February 2021
One of the things that attracts so many people to flea markets and Canton First Monday Trade Days in general is the sense of nostalgia that they imbue. For most of us, walking through the aisles and stalls of things long sense abandoned due to technological obsolescence brings back wonderful memories of simpler and more gentile times, whether that is actually the case or not. Things the majority of us long since tossed in the trash someone somehow had the remarkable sense to keep. Or those things miraculously survived because they got fortuitously hidden away and then serendipitously found decades later.
Sure, there are plenty of places where replicas of things can be purchased. But, seeing the real McCoy sitting there with the scars of use and faded colors of life seems to connect us with our own past in a way that a mere reproduction simply cannot. We know that the reproduction hasn’t seen life, hasn’t lived through drops and children and accidents and being handed down. It’s extremely hard to imagine the reproduction with any history so we can’t connect with it emotionally.
Walking through the fields at Canton First Monday Trade Days, one can happen upon a glass 6 oz Coca-Cola bottle. Not one of the modern ones that says “Made with pure cane sugar”; one of the old ones, when there was no other sweetener used but pure cane sugar. And it’s age will be given away by the fact that the logo is embossed in the glass and not printed. Memories can come flooding back of popping the top, taking a swig, and having the carbonation burn your nose as you swallow. Sodas don’t seem to do that these days. And even decades ago, the small bottles of Coke just seemed to taste much better than the larger bottles.
Or maybe simply leafing through some old vinyl records an album from much younger days is a happened upon. Recollection of listening to it, the whole record, not just one song, over and over and over again comes bubbling forth. Maybe thoughts of an old love that is still a current one come dancing up and the early courtship gets relived in a few dozen quickened heartbeats.
That spinning wheel may not have any real relevance other than to remind someone of their mother or maybe grandmother reading Sleeping Beauty to them. The thoughts of a soft evening light, a warm blanket, and being nestled into the arms of a loving figure reading a fable come flooding back with the visage of a piece of historic machinery. Maybe that particular wheel has some history of its own that the seller can impart.
Sometimes, one can happen upon someone else’s history and get a glimpse into the life or lives from times long gone. An old framed family photograph. The looks on the family’s faces, their clothing, their ages, and surroundings all clues that allow a story to be imagined. Maybe some old letters written from a husband to a wife are found in a bread box. The details of his life and love separated by some distance are obvious in his words. It’s not too hard to hearing the longing he has to see his wife again soon.
Sure, flea markets are a marketplace of goods. But, they can also be easy and inexpensive entertainment. Just walking and looking at the history for sale and talking with the vendors selling it can be an experience all in itself.
Canton Shopping Guide is your directory for the shops and vendors at Canton First Monday Trade Days. Be sure to follow us on Facebook.
