On the first spring-like day in March, hundreds of folks were happy to leave their homes and head to the Barry County Expo Center in Allegan, Mich., for the antique show that signals the end of winter and the start of the antique show season.

Larry Wood is the man in charge of putting this show together, as well as the very successful Allegan Antique Market, which will take place the last Sunday of each month from April through September.

Wood used to run the shows with partner Morrie Fulkersen. More recently, he has turned it into a family project. His daughters Kellie Wood and Terri Leighton help out locally with the tasks at hand, and son Shawn Wood participates with Internet support while living on the West Coast and working for NASA. The Barry County show has been in operation for 12 years, and the larger Allegan Antique Market is in its 31st season.

While chatting with Wood, one quickly discovers a very personable gentleman. He came to the antique business during a career first as a motorcycle police officer, and later as a fire marshall in Grand Rapids, Mich. After retiring from that occupation in 1995, the antique business became more of a full-time activity. He describes himself as a hands-on manager who knows all of his dealers. He can be found during the show to be walking around, chatting with dealers and visitors, and generally being involved keeping an eye on things.

There were 60 dealers housed in the Barry County Expo Center for this all-indoor show, and Wood said he had 20 more dealers on a waiting list that he could have invited if he’d had a larger venue. He tries to balance the dealers in order to offer a variety of items to the public, and it seems to be a winning strategy. The building itself resembles a pole barn, but is well lighted and heated, with a nice food service area and plenty of clean, open space for setting up.

Wandering about the building, every dealer was friendly and eager to talk about their items. The majority of dealers were quick to point out that prices were negotiable, so the prices reported here were not necessarily the selling prices. Most of these dealers will also be displaying at the Allegan shows later this year. Shelly Norton described her booth as “shabby chic,” and offered some functional older furniture, a nice brass lamp for $30, and old photos very attractively arranged. Being a school bus driver gives her time between bus runs to visit garage sales to find stock for her booth.

Randy Wolfe tries to stock his booth with a variety of items to reach a range of customers. He had two large advertising thermometers in excellent condition, Hires Root Beer for $120 and Pollack Wheeling Stogies for $145.

He very much enjoys folk art, as evidenced by the wooden eagle featured in his booth at $40. There was also a very ornate pin fire gun offered for $140.

A colorful display of stuffed bears was featured in Joe Bogart’s booth. The Steiff bear on top was dressed for travel and priced at $275. Joe was pleased with the turn out for the show. Besides bears, he also handles old banks, and some beautiful Royal Bayreuth and RS Prussia.

While walking through the aisles, a very unusual electric Thomas Edison Recorder, circa 1915, was seen on display. This was a cylinder player, and was marked $175. Al Scolnik, a Chicago-area dealer, said this was something that you might never see again. He also had a very rare 1942 US Navy Rangefinder, in a sturdy oak box, all in immaculate condition for $450.

Moving along to the booth of Jim and Lill Grimminck there was an irresistible display of dolls of various ages, sizes, and styles. One particularly eye-catching model was the “My Size” Barbie with long blonde hair and a filmy dress. She was about 36-inches tall and towered above the other dolls with an inviting smile. Lill confessed to being a doll collector herself, while her husband collects hot sauce bottles. A few other items filled out the booth, including a large model of the Star Wars hero R2D2.

Judy Thurber, another dealer, hosted beautiful glass items; particularly popular was the Northwood 1907 pitcher with hand-painted details. Priced at $85, she was sure that this pitcher soon would be headed to a new home.

Furniture refinisher Joe Vondrash had several large pieces of furniture on display, dominating a corner of the building. Besides the nicely restored cabinets and desks, he also had some clever items that he had created himself. He takes large vanities that are no longer practical for use in today’s homes and cuts them down to create lovely nightstands and file cabinets.

And finally, Mike McAllister had probably the most unusual booth at the show, featuring museum-grade African art. Each piece had a story, representing artisans from throughout Africa, mostly in the central Congo area. There were hand-carved sling shots, several masks, including a head hunter mask, and useful items such as boxes and an unfinished pipe. The head hunter mask still retained some of the red Tulka stain as decoration. A ceremonial statue of a Baluba Queen and her child was also prominently displayed on the table. Mike was quite happy with the steady crowd at the show.

Next up for Wood and his crew will be the summer shows at Allegan, the last Sunday of each month. The show started in 1978, with 200 dealers and a record downpour of 4-inches of rain. It has steadily grown in numbers and quality, as Larry welcomes 400 dealers to the show this year, including 13 dealers that have been with him from the beginning. When asked about the most memorable event of the show’s history, he stopped to think a minute, then related the story of the small plane that crashed on the grounds in 1984 while trying to find an airport in a fog.

No one has a crystal ball, but when asked about the coming year, Wood said he has one word to describe his frame of mind: “apprehensive.” Last year was the best ever at Allegan, even with the $4 gallon gas prices. This year, gas prices are half that, but many more people have lost their jobs, so the money is tight. Hopefully, the two will balance out and folks will still come out to enjoy the shows, he said. There have been changes in the trends of what sells well. Of course, everyone is out for a bargain, but in general people are buying more practical items. Also, antiques are becoming the choice for decorating homes, businesses, and bed and breakfast type facilities. When asked what he himself enjoys collecting, his tastes range from Icart paintings and RS Prussia to sports collectibles. Here’s to a great season for everyone hunting for those treasured finds.

Contact:

(616) 735-3333, or Larry Wood

(616) 453-8780

www.alleganantiques.

com.