The Fabled Portland Flea
Miss Kitty and I first heard whispers about it a couple of years ago at the Antique Festival in Midland, Michigan. “Are you going down to Portland this year?” “Yeah, ya gotta go to Portland. Indiana’s kind of on-the-way. Then, depending on the weather, I might head back to Florida…” Flea market shoppers (I won’t call them ‘Junkers’…I prefer ‘Treasure Hunters’) will sometimes be secretive about the places they find great bargains, akin to the fisherman with a favored fishing hole. I struck up a conversation with a vendor later in the day. I loved his stuff and couldn’t afford any of it. But he was one of those people who is in the re-sale business partially because they love talking to a friendly face. I timidly asked, “I’ve heard a rumor that there’s a FANTASTIC flea market down in Portland, Indiana.” He responded, “That’s not a rumor.” He explained that it was smack-dab in the middle of a Tractor and Gas ...