By Cathy Sherman
If you are an avid fan of the PBS program “Antiques Roadshow,” you have probably thought, “what would I take, if I got the opportunity to go?”
A small group of Cordovans had the chance to do just that on July 11 in Anchorage at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
Many of us met on board the ferry MV Aurora and compared notes about our entrance times, what we were bringing, and what we hoped to learn about our treasures. After making the drive to Anchorage, and all of the Cordovans avoiding the collision of motorhomes but some being held up for hours, we all rested our collective heads prepared to start bright and early on Tuesday morning.
Instructions were detailed and we were all told to arrive at Bartlett High School to confirm our tickets and lack of COVID symptoms. We cradled our treasures as we boarded the shuttle buses – school buses that were certainly much improved upon since I rode one.
The trip was basically around the corner, but it made parking a breeze. Unloading from our shuttle we were warmly greeted by the plethora of volunteers and very happy Roadshow staff.
Extremely well-organized, we were given a map and headed to “triage” where our items were assessed and placed into categories.
Our programs were then stamped with the locations we were to head to:
A – for books, manuscripts, clocks, folk art, furniture, photographs, prints, and posters. This location was all inside the Native Heritage Center due to the delicate nature of those items.
B – for arms and militaria, collectibles, decorative arts and silver, dolls, musical instruments, rugs and textiles, sports memorabilia, and toys and games.
C – for paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
D – for glass, pottery, and porcelain,
E – for jewelry and watches.
F – for ancient art, Asian art, and Tribal art.
Volunteers escorted you and got you in the proper line, which in our case were all short. We watched all the items brought in by Alaskans from all over our state. Every once in a while, some lucky person would be taken over to the filming location.
Meeting the appraisers, enjoying the fun, and as the Kodiak volunteer said, “it’s not raining,” were definitely the highlights. The amount of organization that went into the event and the palpable excitement just added to the day.
We left with more information about each of the four items we had taken, but nothing worth enough to consider selling. And as most say – too sentimental to get sold.
On the ferry home, we all compared notes and shared stories. The Alaska Show will be in the 2024 season sometime between January and April. There will be three episodes from the one-day visit.
