TAHLEQUAH —

The old, gracefully-rounded metal piece somewhat resembles a cornbread pan — albeit on a pedestal.

Board members of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cherokee Country speculated on its use, until someone came up with the correct answer: a cobbler’s nail tray.

Cobblers, and their tools, are rare today, but members thought up possible contemporary uses, including a tray for beaders to keep their colors separate and a candy dish.

CASA supporters expect equally curious items to turn up for evaluation during the second Antique Appraisal Faire, April 3 at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds, across from the Cherokee Casino. A team of experts will be available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to appraise items, or in many cases, just settle the question about what something is.

The Faire will be something like the popular “Antiques Roadshow” television show, and may well have just as many surprises.

For those who just want to look and listen, admission is $5. Those who have something they want evaluated or appraised will pay an additional $10 per item. Lunch will be available, with homemade soup, cornbread and sweet treats. Proceeds will benefit the program, which advocates for children’s interest in court cases.

“People like this event. They think it’s exciting,” said Jo Prout, CASA executive director. “Everybody has something the want to have looked at, that they think is interesting, but they want to know more.”

This will be the second year for the Antique Appraisal Faire. Prout and her board are keeping their fingers crossed for better weather (it snowed during the morning last year) and hope the new location, on the highway, will be easier for out-of-town visitors to find than the Cherokee County Community Building was last year. And, naturally, they hope to raise more money for the volunteer advocacy program.

CASA advocates work with children in the court system in Cherokee and Adair counties, and the Cherokee Nation Tribal Court system. There are always more children who need the services than there are volunteers available, and training programs for volunteers are held several times each year.

“Last year, we netted a fraction more than $3,000 after we met our expenses. Of course, we would like to do better this year,” Prout said. “The first year’s effort was good.”

While appraisers will look at just about anything within reason, the Faire will have specialists in Native American art, native American lithics (stone tools and arrowheads), costume jewelry, coins, furniture, music memorabilia, books, pop culture, vintage clothing and textiles, vintage tack and western items, quilts and needlework, china, pottery, glassware, baskets and beadwork, kitchen items, guns and knives, dolls and toys.

Experts signed up to date include Carolyn Whitmore, Judy Cambiano, Carolyn Beasley, Renee Hill, Dr. Brian Cowlishaw, Joanne Ward, Luke Williams, Lenel Hudgens, and Ron and Helen Brassfield.

“What really makes it so worthwhile is that the individuals who are there to appraise are really willing to talk, to look in their books. We have a wealth of expertise in that room,” Prout said.

Among the planners are Linda Love and her daughter, Lara Love, of Love’s Briarpatch Antiques, southwest of town. They refer to such books frequently when people bring in items for sale.

At their business, they never know what items they might encounter. They anticipate the same at the fair.

What was the most unusual item at last year’s Faire?

“The recorder,” board member Ginger Brown said. “It was an old recorder than ran off can-looking canisters. You could play it. You couldn’t understand what the songs were, but you could hear them.”

Board member Renee Hill liked “the chess set. It was nice.”

The set was appraised at more than $1,500.

“And there were some beautiful rugs and tapestries that came through,” Hill said. 

“There were dolls, there were toys. There was a beautiful leather turtle with Native American beadwork on it,” Prout said.

“What we did not have, and were surprised at, was that nobody brought in barbed wire or any kind of western thing.”

Appraisers with knowledge of such collectibles were ready and waiting. Although they didn’t get to evaluate any western items, they got to look over plenty of other things.

The first fair attracted many glass items and a lot of jewelry.

“I wish someone would bring in a hat pin collection. That would be interesting,” Hill said.

Prout said that last year, there was not much artwork or furniture, and speculated that was because people didn’t want to bring their treasures out in bad weather.

This year, she and other CASA supporters hope more people will dig into their attics, garages and storage sheds and bring out grandma’s treasurers, or grandpa’s old tools and fishing lures.

Even if you don’t know what it is, you can probably find someone at the antiques faire who will – and who can tell you what it’s worth.