Antique Archaeology

One of my favorite TV shows is American Pickers on the History Channel.  Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz travel the country in their big white van with the red rooster logo, searching for rusty items, unique Americana items, and not-seen-in-ages items.

Their principle store is in Le Claire, Iowa, but Mike recently opened a second store in Nashville, TN.  One of the stops on the trolley tour that Becky and I took a week ago today was at Antique Archaeology!

Danielle, who manages the store in Iowa, traveled to Nashville and found the present location for the boys...the 1914 Marathon Automobile building just outside of town.  With lots of space to grow into, the building is the perfect spot for all the accumulated road rust from the honey holes they have picked.

We could hardly contain ourselves as we entered the store.  I just had to stand inside the door to take it all in.  Stuff lining the walls...stuff hanging from the ceiling...cool stuff everywhere!

To coincide with the History Channel's recent series on the Hatfields and McCoys, Mike and Frank had traveled to West Virginia and Kentucky in search of items related to that family feud.  In a general store there, they had picked a ledger that contained the account and purchases of "Devil Anse" Hatfield.  In the back corner of Antique Archaeology, sitting in a glass case, was that very ledger book!

I'm sure that I missed a whole lot of things, but I walked round and round the store trying to take it all in.  There was so much to photograph and the one thing that I didn't take a picture of that I should have, was a huge carnival banner hanging on the ceiling.  Guess I'll just have to make a return trip!

Becky and I saw so many items that we have seen on the Monday night shows.  This Dopey Duck was picked just a couple episodes ago.  Remember when Frank put on the Porky Pig head? 

Fun stuff!!

We both bought t-shirts and I was really tempted to get a coffee mug, but opted for a little sticker instead.  Tomorrow I'll tell you about the serendipitous encounter we had in Leiper's Fork that revolves around Mike.

Thanks for stopping by on this rainy Tuesday in Newton to pick up another Nashville Postcard.  See ya tomorrow!