SUKANEN VILLAGE — It was an antique collectors’ paradise at the exhibition grounds recently as hundreds of people browsed for items that reminded them of their childhoods or could help decorate their homes.
The Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum held its 42nd annual antiques and collectibles show and vehicle parts sale at the convention centre on March 21 and 22. More than 140 tables contained a range of items, from crystal to licence plates to toy cars to LPs to coins to books to blankets to food.
George Chopping with “Old George’s Antiques” in Whitewood brought many items from his museum, a 12-acre complex that includes a 140-year-old 20-room mansion and a village with more than 30 pioneer-era buildings.
Ol’ George also picked up some vintage items to improve his museum, including a Second World War-era tobacco box that once cost 70 cents, a 1930s glass Pepsi bottle from Starlite Bottlers in Saskatoon and a 1920s Hudson Bay Trapper Point blanket that was made in England.
Chopping, 82, explained that he purchased the historic mansion and estate in 1985 and turned it into a space to display his vast collection. However, because of health challenges and age, last year he gave the entire estate to a couple — Kinnen Balan and Joe Dorma — he’d known for 20 years.
“She (Balan) always wanted to live in the house. And over the years they’ve helped me out a little bit. And then one day I just told them, ‘How would you like to take it over?’” Chopping said. “They’re going to keep the same name (for the museum and antique shop) … . And it’s been beautiful.”
The collector noted that some parts of his collection had built up a layer of dust more than an inch thick, so the couple cleaned up that issue — they were “working like a beaver” — and other messy displays.
Balan said she and her husband share the same passion for antiques as Chopping, while she’s always loved the 1885-built house, so they jumped at the chance to take over his museum. She noted that this is the first year they will be operating the complex.
“I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun … ,” she added. “It’s like a dream come true. It’s kind of like winning the lottery.”
Another vendor was Gerald Waslen from Moose Jaw, who enthusiastically claimed that one of his displays was “the most expensive shelf in this show.” The shelf featured two sets of Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls, along with a wind-up Mickey.
Waslen alleged that one set of dolls was from the 1930s and was worth $3,000, a second set was from the 1980s and was worth $200, and the wind-up walking toy was worth $3,000. He said he found the walking toy in 1985 on a farm near Old Wives Lake, although he couldn’t recall where he’d picked up the dolls.
Meanwhile, the man said he had been an antique “picker” for 50 years, with his focus on collecting pre-2000 Coca-Cola items. He noted that his parents owned the Kingsway Grocery Store at the corner of Ninth Avenue Northeast and Duffield Street on Â鶹´«Ã½AV Hill in the 1950s, so he was always there.
“I’ve been drinking Coke-Cola since I was four — and I’m now 75,” Waslen added.
Vendor Mary Lou Wills and her sister Margaret Epoch had an interesting item at their table that mystified them as to its origin: a German war helmet, which they were selling for $200. Wills explained that her husband’s uncle, Albert Wills, was a Second World War veteran who — as the story goes — allegedly found the helmet on a beach and took it as a souvenir.
“We just think it’s kind of gross and we hesitated to even bring it, but we don’t want it,” she added. “It’s been in the basement forever.”
An internet search shows the war trophy could be an M1935 version, the most widely produced Stahlhelm the Germans created.
The Sukanen Ship Museum’s opening day is Wednesday, May 14, its Show and Shine is on Saturday, June 7 and its Flea Market is Sunday, June 29. Visit for further information.
