Afterwards, we drove west on Route 11 toward Carlisle, the ultimate goal being an antiques mall in town. We passed through Hoagstown, noticing some fine old houses trapped between the two lanes of the highway, and through New Kingston, where a by-pass fixed that problem. Knowing that we could still afford lunch, we stopped near Middlesex at a restaurant frequented by truckers. Those places often have the best food. Sure enough, we enjoyed a tasty meal and were soon on our way.
Bedford Street Antiques is housed in an old building that was formerly a Lutheran church. It has two levels and an annex, chock full of "stuff," some of which is pictured below. Click on the link to see a photo of the place when it was a church.
On the way into the antiques mall, we passed by the Episcopal Church (center) and Presbyterian Church (lower right hand corner) just a block away on the Square.
Almost the first thing I saw was this watercolor of Historic Peace Church in Hampden Township, Pa. The church was built in 1798 and used by Lutheran and Reformed congregations. Today it is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by Friends of Peace Church. I played the 1806 organ there for many weddings and for inauguration day services for Governors Thornburgh and Ridge.
Almost next door to the picture of the church was this papier mâché barrel bank sporting the name James. I thought of James T., recently-born son of a young couple I know. Later I saw several more of these banks, but none had a name on it. This one even had the apostrophe in the right place.
Susanne considered these colorful little glasses to fill up a divided metal tote she bought at some other establishment. She is a sucker for tin and metal objects useful in the early part of the last century.
I thought about buying this thumb for my sister Rachel, who recently tried to chop off her own while cutting vegetables. It was in a glass case, so I was not able to look at it closely enough to determine its function.
Next was this Majolica teapot. We have a plate in this pattern. Can you see that it is a cauliflower poking its head out from among the leaves? I found two of these on the Internet, one for $995 and one for $495. I wish I had looked at the price on this one!
This gizmo was used in the 19th century to carry charcoal or coal to places like your carriage or church, where you could rest your feet on it, then wrap your feet and legs in a blanket to keep warm. Guess what they call it. A footwarmer. Go figure.
I am always attracted to miniature structures, and this one was no exception. It appears to be home-made and in good condition. Alas, I have no place to store or display all the houses, churches, barns, and sheds I see.
They should market this as "PERMA-HAM® -- THE ONLY EASTER HAM YOU WILL EVER HAVE TO BUY." Doesn't it look delicious?
Soon I found this pair staring out at me from a case. They may be French santons, "little saints," representing the common people of rural southern France.
I seriously considered this cupboard for our upstairs hall. I thought it would look good with smaller pieces of Lesterware in it. Fortunately, we measured it and when we got home discovered that it was too wide for the space we had in mind.
Upstairs, where the church's worship room was, I found this row of scales by the window. You know how I like rows or stacks of like things.
I love old religious art. It's so colorful and to the point and often sort of naïve. Here the Holy Family contemplates the Cross that is in their future.
Susanne heads back down the spiral staircase to the first floor of the former church building.
These salt shakers might be just the right thing for that metal tote we've heard about. Red or yellow caps?
This display proves that a table setting can be beautiful if there is one unifying thing in every piece -- here, it's the pink.
This chintz-patterned china caught my eye. It's colorful, and despite its name, anything but chintzy, price-wise. This is from the online etymology dictionary: "Disparaging sense (in form chintzy), from the commonness of the fabric, is first recorded 1851 in George Eliot"
This 19th century coverlet appears to be in good condition.
Okay, here's the last bit of "stuff" -- things your mom had for many Christmases when you were young, still appealing because of the memories they bring back. We had the plastic snowman, complete with a broken pipe.
On the way back to the car, we passed another Carlisle landmark, the 19th century brownstone Cumberland County prison, now used for other purposes.
In closing, here are gratuitous photos of a little dessert I made with crescent roll dough and cherry pie filling.
Thanks for shopping with us!
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