In Rogers Neighborhood

-Friday, June 17th

Seeking adventure on a mellow summer day with no other particular plans, my Mom and I, along with my neighbor friends Grace, Harper and her little brother Zane piled into the van for a trip across the state line into Ohio. There, accompanied only by a few dollars, some snacks, and our spirit of curiosity, we were to tour the regionally famed Rogers flea market.

Having only been there once before when I was little, my excitement was peaked. I'd always heard people talk of their Friday ventures to Rogers, but now I would finally have a fresh picture in my mind to match with the name.


The parking lot was packed with cars, most from Pennsylvania, although some liscense plates were from as far away as New York and North Carolina. We entered the gate, and our experience began. And boy, an experience it was. The atmosphere was a cross somewhere between a giant yard sale, a fair, a farmers market and the History Channel show "American Pickers".

People trudged up and down the gravel paths that wove around the scores of vendors. There were Amish Country Donuts that smelled as only donuts do; there were fuzzy siamese kittens and velvety puppies; there were smooth wooden rubberband guns that we got to practice shooting at pop cans. Bold entrepreneurs shouted out sales pitches about no fog window cleaners, rug whiteners and squishy little animals that flattened like scrambled eggs when slapped on the ground. Old "Colman's Mustard" and "Cook's Breakfast Cocoa" tins were laid out on tables next to knives and outdated action figures. Vintage metal posters with scenes of Norman Rockwell's "Saturday Evening Post" sat in a box underneath one table near a stand with a huge ferocious looking bear head.

Under the roofed pavillions, the merchaindise varied from T-shirts and hermit crabs to produce and Club crackers. Inside the barn shaped buildings, there were Cucumber Melon and McIntosh Apple flavored candles from "Your Own Candle Company" and a whole hardware store's worth of tools.

Although we didn't purchase anything save a few postcards and some fries, the fun of exploring this eccentric place made it well worth the trip . Just like so many of the items at Rogers, our mediocre day had been turned from trash, to treasure....a summer memory we soon won't forget.