Striking out with Antiques

Several books and their authors have inspired me over the years.
I’ll never forget the first time I read a Lewis Grizzard book or the first time I listened to a cassette tape of one of his live performances. I knew I wanted to be just like him. Then, I found out about all of his health problems, and I thought, maybe I could be just like him, minus the heart condition.

Other authors have influenced me in similar ways. David McCullough made history read like a novel. Robert Hicks, the New York Times best-seller from Franklin, writes novels based on historical events. Both authors inspire me to digest as much history as I can possibly retain because, as evidenced by their books, everyone and everything has a story — only some stories are just waiting for someone to write them.

But, sometimes, inspiration comes from more obscure titles and authors, such as the book I just finished: “Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider’s Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting,” by Maureen Stanton.

Being a lifelong lover of history, I’ve also been an avid collector of antiques — when I can afford them. Antiques are tangible items that link directly to history, especially when one considers who lived during the time the item was created and who might have touched or used it. I’m happy believing Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson personally used every antique item in my collection, even though I know that’s a long shot with a short pistol. But, who’s to say they didn’t?

Stanton’s book was truly an insider’s look at the world of antiques. The book follows an antique dealer from finding and buying an item to showing and selling it, an endless process that this dealer duplicates 365 days a year. The book was realistic, if nothing else.

Most people watch “American Pickers” and “Antiques Road Show” and think, “Wow! All I need is a little cash to buy an item and I’ll make a million bucks!”

Even I have been under this impression before. But, the truth is, getting to the level to make money from buying junk and turning it into profit is a long, rough and winding road.

I hit yard sales and auctions for weeks on end, sorting through others’ trash to find that one, special item. When I thought I had amassed a good-sized collection, I got a booth at the flea market and tried to peddle my wares to the rest of the world. I think I broke even on most of the items, but I did double my money on a piece of Vaseline glass. I paid a dollar for it and made a whole dollar in profit.
The truth of the matter is that the antiques market is a hard row to hoe. I was just doing my booth for fun. For others, though, they make their yearly salary $1 at a time. And things aren’t getting any easier.

In her book, Stanton suggests antique collecting may be a thing of the past — the majority of people would rather buy something new for the convenience rather than searching for that special, old item. How sad it is to think about items, hundreds of years old, being tossed aside? But, this is a trend. Only time will tell what the future will hold for antiques.
Those of us who love antiques need to band together, to preserve our items, and where better than the Athenaeum, Maury County’s headquarters for the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities?

“Antebellum” and “yard sale” are terms that typically do not go together. But at the Athenaeum in Columbia, those terms go together like peanut butter and jelly, especially since the second Antebellum Yard Sale will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.

There will be handmade items, books, reenactment gear and antique items. Please come and feast your eyes and spend your money. Or if you have items you’d like to sell, call the Athenaeum for more information at (931) 381-4822. I hope to see you there.

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Named a Tennessee colonel by Gov. Phil Bredesen, Adam Southern is resident of Columbia and can be followed at http://colonelsouthern.blogspot.com.

"Picked" Clean

My name is Adam Southern, and I am addicted to junk.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step toward healing, but somehow I don’t think the 12-step program will help me with my addiction. It has been going on for too long.

I can remember my mom coming into my room when I was a child and saying, “Adam, your room is junky! You need to do something about it!” But, in my eyes, the room was perfect. Why should I do something a bout it? Who was I to tamper with perfection?

Since my addiction was not snuffed out at a young age, it was allowed to blossom, growing like kudzu daily.

It only got worse when I turned 16 and got a job, a truck and a driver’s license. Then, I had money to spend and a way to haul my buys. It wasn’t unusual to hear when I got home, “What did you buy today? Or, “You are not bringing that in my house!” So, I learned a new trick- buy small and sneak it in.

Antique stores, flea markets, yard sales, junk stores, you name it, and I’ve probably been there. Even if I didn’t buy anything, it was always fun to look, and even more fun to learn about the items there for sale. If an item’s missing an electrical cord, kids today don’t know what it is. Furthermore, they probably don’t care w hat it is. If you can’t text with it or access Facebook on it, what good is it anyway, right?

I’ve always been the opposite. Even as a kid, I wanted to know what an item was, what it was used for and how much I could buy it for.

And what luck, when I found my lovely fiancee, I learned that she, too, had a love for antiques. Now, to clarify this, she loves antiques. On the other hand, she says what I buy is junk, not antiques. I prefer to think I’m after “junque,” some sort of mix between antiques and junk, but Kayla insists I’m after plain old junk.


We’re young, engaged and looking for our first house. That’s right. We do not have a house yet. However, despite not having a house of our own, we continue to buy “junque” on a regular basis, cluttering up our parents’ homes until we get a place of our own.

Every time I buy something now, Kayla asks, “Where is this going to go in our house?” My usual reply is, “My office.” (That is, assuming that we will have room in our home for an office.) Kayla’s usual rebuttal is, “You don’t even have an office yet and already you have no more room!”

It’s sad, but true. Together, we have enough stuff to fill two starter homes. Hopefully, Mike and Frank from “American Pickers” will miraculously show up at our pre-wedding yard sale and buy everything for exorbitant prices. Until then, though, we are making trails to walk around in our rooms.

Sadly, there’s a chance Kayla will buy more junk. There’s even a better chance that I w ill buy more. Especially since there’s going to be a one-of-a-kind yard sale at the Athenaeum. That’s right- the Athenaeum is having a yard sale.

No. They are not selling off furnishings. But, they are giving anyone who has re-enacting supplies, clothes, period relics, etc. the opportunity to come and sell their wares on the grounds in the first-ever “Antebellum Yard Sale” at the Athenaeum on Saturday, Sept. 24.

For more information, contact the Athenaeum at (931) 381-4822 and be sure to stop by. Who knows, you may be able to stop me or my darling from buying anything else!

In the picture above, the lovely Kayla is found looking through one of her favorite antique stores!