30 years of antiques

By Michele Kisthardt | | No Comments »

Some 30 years ago, Hudson resident Rosemary H. Jones was seated next to local antiques dealer, Gus Knapp, at a dinner party. Knapp turned to his close friend and said, “Why don’t we have an outdoor antiques show in Hudson?”

That idea sparked an interest in Jones, an antiques collector herself and president of Western Reserve Academy Pioneer Women’s Association at the time. “I brought it up at the next meeting,” recalls Jones, and it was soon decided that work would begin on hosting an antiques festival the following Labor Day.

Little did those women realize that the Labor Day Antiques Festival they planned in 1982 would become the organization’s largest annual fundraising event, celebrating its 30th anniversary when it takes place on Labor Day, Sept. 5.

Jones knows that her initial idea was received with some reservations. “There were many naysayers,” she said. Hudsonite Sally McArn. who served as PWA Treasurer at the time, remembers her feelings: “It was very exciting because this had not been done before, but we had no idea whether it would appeal to people. For one thing, did people have other plans during Labor Day weekend? The rain or shine of northeast Ohio was also intimidating.”

Fellow committee member Pat Eldredge recalls one of the initial meetings. “I thought Rosemary had taken leave of her senses,” she says, chuckling.

Eldredge admits her thoughts also went to Ohio’s unpredictable weather. “I thought, ‘What if it rains?’ Well, it did in year three — rained cats and dogs — but the dealers said though they had fewer people, the people were real customers. They were trapped in their tents.”

Reflecting on that first year, the women involved still marvel at how it all came together. “I asked Marianne Oberlin to be the chairperson of the Festival,” says Jones, adding that her next task was to gather a group of dependable women, who knew antiques, to be on the committee.

“I told them that Gus would take care of getting the dealers and that we had to go forward,” says Jones. “Go forward” meant handling all the other items, from preparing gourmet foods to coordinating the logistics of setting up dealers on the grounds of Western Reserve Academy. Every detail was considered.

Jones insisted on serving gourmet food. Everybody in the organization had an assignment, whether it was making homemade quiche, chilled gazpacho, or Marianne Oberlin’s cheesecake recipe for dessert.

PWA member Sally Sorenson, a Canton resident, was on the food committee that first year. She was responsible for making and transporting quiche to the event. “It was all very organized,” says Sorenson.

Hudsonite Betty Spearman agrees. “We had coffee and pastries for the dealers and the students helped us serve,” recalls Spearman.

Jones envisioned attendees sipping wine on the grounds of the school. She didn’t let the fact that neither the organization nor the school had the appropriate liquor license deter her. “I had to get a one-day liquor license. Then we had to get a fence and a policeman. The Dads’ Club sold wine wearing straw bowler hats,” says Jones, satisfied with her accomplishment.

After all the planning and hard work, the day of the actual event finally arrived. Jones and Oberlin remain sentimental about it.

Jones says, “I got here (to the school) about 6:30 a.m. The birds were chirping. It was daybreak. I just started to cry because I was so happy with our success.”

Oberlin recalls a similar experience. “I went to the school very early. I walked up Hudson Street and there’s a little rise. I got to the top and everything was laid out — just like we thought it was supposed to happen but none of us thought really would. It gave me goose bumps. It was such an overwhelming sight … the dealer trucks and people all ready to go. I’ll never forget that.”

Naturally, not everything went as planned that first year. “We wanted all the dealers to line up in the parking lot in numerical order. That didn’t work,” says Jones, laughing at the memory.

They planned for Sally McArn’s husband, Angus, to collect money from tickets and concessions and deliver it to the business office for counting. “He started walking from gate to gate. Then he came home and got his bike so he could get around faster,” says McArn, who says she never did get to look at the booths because she was so busy counting money.

Jones says a tradition began that first year for the chairperson to host a party after the show and a representative from WRA Business Office would stop by and announce how much money was made at the show.

Gathered at the home of Marianne Oberlin, Jones says committee members hoped to make $5,000 the first year. “Len Carlson from the Business Office came in and told us we cleared $12,000. We were in shock,” exclaims Jones.

Immediately, thoughts went to the future. Oberlin says, “It was so successful. We thought, ‘We have to do it again” Oberlin chaired it again the next year. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

Honoring the founders

To recognize the 30th anniversary of the event, PWA President Nancy Forhan says that PWA First Vice President Carolyn Bialosky came up with the idea of hosting The Brick Row Ball to celebrate the founders of the festival. The Brick Row Ball will take place Saturday, Sept. 3, on the Western Reserve Academy campus.

“We’re giving them some long overdue thanks for creating a tradition that is still so important to the Pioneer Women’s Association and Western Reserve Academy,” says Forhan.

According to Forhan, the Antiques Festival remains the PWA’s primary fundraiser. “Funds raised support the PWA’s many committees, just as they have for the past 30 years. Committees are in place to support the PWA’s mission to enhance the student experience above and beyond what the school’s budget covers,” explains Forhan.

Funds go toward items such as exam week coffees and dorm feeds to school-wide social events and spirit initiatives. “We also allocate funds at the request of faculty, students and administration to purchase special items for the school,” says Forhan, noting that the goal always is to affect as many students as possible with each acquisition.

Forhan estimates more than 2,000 names and addresses of alumnae parents around the world have been gathered for the Brick Row Ball invitation list. “We are hoping for a huge turnout,” says Forhan, adding that it will be wonderful to reunite and reconnect with other parents.

Head of School Christopher Burner ’80, whose mother, Rosemary H. Jones, is one of the Antiques Festival founders, enthusiastically awaits the Ball.

“I have participated in every aspect of the Antiques Festival — setup, cleanup, manning a gate and carrying furniture. It is rewarding to consider how successful and meaningful the Festival has been for WRA and Hudson for 30 years. I look forward to acknowledging all of the effort and care that has gone into this event for decades.”

Tags: Labor Day Antiques Festival, Western Reserve Academy Pioneer Women's Association

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