That Possum Belly Cabinet, and Stories

62°f this morning, and surprise, surprise, a tiny rainshower just before dawn. Not enough to settle the dust or wet the ground under trees, but still! Mostly cloudy all day, but no more rain. High of 82.

About the cabinet I posted the photo of yesterday: a possum belly cabinet is basically a baker's cabinet. Made in the 1800's, these cabinets pre-date Hoosier-style cabinets. The top drawers were for spices, baking soda, salt, etc. The cupboards on either side of the top could hold bowls, sisters, and other utensils. The worktops were originally wood, like the one we have, later were metal (zinc) and later still enamel. Below the worktop are two pullout cutting boards or doughboards.

The lower drawers were for utensils, cookie cutters, whatever. Then the two big "possum belly" drawers were for flour and meal. These were usually tin-lined to keep out mice, and the cabinets had casters, which, according to what I have read, would keep ants out. I can't figure out how that worked! We did not put casters on this one, because the holes in the legs were too wallowed out and we might have split the legs if we tried. So we opted for sliders instead.

But you can see what a useful piece of furniture this could be in a kitchen. I would love to keep this one,  but I have absolutely no room for it in my kitchen. So now it is in the booth. 

The cabinet needed repair; the lower legs were pulling loose, a top cabinet door was off, there were missing pulls, but overall it was in good shape. There was no way I was going to paint it! I only paint when repairs or surface damage leave no choice, or when we sit on a piece for a few years. And even then I will hold out if the piece is quite old and in good shape. 

Today we took the cabinet in, and added fall decor to our booths. I heard some interesting stories along the way.

We had stopped lunch, and another car pulled in beside us. I noticed the name on the license plate said Costello1. So as the couple walked up alongside us, I said, "Hello Mr. Costello!" He looked surprised,  then replied, "You will have to give me a hint how you know me." I pointed to the license plate and we all had a good laugh. It turns out that this couple, who were probably a few years older than us, run a recreation area for the Park Service in the mountains near Elkins, WV.  What a great retirement gig.

The restaurant was crowded, and service was slow, but the waitress was cheerful and hustling to serve everyone. As she brought us our food she said, "I got you something! It might not be what you ordered,  but I grabbed it for you!" It was our order, of course, but how funny!

I noticed a couple,  probably in their 80s, sitting side by side in a booth across from us. Usually people sit across from each other, so they caught my eye. I wondered if one or the other might need help eating or something. They had not got their food by the time we were leaving, so I asked them if they thought it might ever come. They replied cheerfully that they were sure it would be there soon, and that their usual waitress had the day off.

As it turned out, these folks were hale and hearty and on their way to work on their farm in Ohio, where they had cattle and a huge garden. Of course, we immediately sank into a long conversation about gardens, drought, types of beans, canning...well, you know. Their meal did finally arrive, and I figured out why they sat side by side--they shared the various dishes they ordered,  eating from the same plates! Struck me as rather sweet, really. Many older people can't eat large meals, and restaurants tend to often give us too much food, so they managed to have a nice variety, without having too much of any one thing.

At our booth in Ravenswood,  a young couple came in and bought a child's rocking chair and a tricycle from our booth. I assumed they had a toddler, but no---they were expecting their first child and were so excited they were already buying toys for when their baby was 5 years old!

And the last of today's stories: a boy, about 8 years old, came into the antique mall, and stood t just inside the door, looking around. There was another vendor,  me, and the store owner standing at the desk, and the owner asked the boy, "Can we help you?" He hesitated a second, then blurted, "Is this the old people store?" Yep, sure was!

When we finished up at the booths, we stopped at our friend Rachel's, as she had more things she wanted us to take. She has nearly emptied her house and is on track to move to Florida in September.  It is sad to see her home so devoid of all her antiques, but she is so ready to be gone, so I have to be happy for her even though we will miss her.

We came home to find that deer had managed to get through the electric fence and over the chicken wire barrier to nip a few bean plants. Larry was so aggravated, as he has babies these beans along through the dry weather.  So he has now covered the beans with a row cover, and added more chicken wire to his barricade. Fingers crossed that the deer stay out!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.