Happy May!

And how did we get here so fast?

The first third of the year is gone, graduations are looming, summer is around the corner and we have had to turn on the air conditioner a couple of times at work already.

Our trio of communities – Oakdale, Riverbank and Escalon – had very successful ‘Love’ events to close out April, with volunteers taking on projects to benefit others. It’s a lot of fun to cover it, interesting to talk with the volunteers about why they want to help. In today’s world, when there is so much “It’s all about me” everywhere, it’s refreshing to see those who want to give of their time and talents to make a difference for someone else.

It was also a treat for me recently to do a story in the Escalon paper with Will Hecht, proprietor of the local Heck of a Deal mercantile, a business he has run for 20 years. It has all manner of items, antiques, collectibles, those ‘finds’ that someone just can’t live without.

I loved hearing his stories about the history of the various pieces; details on where they came from, what they were used for, what made them special. It took me back to when I was in college and for a few years after, when I would spend some weekends helping out at a local business. My college psychology professor – Mr. Bowes – lived not far from my parents and he had a barn that was packed full of ‘finds’ – with a few narrow aisles that you could walk down to see the various pieces. It also had an upstairs with more treasures. Some weekends I would be there to help out, some weekends if he wanted time off, he would leave me in charge and my pay was a portion of whatever sales I made. He was also very big on providing a ‘gift of the day’ if you stopped and shopped, finding something unique (and maybe or maybe not useful) to send you home with.

Being a psychology professor, he was also very good at engaging people in conversation; learning about where the customers came from and what they were looking for was part of the fun.

The region of upstate New York where I was born and raised was primarily an agricultural area but also had lots of tourist attractions, so “The Barn Carp” was able to draw in people that may have been on their way to somewhere else but stopped just to see what was hiding in that barn.

When I moved into my first apartment, after college, I had two part-time jobs and was able to get some low-cost items at The Barn Carp that came in handy; a three-tiered metal stand for the kitchen, a bedside table, etc. That was also at the time that the old roller-skating rink had been taken over by an auction company and they had weekly auctions, again with all sorts of oddities and the occasional gem.

I would often go with my dad, who was looking for parts for his antique gas engines or old tools or something he could use at his shop. I was just looking for whatever was interesting. My favorite was getting a ‘Box of Contents’ that they would literally give away for a few dollars toward the end of the auction.

The best thing ever in a box of contents was a very compact mini stove-like contraption. As I recall it had two heating elements and came with a tiny coffee pot – probably one cup, that would never work for me now – and a tiny pan for making one serving of whatever, plus a drawer you could pull out and use as a broiler when the heating elements were on. That got tossed or given away at some point but I sure got my few dollars’ use out of it.

Actually, maybe, my next trip back to New York, I’ll head over to The Barn Carp and see if it’s hidden somewhere among the must-have items.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.