...a coffin hunt lead to Squashapenny Junction...

Last Sunday, my fella pointed out an article about an antique store that is practically around the corner from me; yet, I had never heard of it. It doesn’t have a website and once I arrived I learned that Suzanne, one of the owners, doesn’t even own a computer. It’s off the “main” country road so you have to know where you’re going to find it. The owners seem to like it this way. Before you enter, you have to leave your cameras, cell phones, and bags behind. While in 2014 this almost seems invasive in a how-dare-you-tell-me-what-to-do way, it is private property and aesthetically the outside is so intriguing that I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to abandon one’s things and go forth.

I crept up the stairs, one of those buildings with so much to see that one must go slowly. When I was ready to reach for the doorknob, the door open and Suzanne and I both shrieked and laughed having scared one another. She was an absolute delight!

While inside, my fella and I parted ways. I wanted to start in the far left and wind my way around. I noticed a small room that was packed with bead curtains. Suzanne whispered, “I think bead curtains just make people want to enter that room.” I hesitated. “You’ll certainly want to enter that room.” I, wow, did I. It was full of antique medical supplies, Victorian hair art, and a life-size skeleton seen in old doctor’s offices. To be honest, I was on a mission. I had read that Squashapeeny had a coffin from the 1880’s and I wanted to see it (how big and how much was all that was on my mind). I meandered, stepped over, twisted my body to look around… I doubt that I was able to process even a quarter of what the store had to offer. I completed missed the Funeral Coach sign. Luckily, my fella pointed it out to me. What I didn’t miss was the Old Stone House sign. I gasped and Suzanne was delighted. She loves when someone falls in love. I know from my obsession with American Pickers that signage, especially old specific signage, isn’t cheap.  It wasn’t, neither was the Funeral Coach sign, but I had to have them both.

Historically, places like this have been where I’ve found “my things”. Now with Etsy, I find myself buying a bat towel here and a spider web necklace (from an actual spider) there… I love these finds but there isn’t anything quite like the hunt. The moment you turn and see something that you just know must go home with you. I thought I was going to have that feeling when I saw the coffin. It was a model from a funeral home, never used (I do get a bit squeamish about “medical” things sometimes) and while I was initially excited about its size, it was a child’s coffin. My best friend buried babies; I can’t have this in my house. And with that, I let it go… maybe for you to find ^o^.  The great thing about going on a hunt in these old antique stores is that you can go again in a week or two and see “new” items. My cousin found a funeral parking sign just the week before I was there. I wonder what I will find when my bank account replenishes.