The Giant Hole in the Floor

Today both my Aunt Joan and I had appointments in Lancaster County. Joan had told me about a warehouse she'd been to in that area a few months earlier that was filled with crates of stuff... good stuff, crappy stuff, all kinds of stuff. So of course, we had to go.

This is how I found myself in an old brick warehouse with a giant hole in the floor. It was a staggering amount of stuff, almost hard to believe. The picture of it is above, and I doubt it does it justice (click on it to make it bigger and really look). The entire basement of this huge building is filled with these crates, all owned by Mike, his picture is below.
Mike's parents owned a farm in Lancaster and their barn was filled with things they had collected over their long lives, and Mike had collected as well. Now, a large portion of this collection is stashed in the basement of this warehouse. Mike is converting it to a kind of flea market, where his items are for sale, and he rents space to other people to sell their antiques, as well. Mike is also a painter, entrepreneur, developer and frankly, a hoot.

There was another part of the building that had been semi-renovated and got my aunt's and my imaginations humming as we wandered around. This could be the next Torpedo Factory or Goggle Works (old factory buildings that were converted into artist studios and gallery space). We had plenty of ideas, just short on time, money, energy...but the ideas were flowing, and you never know, someday...
In the end we listened to Mike's stories, I bought an antique "All Detergent" bucket (see below), we gave the giant hole in the floor one last look and were on our way.
If this blog is to chronicle some interesting places and people I meet along the way in the pursuit of old things, this was a banner day.