End of Amherst Flea Market NH has been sold

[tudoor]

Just found out the land has been sold. Fifty years comes to an end. This was some of my deepest memories back in the late sixty's with my dad looking at all the old car parts and dreaming about how to rebuild them.
Sad

[Flathead]

Used to get there early and shop with flashlights. Was lots of Flathead stuff there, but not so much in recent years.

[Keith True]

I was an Amherst rat starting in the early-mid 70's.I don't think I've been there in five years or so.It has changed from an old car swap meet to rod-muscle car stuff.The A stuff has gotten thin there.Mostly,the old guys that went there just died off.If you weren't there by 5 AM you would miss a lot of good stuff,it had already been snapped up by 5:30.At 9:00 the A and flathead guys were packing up for home.We were always back home before noon,and I am 40 miles away.

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Who bought the land? Probably a developer I guess. There's plenty of land in the area, maybe someone can keep it going, hate to see the show die.

[Keith True]

Has it actually been sold? I had forgotten that about 10 years ago the word was passed around that it had been sold.It didn't happen.That area really is prime land to develop for homes.Close to Mass for commuters in the tech field.The farm up the road told me a few years ago that it was getting hard to keep on with the cows with the offers on the farm.

[Barry B./ Ma.]

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I hope they can keep it going, I've hardly missed a monthly meet since 1978. I agree Keith, it's an early one, I could be up and back before noon and that includes breakfast. I always found something of interest there. Beautiful location.

[Keith True]

Parking was getting to be a problem there too.They used those fields down the road,but I see that those fields have grown houses now.I always liked the fee structure there.Five bucks to park,free admission.One person or a carload.NO roadside parking there.Rt 122 just has no shoulders to park on.The rod/muscle car guys have really made the meet explode.There's a lot of them,and they spend.They also set up to unload the leftover parts from the rod projects too.A lot of them would try to recoup the cost of their build from those parts,but some would just want to unload the stuff too.I saw an $8.horn for an A,and I bought ten 21 inch wheels with mounted tires for $50.You just never knew.I bought a 29 front fender for $25.and another to go with it for $150.a few feet apart.

[Clem Clement]

I loved that meet. Remember the first one of the year was in April and sometimes there was still piles of snow. Golly they had everything for sale. The locals would work on their junk all winter and bring it out for sale at that first meet. Where has all the good stuff gone???

[Flathead]

Would stop at Bickfords for breakfast on the way home. Don't know if they are still there, but the food was real good.

[dpson]

I first went there in 1972, bought a box of stuff for $7. It had two 30-31 Model A headlights and one for a 1930 Chevy, which I later gave to my roommate from college as he had a 1930 Chevy and needed a headlight (funny coincidence). I've been there many times since then and have to agree it's turned mostly to hot rod stuff, but a few good deals can still be found. It's about 2-1/2 hours travel time for me, so I'm up early and typically park down the road as the grounds are full by the time I get there. Tams Model A out of MA is usually set up there and it was nice to buy parts in tax free NH. If it's true about the land being sold I will miss it.

[1938 Woody Cape Cod]

It will be missed............

[C26Pinelake]

Every time a show is lost is a sad day for the hobby !
Wayne

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Lets keep our fingers crossed. I heard this morning that it's still a go for this year.

[spdway1]

Maybe it should move to Brimfield, Mass, lots of fields and facilities there where they hold they hold the antique sales 4 times a year. Easy to get to from everywhere.

[Downeaster]

Quite a loss if it turns out to be true. Found a lot of items there when restoring my 31. Fitchburg airport show is been another flea market I always go to, maybe they'll schedule more dates for flea markets. Hershey is a long trip for used parts, but a great trip.

[Joop]

Update from the local newspaper

First, close to home, the family of Werner Carlson notified vendors of the Amherst New Hampshire swap meet that the monthly (April through October) event will not take place this year after Carlson’s death at the age of 78 last November. Carlson, an area businessman and landowner, operated the swap meet on the last Sunday of every month – more often than not causing traffic headaches for the local residents – for more than 30 years on the 30-acre site in southern New Hampshire. According to the swap meet’s website, the Carlson family has been trying to find somebody to take over operation of the swap meet, which dates back to 1960 and which usually packed full by 7 a.m., but has not been able to find anybody to do so for 2015.

[QGolden]

It would be nice if it kept going, I sometimes found Model A parts mixed up in lots of Hot Rod Stuff, by pawing around. Usually the owner was not into Model A and I'd get a deal.

[Smitty]

When I was at college in Keene the 101 area was filled with farms. Now it is traffic lights and strip malls. Amherst is an upscale area and I would imagine that someone would love to get their hands on that property for development.
First attended Amherst in the 60's but had not been to the flea market in a while. A friend talked me into going to the last one in October, little did we know it would be the last. Place was packed and busy as heck just like the old days.

[Girl with wrench]

Just heard thru our club that there's going to be a replacement. The Blevens family is setting up to use their farm with a very similar plan to the Amherst flea market and lots of the same vendors. Their place is in Candia, NH just off Rt. 127. First flea market will be last Sunday in April - same as Amherst. Yes, I'll find a contact number and post it here for all you New England Barners who need fleas.