July 17, 2017

HIS & HERS PICKERS ON THE ROAD AGAIN

David and Charlotte Carter owners of His & Hers Trade Days in Burke shared the following about their recent trip. We left Diboll with the goal of going to the famous  Brimfield Antique Flea Market in Brimfield Massachusetts.   It is held 3 times a year –  May, July and September – for 6 days each time.  We arrived in Sturbridge Monday evening ready to hit the sales the next morning.   The flea market consists of several fields and each field had many vendors set up. The key to success we had learned in preparing for the trip is get to the market area before 6am to get the best parking because you will do a lot of walking.  We were about 25 minutes from Brimfield so we were up at 4:30am and shopping by 6am.  We spent the most part of 2 full days visiting the various fields and finding treasures.  There was a lot of back and forth to the van but thankfully the temperatures were wonderful! Among other things we brought back were vintage metal egg collectors used for mailing, several spindles, a table pin ball machine, lockers,  a checkerboard table, manual ice crusher, lots of galvanized watering cans and a couple of sleds. We are working on a special section at trade days at His & Hers for our finds. In our shopping we met a wonderful family in a small town about 45 minutes from the flea market who invited us to go to their home place and go through old buildings. We chose to do this Thursday while doing some sightseeing in the area. The home site was the lady’s parents’ home and her father had been dealing with antiques before he suddenly became ill and passed away.  The family has been overwhelmed with so much stuff in outbuildings which were in disrepair. David found a milk box which the gentleman had used to store several Winston book matches. Great condition!

We left that area Friday morning and started toward home.  Friday night we stayed in Staunton, Virginia where I visited with friends. Saturday we had one goal, to go by Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, Virginia.  We enjoyed looking at the beautiful pieces they make by repurposing items. We noticed they now have a warehouse so we drove over and found one of the cast crew members for the TV show ‘Salvage Dawgs,’ Grayson Goldsmith. She was busy cleaning items from a salvage job and getting them ready to sell.  We love that show and what they do.  The warehouse was very nicely organized. We bought bowling pins and ask Grayson if she would autograph them for us; she graciously agreed.  She then told us that other guys were in the office at the main store so we drove over there.  Once there a nice gentleman we had met earlier took our pins and got them autographed from Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside. We have great plans for these special items.  That made our day so we then set forth toward home.  We made a couple of stops at flea markets but when you have been to Brimfield there wasn’t much you have not already seen.  Great trip of almost 4,000 miles.

Another couple, Burlon and Jan Wilkerson, recently drove to Mountain Home, Arkansas to meet their son Trey and his family.  On Friday, Burlon, Trey and his two young children, Annabeth and Ryan, floated the Buffalo River and had a wonderful time while Jan and her daughter-in-law, Michele, enjoyed shopping and having lunch together. Saturday was spent driving toward home on scenic Highway 7 through the Ozark Mountains.  It was a fast trip but one that made memories for the kids.

A group from Fairview Church enjoyed an outing that included a Swamp Tour on Caddo Lake. After the impressive tour they enjoyed a delicious meal at the Pine Lodge. The group included Earl & Joyce Carr; Trent & Carlene Squyers; John Barnes; Kay & Ronnie Fitzgerald; Terry Jo Murray; Frank Miranda & Tracy; Alma Cagler; Kenneth & Rita Hays and friends. When everyone else headed back toward home, Earl and Joyce Carr got in their bright red Toyota Corolla and headed toward Raton Pass in Colorado. They encountered a detour due to a land slide before arriving at Royal Gorge where they did the traditional drive across the bridge and gondola ride but no zip lining. They spent the night in Manitou Springs in the same Eagle Inn where they stayed 25 years ago. They had been enjoying pleasant 80 degree weather until they rode the cog train up Pikes Peak where it was sleeting. These two were retracing a trip they took 25 years ago that included Cripple Creek and saw lots of changes since then. During the trip they had a blowout but Triple A came to put their spare on and the next day after getting a new tire at a Toyota dealership, they headed toward Texas stopping to eat in Amarillo at The Big Texan before arriving in San Antonio to visit with their daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Ralph Isham. Joyce was praising the new toll road from Katy to New Caney that misses the Houston traffic.

Barbara Camp was treated to a special birthday meal at Manny’s in Livingston where they were met by her son Chris Wells and her two beautiful granddaughters, Pressley and Kennedy. “Pa”, Sherrel Fears, also enjoyed seeing and visiting with Chris, his grandson and great-granddaughters.

Caleb and Cristin Ellison became proud parents on June 15 when their son, Case Quinin, arrived. Case’s paternal grandparents are Larry and Aundra Ellison of Diboll; his maternal grandparents are Ricky and Paula Burton of Nogalus Prairie. Caleb is building a good reputation as a fine cabinet maker and also has a commercial and residential lawn care service. Should you need his services, call him at 936-635-2144.

Joyce and Edward Terrell came in for fishing licenses, hopefully to go fishing between the many showers we have had that is making everything green and grow, especially the weeds. Debbie and Mike Haas purchased some of the Rocky’s Seasoning that we sell and market for Rocky Thompson. We get great reviews from people who try his famous seasoning. Sam Coleman came in for new tires while Billie Jean Capps came in for bird and sunflower seeds.

Glenda Tobias and Joe Paul Stovall swapped post office stories when she stopped by to buy feed for baby quail she hatched. Joe Paul retired after 30 years with the postal service. Glenda has worked for 34 years and is looking forward to retirement. Jessie and Terry Saucedo from Hudson came in and enjoyed visiting with J.D. Johnson, all of whom have retired from Temple. Jessie worked at the Fiberboard plant for 28 years and Terry worked at the Particleboard plant for 35 years. They now have a landscaping business.

Enjoy the week and come see us…’round the table.