1st Sunday Antique
and Collectible Market in
Centreville Makes a
Memorable Sunday Daytrip
By Miriam Downey

GETTING TO the Centreville Antique Market at the Centreville Grange Fairgrounds is almost as big an adventure as the market itself. Country roads meander here and there and eventually lead to the Langley Covered Bridge about three miles north of Centreville. Take M60 west of Three Rivers and then down the Covered Bridge Road along the St. Joseph River to Centreville.

Centreville is the county seat of St Joseph County, a mostly rural county that touches the Indiana border. It is a charming little town with a large brick courthouse and lots of antique shops. The fairgrounds is huge and is the home to one of Michigan’s most popular county fairs. This year the St. Joseph County Grange Fair runs from Sept 16-22.

The fairgrounds is also home to the huge Centreville First Sunday Antique and Collectables Market which fi lls the fairgrounds on the first Sunday of the month, May through October. The Market runs from 7am to 3pm except for the September market, which is an evening market on Sept. 1 (5 pm to 2 am). The market sets up on Saturdays, and for an additional fee, eager shoppers can have first pick of the goods. My sister and I traveled to Centreville via the Langley Covered Bridge for the May show. Although neither of us are avid collectors, we decided to look for two things from our childhood that we would like to have again. Every summer at our cottage, we ate our cereal from a Shirley Temple bowl with a Charlie McCarthy spoon. Carolyn is also interested in Flow Blue china and I in Rookwood pottery. And so, the adventure began.

We talked to lots of vendors — many of whom specialized in specific types of goods. There was an Evinrude boat motor dealer, and a vendor who specialized in 50s furniture. We chuckled over a vendor who had lots of sets of silverplate silverware— a sure sign of a bygone era. One interesting couple, Leona and Carl Lentz from Delton, collect and market picture postcards of every type. Leona proudly showed me her most expensive postcard — a see-through Christmas postcard. Their postcards were beautifully categorized and displayed. Shoppers could easily find just what they needed to finish their own collections.

A vendor with a lot of Flow Blue dishes caught my sister’s attention, and I found two men who had several pieces of Rookwood pottery. We found the Charlie McCarthy spoon at a booth that had children’s toys and games, including lots of cowboy memorabilia. The price was right, and we purchased it for another generation of children to eat with. Although we searched high and low, we never found a Shirley Temple bowl. We will have to save that for another trip. This is the second year that Zurko Productions has run the Antique Market. Visiting is a delight for the whole family. There are several food vendors with everything from gyros to lemonade. Most of the goods are in tents or buildings, so the show runs rain or shine. Parking is free and a nominal fee will bring a full day of entertainment.

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