Vintage jewelry, mid-century collectibles among draws at Ligonier antiques show

Dennis Conway sifted through a box holding dozens of vintage salt-and-pepper shakers and selected three pairs to purchase from Greensburg antiques dealer John Mickinak.

One of 30 vendors set up in Ligonier Borough at Saturday’s semi-annual Antiques on the Diamond Antique, Vintage & Retro Faire, Mickinak displayed some of the 650 pairs of shakers from a collection he recently purchased.

Conway targeted ones with markings indicating they were made in occupied Japan.

“As long as it says occupied Japan on the bottom, they’re worth a lot more,” Conway said of the shakers, estimating their value at $50 each.

Beyond their worth on the collector’s market, the shakers brought back memories for the Florida resident, who visited the antiques event while visiting with his daughter, Kathy Shumaker of Somerset Township.

“I grew up as a military brat,” said Conway, who is an Air Force veteran. “My father was in Japan for occupation duty after World War II, and I lived there. I saw the destruction in Nagasaki and Hiroshima before they were rebuilt.”

“I have pieces from occupied Japan that we brought home, and they’re still in mint condition. I have more stuff than I know what to do with, and here I am buying more.”

Conway and Shumaker happened upon the antiques show after visiting the Ligonier Country Market farmers market on Saturday morning on the outskirts of town.

“You can spend an entire day in Ligonier on this day,” said Mickinak, who helped with management of the antiques show, which is sponsored by the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce. “You can go to the farmers market, shop for antiques, visit all the shops in town, and then you can dine at one of the restaurants.”

Mickinak noted there were fewer participants in this year’s Ligonier show, with about 30 vendors signed up, compared to past years.

Some older vendors no longer are physically able to set up for an outdoor show. “The issue is that everyone’s aging and some are retiring,” Mickinak said.

At the same time, he said, “Younger people aren’t as interested in antiques. That’s why we’re trying to have mid-century modern things here for them” — like the salt-and-pepper shakers.

The shakers, he said, are “’kitschy’ and they appeal to everybody. Everybody smiles when they see them.

“It’s a starter in antiques. Hopefully, it attracts more people to events like this.”

Interest picked up as the day progressed at a booth where Emily McGrogan of Ambridge offered collectible jewelry for sale. For the past several years, she’s included the Ligonier show in the 28 she participates in each year.

“The foot traffic is good here,” she said. “A lot of people were looking at my amber jewelry today.”

Chelsy Coil found a deal on a dozen pieces of vintage silver jewelry, with gemstones, that she picked up as gifts at the booth of a dealer from the Youngstown, Ohio area.

A Ligonier native, Coil returned to the town when she landed a sales job based in Pittsburgh.

“I’m so excited with these pieces,” she said of her purchase. “I kind of stocked up.

“It’s fun to see people come into town.”

Ted Gladkowski, a retired custodian at Norwin High School, traveled from his North Versailles home to search for sports collectibles at the Ligonier show. He snagged a program from the 47th PGA Championship, played Aug. 12-15, 1965 at the nearby Laurel Valley Golf Club.

“This is nice, it’s casual,” he said of the Ligonier event.

The next Antiques on the Diamond show is slated for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 26 in Ligonier. Visit ligonier.com for more details.