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10-B Maine Antique Digest, April 2015
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T
here remains a bit of uncertainty regarding the
future of the Lebanon (Ohio) Antique Show.
There’s no talk of the show being canceled; it’s
still a vital fund-raiser for the Warren County Historical
Society. The question isn’t
whether
it will be held, but
where
.
The 67th annual show took place on January 17 and
18 at the Warren County Fairgrounds. It wasn’t the
show’s first time under the grandstands.
“We started here in 1948 with this show,” said Vic-
toria Van Harlingen, executive director of the Warren
County Historical Society. That would be back in the
days when Jean Crutcher managed the event.
Forget the 1940s. One needs to look at only the last
20 years to see the nomadic life of the event. Bowman
Primary School, at the edge of Lebanon, has been the
site used most often, but other venues have included the
Warren County Career Center, a fewmiles north of Leb-
anon; Springboro High School and Springboro Junior
High School, roughly ten miles across the county; and
the Warren County Fairgrounds, in a different building
than that used for the January show.
Van Harlingen was pleased to be back under the
grandstand at the fairgrounds for the most recent
installment of the Lebanon Antique Show. “We really
wanted to come back here,” she said. “It has a lot of
good points.”
Yes, the location is easy to find, and, yes, there is
plenty of free parking, but the facilities are dated, and
interior space is limited. Plus, the existing lighting was
less than ideal. Van Harlingen didn’t try to hide those
facts. “It's not as plush as the school, but we think it
made a nice show,” she noted.
Pipes and drapes helped. Bruce Metzger of Queen
City Shows, who manages the event, used simple black
cloth backdrops to bring a bit of elegance to an oth-
erwise utilitarian facility. After all, this was a place
designed to accommodate people interested in harness
racing.
“We would love it to be a permanent home,” said Van
Harlingen. The question, however, is how long will the
facility exist? And what then?
When Miami Valley Gaming opened a racino west of
Lebanon in December 2013, the fairgrounds at Lebanon
took on a new focus. Racing was gone, but the track
was still used for practice, and the stables remained
full. Buildings on the fairgrounds became available for
other uses, such as the antiques show.
Not that all those facilities will be around for long.
Van Harlingen said county officials plan to tear down
some structures to erect new ones. That could provide
the Lebanon Antique Show a permanent home.
In the meantime, buyers and sellers seemed satis-
fied enough with the current space. Thirty-five dealers
set up at the show, down from what is usually about
50 merchants. A small number of dealers dropped out
shortly before the event because of injury, sickness, and
death. “It's not as many as we would have liked,” Van
Harlingen said of the sellers on hand, “but it fills up the
building, and people have good stuff.”
Metzger was also pleased. “I think the balance here
is really good,” he said. Clearly, the show continues
to evolve. “The Americana element is still here, but it
used to be a stronger presence,” he added.
A constant flow of sales indicated that the dealers
seemed to have brought the right stuff. Among other
things, brown furniture was moving.
David Haney and Brian Haney of Fort Harmar
Antiques, Marietta, Ohio, had steady sales the first
morning, including a stepback cupboard, a Sheraton
five-drawer cherry chest with inlay, and a Hepplewhite
one-drawer table. Around lunchtime, they capped that
off by writing a receipt for a tiger maple and walnut
chest of drawers from Ohio, dating to about 1825-30
and having an unusual drawer configuration. Priced at
$2575, it sold to a buyer in Kentucky.
John and Linda Hood of Springhouse FarmAntiques,
Lewis Center, Ohio, also had a good first day. “We’ve
had a wonderful show,” said Linda Hood, who had
already sold a hutch table, a walnut hutch, a dry sink,
and a blanket box halfway through the first day. Shortly
afterward, she added two other significant items to
the list: a yarn reel marked “DC 1841 / WB,” priced
at $195, and a flax wheel, priced at $345. The sale of
spinning wheels has become almost commonplace for
the couple, who sold six in 2014. “Almost every one
Lebanon, Ohio
The Lebanon Antique Show Finds a New Home,
but for How Long?
by Don Johnson
Dogs are often seen at antiques shows, but not cats. This
is Anush, a five-year-old female rescued by Pamela
Apkarian-Russell.
Holiday-themed items included this German three-piece
miniature tea set, circa 1900, $1800 from Pamela Apkarian-
Russell of Castle Halloween Museum, Benwood, West Vir-
ginia. “This is the miniature. The children’s set is a little big-
ger,” she noted. “The teapot is really rare because the spout
was often broken.”
This 50" wide end-of-the-line
trolley bench from Marietta,
Ohio, had a back that flipped
from one side to the other. Judi
and Bob Fryer of Fryer Antiques,
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, priced
it at $350. Business has been good
for the couple. “We cannot com-
plain,” said Judi Fryer. “We had
a wonderful last year.”
David Haney and Brian Haney of Fort
Harmar Antiques, Marietta, Ohio, had
possibly the most dominant piece of fur-
niture in the show: a tiger maple and
walnut chest of drawers from Ohio, 1825-
30, priced at $2575. Note the unusual
drawer configuration. It sold to a buyer
in Kentucky.
The Haneys have had success selling
brown furniture, with one notable excep-
tion. “The dark wood, mahogany, is the
tough one right now,” said David Haney.
Perfect for the venue at the fairgrounds was
this 41½" x 41" wooden English pub sign with a
horse-racing motif painted on one side. Inez Allen
and Nan Donovan of City Mouse Country Mouse
Antiques, Cincinnati, Ohio, priced it at $895.
David Brandeburg of Loveland, Ohio, offered this sampler,
dated “Feb. 25. 1838.” and lettered as having been made at
“Mrs. R. Parshalls. Sem.” which has been documented at Leb-
anon, Ohio. It sold to a collector of early Ohio antiques.
A variety of coverlets and quilts were displayed by the Warren
County Historical Society, which hosts the Lebanon Quilt & Fabric
Arts Show each March.
Greg and Bar-
bara Hall of Bay
Village, Ohio,
specialize
in
golf
antiques.
The assembled
set of Spalding
Bobby Jones 1-
to 9-irons from
1931, the only
year the clubs
were made with
hickory shafts, was available for $3600. At top, the Calamity Jane put-
ter endorsed by Jones, also with a hickory shaft, cost $345.
“We would love it to be a
permanent home.”
A number of affordable collectibles can be
found at the Lebanon Antique Show. Sandy
Crouse of Cincinnati, Ohio, offered these
articulated monkeys and bears, priced at
$18 to $38 each.