occurred, and I have many regrets over the years since, that I hadn't really paid proper respects to them all, for kindnesses bestowed. It's a little late now, but this is how we both feel……that it would have been impossible to get along in the industry without them……and their cheerfulness and optimism when mine had run out.

     The sense of community in the antique profession, has followed us to this newly opened wing, of our son's vintage music business, and it was just before Christmas this year, when I looked up over the counter, and saw this huge outstretched arm, from old friend Rod Bound, another member of the club, who used to sell his restored window-frame mirrors through Birch Hollow. I always looked forward to his visits, and even after a nearly two decade hiatus, he's come back. I'm hoping to see some of the other old guard sooner or later, once they know we've got our second wind in main street retail. Art Campbell passed away many years ago now, and Jack Kiernan passed away a few years back, and I felt as if a chunk of my past had just fallen away into time. Jack and I shared a lot of our personal tribulations, during those hard years of recessionary blues, and we both managed to climb out relatively uninjured…….both still happy to buy and sell and well……collect. He was a dear friend and confidante, who used to watch the store on afternoons when I had to pick up the boys from school, and could make me laugh on even the most difficult, uninspiring day. I have never found a customer quite like Jack. He was stubborn as the most stalwart mule, but I liked that about him. The day he got a flat tire, in a parking lot up the street, I thought I was going to die laughing. Not at his folly, because that would have been cruel. We all tried that day to change his tire, but the nuts were rusted so badly, nothing but an air-wrench would free them up. It would have been cheaper to call a tow truck and get the tire professionally looked after, because it wound up costing him a new rim and an alignment, after he decided to drive all the way home on a flat tire……..and home was Baysville. I had the bottom freight door open that summer afternoon, and the remaining members of the LIARS club heard him coming down the block……which was a resounding, and ongoing, "flap, thwack, flap, thwack, flap, thwack," all the way to Lake of Bays. He wasn't very happy when his Baysville mechanic let him know what the repairs were going to be……for that bit of stubbornness. Hey, that was my friend. It's just who he was, and damn it, we were glad to know him.

     It's been a nice visit with you folks as well, today, and I hope you will visit again, to share some more insider stories, about the antique profession, "The LIARS Club," and the social networking that makes this industry so darn enjoyable……when not particularly profitable.