On the 5th of May I started a road trip to Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. My first stop was a large outdoor flea & antique market in What Cheer, Iowa. This was my first time to attend this event and I plan to attend the two other markets that they have scheduled during this summer. The market is remote but has many good outdoor vendors. I was able to find an US WWII 555th Bomb Group Photo and Document Group, an USMC yard long photo, a pair of Vietnam War Jungle boots and a 98K bayonet in an US M1 Scabbard. I met my friend Fred Green there and we left enroute to his house in Sparta, Wisconsin.
German WWII Bayonet, Japanese WWII Bayonet, and other Military Memorabilia
The next day we attended an outdoor Flea Market at Adams-Friendship, and an Antique Mall at Hixson, Wisconsin. During the next week we visited several museums and looked at several collections. I was able to buy a sword and bayonet collection from a retired US Army Soldier. He had inherited these things from his wife’s uncle. Some of the highlights of this collection included a German WWII 98K bayonet, Japanese Model 30 bayonet, and a very nice Imperial German M-1914 sawtooth bayonet.
Rochester, Minnesota Gold Rush Antique Show
On Friday the 6th we set up a sales stand at the Rochester, Minnesota Gold Rush Antique show. This market is held twice a year in May and August and it is a good market for old stuff. One never knows what will turn up there. I was able to purchase a German WWII dress bayonet and a German modified Czech Model 24 bayonet. I also purchased 14 WWI German language Deutsch-Amerika Newspapers. These were the weekly news magazines that were inserted into the Sunday paper. They have many interesting articles and photographs about the World War from their German and Austrian sources. Before WWI the US had a large German speaking population with numerous newspapers and magazines. When the US entered the war speaking German was deemed unpatriotic and many of these publications folded. Our sales efforts at the Gold Rush were not great and I headed back to Webb City on Sunday the 15th.
Attending the Next Military Collector Event
Unfortunately, this trip has put me two weeks behind in many of my other efforts. Hopefully June will give me the opportunity to catch up. If you plan to be at any military trade shows, feel free to stop by and say hello! In the meantime, if you want to reach out to inquire about our inventory of World War II memorabilia and artifacts. We are happy to see if we can help!