HINTON W.Va. (WVDN) – This week’s piece is multifaceted. I am and have been an antique collector since going to my first auction in Pence Springs when I was 10 years old. It was the going-out-of-business sale for B&B Antiques that sat across from the famous Riverside Inn.
As I have mentioned before, the late Ashby Berkley was a dear friend of mine. He restored places such as Riverside Inn, Pence Springs Hotel and the Pence Springs Spring House. At the time of his recent death, he was in the process of restoring Sweet Springs. Ashby was also a local historian, antique dealer and collector.
He had this 1840s walnut stepback cupboard you see here from the time I was a child. I had always wanted it but being a young child there was no way I could purchase it. Fast forward nearly two decades and this piece left Ashby’s hands and has sat in Grandma’s House Antiques in Hinton for nearly all that time.
I had lusted over this piece basically my entire life. Until this past week when I was given the opportunity to buy it from Margie Temple’s closing sale. Over the years I frequently stopped in Grandma’s House to either browse the merchandise, or have a chat with Margie, occasionally buying an antique crock or something. And let’s face it to “visit” with my favorite antique cabinet. HaHa
Grandma’s House has become one of Hinton’s treasures since she opened on Dec. 3, 2003. Unlike most antique stores Margie has a great talent for staging her store to resemble your “grandma’s house.” Walking through it you felt like you were going room to room in an old home as opposed to a staged booth in your typical antique store.
I have friends in the antique circuit from Lewisburg to Charleston and every time Margie’s store was mentioned you would get a response along the lines of, “You must be talking about that super quaint antique store that is called Grandma’s House in Hinton, I love that place!”
When Margie acquired the piece from Ashby, he had told her that he purchased it from the F.H. Tomkies estate. Tomkies was in business on 3rd Avenue in Hinton. Tomkies made quite a name for himself throughout Summers County during his business tenure on 3rd.
Margie was telling me when I purchased this piece that during the time she had it, she had sold it twice. But it always found its way back to “Grandma’s House.” I fell for this piece for three reasons, well four really. 1 it had belonged to my good friend Ashby, 2 I love early antiques, 3 it was from an early prominent businessman from Summers County.
And 4, I am only hypothesizing here but since this piece dates roughly 30 years prior to Summers County being formed. With knowing Tomkies came here from Huntington, WV and that Thomas Hannon was the first English settler in what is now the town of Huntington, WV in the 1790’s it can be surmised that he brought this stepback cupboard to Hinton, WV with him.
Grandma’s House will be closing soon, so if you are “out and about” stop by and check out the clearance sale or just to say hi. This is one of those times I think Hinton won’t know the treasure it had until it is gone. Enjoy retirement Margie, your friend William.
