'You're going to find it' at Hanna's Town antique sale, now in its 52nd season

Janie Hess-Gray’s favorite find at a past Hanna’s Town Antiques and Collectibles Sale was a green glass buoy, or fishing float.

“It’s very beautiful,” she said. “We were just talking about putting it out on our porch for the season.”

At Sunday’s season opener of monthly sales at the historic Hanna’s Town site in Hempfield, the Indiana Borough resident was intent on finding an equally unique Mother’s Day gift to take home.

The contrasting red and white colors on some vintage spice tins particularly caught her eye.

“We try to get here at least a couple times a year,” she said of the sale. “We really enjoy it. We find all kinds of good things.”

While some other area antique shows have fallen by the wayside, the one at Hanna’s Town has continued to attract both buyers and vendors. There were 132 booths offering wares on Sunday.

The show is run by the Westmoreland County Historical Society, which operates historic attractions at the site of the first county seat and is headquartered there. Retiring society Executive Director Lisa Hays was on hand Sunday — showing her successor, Angela Jackson, the ropes.

“We’re still here and going relatively strong,” Hays said. She noted weather is the key factor in determining the success of a given Sunday’s sale.

“Last year, it rained on so many of the days,” she said. “Today, it’s really good. People are in a good mood and they seem to be buying.”

Because the Hanna’s Town sales are held on the second Sunday of each month, from May through October, the season always begins on Mother’s Day.

“I can’t imagine a better morning Mother’s Day gig than this,” said North Huntingdon resident Maria Haigis. She’s regularly attended the show since she was a kid, now bringing along her own young child, her husband and her father for Sunday’s event.

She has become a faithful customer of vendor Stephen Razdik, who splits his time between Murrysville and Florida when he isn’t offering up used treasures for sale at shows.

“I sell a lot of tropical things,” he said, branding his business as U’Niki An’Tiki. “I bring a lot of things from Florida.

“I started this by cleaning out my garage, and it’s still not clean.”

Each with years of experience at antique shows, Razdik and Haigis have some advice to share from their respective perspectives of seller and buyer.

No matter how choice a vintage item may be, it still has to be priced reasonably enough to sell, Razdik said.

“People are watching their money,” he said. “If you think you’re going to sell something and not give somebody a deal, you’re wrong.”

It may be a tall order for browsers to scan through rows and rows of objects to find a desirable item. But, Haigis said, “If you know what you’re looking for, you’re going to find it. You eye in on whatever it is.

“I’m a big jewelry person. I also like old copper cookware, and I look for vintage clothes sometimes.”

Michele Monstrola of Monroeville brought an eclectic mix of items to sell at Hanna’s Town — ranging from washboards to Tonka truck toys. It was also an opportunity to promote the Antiques in the Woods show that she and her husband will put on in early September in Columbiana, Ohio.

“We want to make sure we get here at least once a year,” she said of the Hanna’s Town sale. “We enjoy what we do.

“We love finding the items. We like what we buy, so when somebody else likes it, too, that’s our high.”