Townsman, 1991-07, Page 26"My mother had some. I have seen
table settings in depression glass, all
the same color, and did it ever look
nice." Collecting the missing pieces
for a set can be very costly as the
glass, which was very common and
could be bought at Stedman's, the five
and dime, broke easily. Pieces would
only have cost five cents or a quarter
in the early days. There were 144 dif-
ferent patterns and colours. The pieces
are now very expensive. Six clear,
yellow goblets are $125. Salt and pep-
per shakers can go to $135 a pair.
"Cherry blossoms in the pink are
worth $135. They arc listed in the
book. Pink and blue is very pricey,"
says Marlene.
Kitchenware from the depression,
glass for peanut butter and cheese, is
also very popular. "In the depression,
you didn't want to give anything
away," she says. In a factory when
they were through making glass door
knobs, the rest of the material would
be used to make a vase and it would
be called an "end of the day vase."
There are many, many vendors at
the market. Among them is Pat
Molasky from Sparta, who sells
ceramics and cameo supplies.
Other collectibles at the Pinery mar-
ket include collector plates, hockey
cards, and stick pins. Ray Stewart
from London has sold stick pins at the
Pinery market for 17 summers. Suck
pins which will fetch $2 can represent
almost anything, animals, cars, fish.
Service medals and medals of valor,
military badges and coins are other
specialty items.
Merchant's trade tokens are sold by
John Elliott of London. "Trade
tokens were originally an advertising
piece. Some are duplications," he
says. He indicated communion tokens
from 1843 which had to be presented
in Scotland at communion during
periods of persecution. The tradition
was carried on in early settlement
days in Canada.
In going to a flea market, you can
purchase a piece of the country's his-
tory, something previously owned
with a story bchind it. Things handed
down and from next of kin are offered
for sale.
Ralph Bastedo and his wife from
Chatham offer collectibles and nostal-
gia at their booth, containers, cigar
boxes, lamps, toys, and old cardboard
advertising. Ralph started collecting
bottles and then he went to auction
sales to purchase and his business
moved along. "Now people are phon-
ing all the time," says his wife.
"If the price is right," says Ralph,
"I'11 sell anything. Then, I kick myself
afterward." For example, he wouldn't
part with his toy metal horse and cart
for Tess than $300. Recently, the
Bastedos sold a small mechanical
wind-up cow with a moving tongue,
Icgs, and tail for about $140.
"We are born hustlers," says Ralph,
who works at JFK, the tool and die
shop in Windsor. "We've been coming
up here for three years."
Vendors scour auctions and yard
sales for items finding things they
maybe don't want to part with. Mrs.
Bastedo, for example, says she won't
part with her magazine pictures and
papers from the past, illustrations with
bound edges.
Although the Pinery Antique Flea
Market near Grand Bend is the most
popular and largest in the area, draw-
ing vendors and public from all over
southwestern Ontario, there are small-
er outdoor markets which operate on
the weekends, another in Grand Bend,
in Bayfield, in Goderich at the muse-
um, and Tricia's Treasures near
Durham.
Kincardine has no regular outdoor
market as such but has a number of
boutiques that carry antiques and
gifts. The Bruce County Market
Place, a magazine which is published
monthly, runs a regular page noting
these shops as a service for its readers.
A few of the shops that carry antiques
are: Jenny's Antiques at Durham and
Queen; Newporte One with original
giftware and handicraft; Dear
Friends, in a century old home with
dolls, tinware, and furniture. Also,
there are many other shops that cater
to the tourist and the cottager.
Many other centres along the lake
such as Port Elgin and Southampton
can boast of many fine shops that
carry collectibles and antiques, with
friendly merchants that cater to the
person looking for a piece of the
country's history, a tiny pyrex baby
bottle or an old cup and saucer, some-
thing their grandmother would have
had to take home with them.
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24 TOWNSMAN/JULY-AUGUST 1991