Antique show draws treasure hunters to Sisters park

In salute to heritage and history, the 3rd annual Antiques in the Park lured treasure hunters and avid collectors to Sisters Creekside Park for a weekend of rare finds.

Fifty-three vendors and dealers from all over the Northwest displayed a bounty of curios and attic-finds, from vintage superhero comics, rare glass marbles, Grandma's cane rocker, Depression-era desks and old model trains. With so much eye candy, the crowds of visitors were sure to find something to satisfy their cravings.

Jerry Cowen and Lee Fitzgerald of Bend ate ice cream bars under their big tent setup filled with antique suitcases filled with piles of linens and doilies.

"We brought lots of stuff," she said. "We have collector buttons made of glass and celluloid, some heirloom and vintage jewelry and even a buffalo skull. The weather is just perfect, not too hot and the people are so nice. This is a lot of fun and we've sold a little bit of everything."

The Central Oregon Marine Corps League set up their Toys for Tots table, raffling off a hand-made Americana quilt and a 1903 collector rifle to aid their charitable programs.

Mark and Susie Wiggins are the area coordinators for the League's annual Christmas toy drive and were thrilled with the response and support.

"We have this incredible Smith Corona A-3 rifle donated by retired Colonel Mike Brock and a beautiful quilt made by Catherine Anderson and Sandy Lachowski," said Susie. "It depicts the different branches of the armed forces and is bordered in American flags. We're selling only 1,000 tickets at five dollars each, so we hope to raise some good money for the cause. This is such a nice show, lots of wonderful merchandise, and our location here in the shade is perfect."

Wherever you searched or spied, threading your way through the tents and booths under the pines, there was some forgotten trinket or small oddity of yesteryear to capture attention. None was stranger than Corvallis antique dealer Charles Shur's crazy kitchen item called the Handy Ham Holder.

"It's definitely weird and heavy," he joked. "It was made in the 1930s and is all nickel-plated cast iron. You stick your ham in it and tighten down the screws to hold in your finest holiday meal. I've never seen another one like it in all the 500 years I've been doing this."

Event organizer Richard Esterman was happy with the volume of business and enthusiastic crowds over the show's two days.

"It was a big success and a large improvement over last year," he said, demonstrating his bizarre Spectro-Chrome medical device to a customer. "We keep trying to make it better and better and keep the vendors interesting and different. The veterans' honorary aspect will be an annual part of the show. Next year we're even trying to get a few military vehicles in here like some jeeps and maybe even a tank. That would be really cool."