By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Outside the front door of The Old Store, an antique push lawnmower, an old fertilizer spreader, a rusted small farm tractor and a green and white Schwinn bicycle gleamed in the winter sunshine in downtown Piedmont.
The Old Store, 100 Monroe Ave. NW, is the host to an annual September flea market event called Junklahoma, and the event namesake is painted across the old Simpson grain elevator across the gravel parking lot next to the store. The Junklahoma event has taken off in popularity. Held during Founder’s Day weekend in September, Junklahoma drew more than a thousand people to Piedmont last year, said Joyce Leach, event organizer and co-owner of the Old Store.
“I would say it is the biggest event in Piedmont now,” Leach said. “Not just Junklahoma but Founder’s Day as a whole and we’re just a part of that.”
In the middle of winter, another annual event will draw crowds to downtown Piedmont Saturday.
The Old Store winter consignment sale is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22. And a large crowd is expected with people bringing in sale items.
Inside the turn-of-the-century building, the antique store draws regular weekend crowds and vendors who sell collectibles at booths.
Inside, there is a male mannequin wearing a Junklahoma T-shirt. Aisles of items beckon the days gone by.
The Old Store building was originally the Mulvey Mercantile Co. when it was completed in 1903 as a general store and as the first brick building in Piedmont. Another Mulvey store was opened in Yukon before the Piedmont location opened, Leach said.
The wooden floor creaks when walked on, and the tin ceiling tiles are still overhead, painted with coats over the years.
Inside on a recent Saturday, a customer walked to the front counter and placed a bronze, 12-inch tall item down to buy. It was a smaller version of what is still found on the horizons and in the pastures around Piedmont.
“You know that is a windmill?” Janice Lawrence asked.
Customer, “Yes. I do. I like it.”
Leach said anyone who wants to join in the community consignment sale this Saturday is welcomed to call the store.
This is the fourth winter consignment sale at the store this year, she said.
“The sales have been pretty successful and a pretty good draw to the store, especially in February when there are not a lot of garage sales going on, not a lot of estate sales, so it kind of gives dealers and junkers kind of a place to go during the off-months,” Leach said. “We’ve been able to attract those crowds as well.”
Leach said the events at the Old Store draw people to Piedmont who visit other stores and sites too.
“Even if it is just a few hundred people who come, that is a few hundred people coming to Piedmont who might get gas or go to Sonic or across the street to the boutiques,” Leach said. “I feel like we’re trying to make Piedmont a destination where all the businesses can benefit.”
People can bring items to the store a week before the consignment sale and must pick unsold items up within a week after the sale. The store gets a 20 percent commission for sales.
To find out more about the consignment sale call the store at (405) 373-2093.
