Eclectic Wares
LYNDORA — More than 1,500 attendees are expected to browse the wares of 42 antique dealers from the tri-state area at the 65th annual GFWC Intermediate League of Butler Antiques Show and Sale running March 20, 21 and 22.
The show at the Tanglewood Center, 10 Austin Ave., will feature three new vendors from Pennsylvania who deal in jewelry, pottery, primitives, vintage purses and furniture.
The show has become a tradition for the attendees, as well as those involved behind the scenes.
Grace Shields, the publicity chairman for the event, has been associated with the event for 38 years.
“One of our business managers, Anabel Brunermer has been involved for 53 years. We have a large committee of volunteers who put this event together,” Shields said.
For 65 years, a portion of the proceeds have benefited groups in the Butler area. “This event is our only money-making endeavor and major proceeds support community programs,” Shields said.
A committee reviews the candidates for donation, and while some of the beneficiaries are the same as last year, other needs have sprung up as well.
“We hope to share our proceeds this year with the VNA, YWCA, Art Center, Butler Library, Tanglewood, Community Health Clinic, Maridon Museum, Grace Youth and Family Foundation (the Winter Relief Center), VNA Hospice and Palliative Care, Meals on Wheels and, new this year, Catholic Care Charities,” said Shields.
A quilt raffle is one of the ways the event raises funds.
“This year's quilt was made by the First Methodist Church Quilters in the popular and old-fashioned fan pattern. It is multicolored patterns on an ivory background,” Shields said. The drawing will be March 23.For seven years, Tammy Gallagher of Oakland Township has been a vendor at the show. She will be representing Sanford's Antiques at Kensington Court, 3464 Babcock Blvd. in the North Hills.One of the items she is bringing to the show is a chandelier from Butler's Nixon Hotel built in 1906.“The hotel was torn down in the early 1970s. It was a year ago, at an estate sale from a prominent local family, where I was especially taken with it. I have a love of antique lighting,” Gallagher said.“It is a great example of lighting from the early 1900s. It screams arts and crafts,” she said.People collect for a variety of reasons, but for Gallagher, coming across this chandelier was all personal.“It brought back a bittersweet memory for me. The first auction I ever attended with my grandmother was when they tore down the Chicora Hotel. I remember that, although I loved being at the auction, I was very sad at the time to see history being ripped apart and auctioned off before my very eyes,” she said.Gallagher began collecting antiques about that time when she stumbled upon some jewelry boxes full of vintage jewelry from a deceased great-grandmother.“My very first piece was a Victorian bangle bracelet and ring that were passed to me from my great-grandmother,” she said.She bought her first piece of collectible jewelry shortly after she graduated from college and though she has not worn it in 15 years; she would never part with it.“It was a sweetheart locket from the 1930s in vermeil which is gold wash over sterling,” she said. “I get it out about once a year because it reminds me of my very first 'jewelry find.' Though it is not really valuable, it will always be special to me.”Gallagher will be featuring some of her other jewelry finds at the show including a lovely coral, pearl and gold Victorian demi-parure. The piece dates back to between 1870 and 1880.One of her more unique offerings is a collection of signs. “Last spring a friend asked me to help her go through her mother's house and price items for an estate sale. Tucked up in the garage rafters was a collection of Pittsburgh Port Authority bus signs from the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s,” said Gallagher. Apparently her friend's grandfather had worked as a maintenance man for the Port Authority beginning in the 1940s.“Companies would advertise their products or services on the signs. They would be periodically removed for new advertising and disposed of in the trash,” she said.It seems these signs had been brought home and stashed perhaps for a project or eventual display. “They were well preserved and what a great and unique advertising find for me. They have created a bit of a buzz in the antique business here locally because you just don't come across items like that every day,” said Gallagher.Her passion for quirky items and eclectic taste she feels contributes to her success as a dealer.“If it is quirky, I want it! Quirky sells very well for me. I love postcards from the early 1900s. They are small pieces of artwork. You just cannot find that in a Hallmark store today. I find sewing notions from the 1800s very charming,” she said.“The best advice I can give to potential buyers is to always buy what you love and buy the best you can afford. Antique values fluctuate from time to time and everything is cyclical. If you have bought what you love you cannot go wrong,” Gallagher advised.She believes the upcoming GFWC show is a perfect one for the novice to get started, as well as for the established collectors to treasure hunt.“The Intermediate League is always out scouting for good dealers to bring into the show. I see the ladies attend almost every other antique show looking for new dealers. As a result there is a wide range of items to see at the Butler show,” she said.For Gallagher, it's also a little about tradition from both sides of the table.“I have been shopping this show for over 20 years, and I have bought wonderful things that I still enjoy,” she said.As always, the Friday Opening Night Gala will offer preview sales and include hors d'oeuvres and punch.Tickets can be purchased from any Intermediate League member, as well as at the YWCA on Cunningham Street and the Antique Store on Main Street, both in Butler.
<B>WHO: </B>GFWC Intermediate League of Butler<B>WHAT:</B> 65th annual Antiques Show and Sale<B>WHEN: </B>6:30 to 9:30 p.m. March 20; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 21, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 22<B>WHERE: </B>Tanglewood Center, 10 Austin Ave., Lyndora<B>TICKETS: </B>$10 on March 20 valid for all three days, $6 on March 21 and 22 and valid for those two days, available at the YWCA and from Intermediate League members<B>INFORMATION:</B> Call 724-287-7959 or visit www.pittsburghantiques.net
