A day in Hartville

Labor Day! A day to celebrate one's employment by taking the day off and going shopping!

But why encourage the manufacture of more toxic stuff from China? So my friend and I chose to head to Hartville for one of the biggest flea market days of the year in our area. My friend is a collector and I just like to look around and reflect on the detritus of society as revealed in booth after booth of ... stuff!

And I admit, I collect books and always manage to find one or two that make their way into my reusable cloth shopping bag.

We headed out at sunrise and arrived to find that traffic into the flea market was already backed up. We headed for the old flea market first. This is the one that spreads out over a grassy field with a number of county fair type long buildings that house the permanent flea marketers. The dealers were still pouring because there was no more set up room across the street. by 9:30 AM we had gone the rounds twice and decided to make our way to the recently constructed more modern flea market, with a huge indoor market as well as acres of paved vending areas as well as patron parking.

I love the sparkle and vivid colors of glassware on display. I never buy any of it, but enjoy the sight.

Here's a "one of a kind" item, as you can read on the display sign. Who is going to buy a sauerkraut cutter made in 1949 for $350.00?





Name something that people collect and you'll find them at the flea market. Buttons not only appeal to people who collect buttons but also to people who have theme collections such as Elvis or Rin Tin Tin.



Three very different lamp bases in a row. The third one looks like an alien.




These pewter spoons feature story book characters carved on the top of each handle.



All is not cheerfulness and bright colors at the flea market. This table was covered with animal traps.

I was somewhat appalled by the amount of guns on display.

One man had a pickup truck bed full of pit bull puppies, while another had an already very large Mastiff puppy for sale.



Bobble-heads! And look, it's Barry Bonds in his San Francisco Giants (my favorite team) uniform. I didn't dare pick him up. I had a Barry Bonds bobble-head but his head fell off. Stay away from steroids boys and girls!



And finally, perfect for your outdoor deck or downstairs basement gentleman's den, this "perky" native doll stands proud on a table full of stuff -- waiting for the perfect buyer who will put her on display and keep her from the depths of landfill hell.

After the flea market, we stopped to visit a friend who lives right outside the town of Hartville in a beautiful old recycled stone and brick cottage. Living so close to the flea market, this friend had built up a number of collections including old movie projectors, percussion instruments, and toy trucks.

His grandmother had recently died and had requested her ashes be poured on her compost heap! The family had complied and planted some flowers there as well, and also did some readings from a giant book of composting. The whole family had gathered this weekend for gram's birthday. They stood around the compost heap and sang Happy Birthday to her. Our friend took us to the heap and shared some amazing adventures from his Gram's 95 years of life.

I was very impressed with the stories of Gram. I had been thinking of doing the exact same thing, having my ashes added to the compost -- the final act of recycling any of us can do. I also liked the idea of this family creating their own unique rituals to deal with death and honoring of family.