Saturday Market fairs - Woodstock New York

In “ American Tapestry, the Mowers of Maple Lane, Woodstock NY” Janine Fallon Mower writes: Ralph Whitehead founded the Woodstock Club in 1913, and his intention was to create a process by which locals and new comers could come together to create a civic improvement plan. Civic- minded Woodstockers, Walter and Bertha Weyl, Dr. Mortimer Downer, Carl and Louise Linden joined Ralph Whitehead at a gathering at White Pines to flesh out Whitehead’s ideas. The resulting plan included developing a wellness program and to raise funds that would support trained nurses who could serve Woodstockers when the need arose. After many lengthy discussions, the group generated a plan to found a “ book club” for their community. Local builder George Neher offered to convert the ground floor of a barn ( later to be transformed into the Nook and the Café Espresso) he had recently purchased and rent it to the club for $ 10.00 a month. Whitehead and friends held various fundraisers to support the newly established Book Club and the health nurse. According to minutes in 1915, “ the proceeds from a rummage sale amounted to $ 162.00 benefit and a concert in August netted $ 63.00”. Toward the end of 1917, minutes of the Woodstock Club meeting reflected that the nurses fund had been depleted due to “ three cases of illness” and the Library ( former book club) would be closed for the winter “ owning to a shortage of coal”. During the ten years between 1920 and 1930 the sum of $ 4478.19 had been disbursed by the managers of the Market Fair”. The Woman’s Club, the Library and the Firemen have been given generous amounts each year. As it turns out, the first Saturday Market fair was held in Woodstock in 1917 under the direction of Ethel Peets and Marion Eames, as a fund raiser for the Red Cross. This very popular street fair continued under the direction of Mary Terwilliger and later Dorothy and Virginia Seesel. The Mower family picked up the tradition of Saturday Fairs and began Mower’s Saturday fleamarket in 1977. To read the rest of the story, contact Janine Fallon Mower at Woodstockfleamarket@hvc.rr.com or thru Mower’s Saturday fleamarket on facebook. Books are available from the author for 16.00 each.

Grand Finale Weekend.

Please join us on Nov 28 and Nov 29 for our fleamarket seasons grand finale. It's been an amazing 38th season for Mower's fleamarket. Lots of new vendors, loyal shopping customers and plenty of people discovering us for the first time. We will open again in May 2016. Contact us at woodstockfleamarket@hvc.rr.com, 845-679-6744 or find us on Facebook. Thanks to all for supporting the vendors of Mower's Flea in Woodstock NY.

Fleamarket in the fall~

We are into one of the most beautiful seasons in the Hudson Valley. Our fleamarket is still going strong. Our vendors are dedicated to selling in an outdoor setting, as long as the weather is above 40 degrees and sunny. Mower's fleamarket is open thru October and into November, weather providing. Please check our facebook page, call our information line 845-679-6744 or visit our website for up to date information. See you at the market.!

You just never know what's going to fall off the back of a truck

We are getting ready for July 4th weekend. We expect beautiful sunny skies! warm weather and a field full of vendors. See you at the market. call 845-679-6744 for further info or find us on Facebook- Mowers Saturday Market.

How it all started.

Walter Mower, who purchased the property at the intersection of Deanies Alley and Maple lane in 1908, could not have imagined that in 2015, his great grandson John and family would be the proprietors of one of the top ten flea markets in the USA. ( Fodor’s 2015) Walter, whose young family needed larger living quarters would buy the site of the old Woodstock Creamery and convert it to a home for his wife Priscilla and their six children. Eventually, Walter and his eldest son John David Mower would plow and plant the acre and a half of land behind their home and grow produce to sell locally to the residents of town, the Byrdcliffe Art Colony, and summer communities in Elka Park and Twilight Park. Woodstock NY has been home to a Saturday selling event for close to 100 years. In 1913, Ralph Whitehead founded the Woodstock Club. He was joined by civic minded Woodstockers Walter and Bertha Weyl, Dr. Mortimer Downer and Carl and Louise Linden in efforts to raise funds to support a book club and a wellness plan supported by trained nurses. A majority of the funds were raised by Saturday rummage sales and bake sales. In 1917, Ethel Peets developed the idea of holding a street market fair, similar to those in Europe, in the center of the village. The first Saturday Market Fair was held in 1918 on the village green, opposite the Dutch Reformed Church. This event would continue for almost 20 years. Later Saturday fairs would be held on a small lot near the Lutheran Church and in the 1960’s at the Woodstock Playhouse. In 1977, with a vacant lot in the center of town, Walters’s great grandson John was asked if the property was available to use as a home for an antique and flea market that was relocating from the Playhouse parking field. The rest, as they say, is history. 2015 marks the 38th year of Mower’s Saturday and Sunday flea market. John and Janine maintain the open lot in the heart of Woodstock as a beautiful green space that transforms into a field full of 40- 50 vendors each weekend. The Market runs from May thru November, or as long as the weather allows. Mower’s flea can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Woodstockflea.blogspot.com and Mowerssaturdayfleamarket.com. Call 845-679-6744 for further information. See you at the market!

Last Weekend In June on Maple Lane

We are well into the season, the weather keeps giving us half days and rain outs. The vendors are a hearty crew, ready to set up even with the threat of rain showers.

Anticipation

When you develop an attachment to flea markets and yard sales, you know the feeling. Once the weather gets a little warmer, you start watching for those road side signs that announce a yard sale. Your eyes scan the newspapers for ads that broadcast the starting date for your favorite flea markets. You begin to crave the art of the hunt for something of sentimental or monetary value, placed out for sale by some who no longer wants or needs the item. This year, Mowers Saturday Fleamarket is listed as one of the top ten flea markets in the country by Fodor’s – as noted in the Huffington Post. Locally, the online blog Hudson Valley Happenings has listed Mowers as one of the top five flea markets in the Hudson Valley. Upstater, a local blog notes Mowers and other flea markets in the region including their web sites. This is an exciting time for outdoor markets and those who love to frequent them. Mowers opens in Woodstock on Maple Lane on May 16th. 845-679-6744- woodstockfleamarket@hvc.rr.com or find us on Facebook for further information. http://upstater.com/spring-has-arrived-and-with-it-flea-markets/ https://www.facebook.com/HudsonValleyHappenings?fref=nf