With my apartment positioned squarely within a Zone A of New York’s hurricane evacuation area, I decided to head to Ohio for the weekend to visit my folks and avoid all of the kerfuffle in the city. I got up early on Saturday, grabbed my car and headed west on Interstate 80. I wanted to get out of the city to avoid traffic before everyone was up and about, which meant that I got a quick start and made great time across the state of Pennsylvania. Around exit 70 I saw a sign for a flea market (a diversion that I have been able to successfully ignore on many previous occasions) but being as this was an unplanned trip and I had time on my side, I decided to peek in and see what this place had to offer.
To my surprise, the flea market had a good selection and was situated next to one of the best looking painted barns I have ever seen. There weren’t any crowds or obnoxious yuppies (not counting me anyway) and no food trucks serving lobster rolls – just a bunch of old stuff to peruse. The exit 70 flea is made up of four long stalls each staffed by an old timer that would happily accept conversation over a sale, a transaction I was happy to provide after five hours on I-80.
In the end I did pick up a few small items – resisting the two great lanterns below – took a few snaps of the barn and was on my way a happy man. If you ever find your self running from a massively over-hyped piece of weather and end up near exit 70 on I-80 in Pennsylvania (on a Saturday or Sunday in the spring, summer or fall), stop and check out that old barn and the flea. You won’t be disappointed.
Love the old milk bottles…
that crate is awesome – nice stop! that x100 is pretty damn slick.
Loving the Autobridge game, especially the futura font.
Nice! Love antiquing in PA. Always wanted one of those old lunch pails. Thoroughly enjoy your site.
I had an Arbuckles box as a kid that I stored my toys in. Totally forgot about that thing. I’m sure I probably destroyed it somehow.
Nice to see some pickin’ on the blog again. And Alex, re. the font used on the Autobridge game…that sure ain’t Futura.
Although upon taking a closer look all the smaller type on the Autobridge game is indeed Futura.
The key tag reminded me of the ACL key tags.
Any of those ever ended up getting returned to you via the mail?
now there’s a cool place
What town is exit 70? I am from DuBois (along I-80) which is exit 97 I believe. I am in the Air Force and used to the old exit system (DuBois was exit 16 and 17, but changed to the mile marking exits a few years ago).
Strattanville, PA
Love it, thanks for sharing.
Aah, the now-defunct Johnstown Sanitary Dairy…or Sanidairy…went there on a third grade fieldtrip and can’t shake the visceral sense-memory of an overpowering sour milk scent…
Hi Michael
First time caller, long time listener.
i recently had the pleasure of visiting The Auction Barn in Eminence, Kentucky and it was ridiculously exciting. I came away with some treasures including a MA Hadley bowl and the aftertaste of a ‘hot diddley dawg’ hotdog.
This makes me wish I had fled the city rather than be indoors in my zone b apartment for a day.
I would actually love to use those old milk bottles for spice jars in my kitchen. Would be pretty sweet.
Those old half-pint/pint milk bottles are actually really useful. You can pick them up for $3-7 at nearly any flea market. we use them for serving salad dressing/cream for coffee/simple syrup for ice tea/maple syrup. And our kids each have one so they can pour their own milk into their cereal.
If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of car were you driving?
i KNEW someone would ask him what kind of car he drives. too funny
I drive a Ford.
I wasn’t trying to suss out whether it was American or not. I was interested because the website is a font of good taste and was just curious about what Mr Williams would’ve selected. Cheers
You’ve found the Mail Pouch signs. Drive deeper into the woods, they’re everywhere. My favorites are in Renovo Pa., painted on the side of an old TrueValue hardware store and what once was a men’s clothing store.
Cast Iron, I LOVE cast iron. nothing works so well in a well appointed kitchen, or back yard fire. I have lived and breathed vintage wear and life materials since I can remember.
It is good (environmentally), but sad as well to see hunting now become so mainstream. Deal that were tend to be no more. Nice imagery. Have you read on the two new-to-be Fujis? The x10 and x50? Cheers.
Gorgeous photo of the Mail Pouch barn. I went to college in SE Ohio and have a few photos around Athens and Hocking counties, but none as nice.