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Local Collection Captures American And Local History

photo by provided Married for over 50 years Ralph & Yvonne are still adding to the collection and finding American treasures all over Vermont, New England, the Midwest and the southern part of America.

photo by provided Standing next to pieces from his father’s collection, Ralph Farnsworth grew up with Edison Phonographs playing music at night.

photo by provided While most of us think of records as vinyl, these cylinders are in fact the first records and play on the Edison phonographs.

photo by provided Farnsworth’s parents Flora & Harold Farnsworth began the collection on the family land and passed on the “collecting bug” to their middle child Ralph.

photo by provided Cash registers and hundreds of items comprise Farnsworth’s Country Store.

Tuesday November 1, 2016

By Cookie Steponaitis

America has developed a new fascination with items from the past with the popularity of television shows like American Pickers, America’s Lost Treasures, American Restoration and Antiques Roadshow. Items once deemed scrap or refuse are sought after by people looking to find and collect pieces of American history. Long before television deemed old items as gold there were American collectors who were on the road, at the auctions, chasing leads and bringing home pieces of the past with the aim of preserving it for future generations. One of these collectors is right here in Addison County and for the past forty years been piecing together a remarkable collection that spans American history from 1860-present and offers a window into how people lived and played. Inspired by his father, the collecting gene was passed to Addison County resident Ralph Farnsworth and he hopes he is never cured.
    Unlike the television shows where people wade through acres of items or buildings piled to the ceiling with items that have not seen the light of day for decades, Farnsworth’s collection is pristine, organized and takes hours to see in completion. From barn to outbuildings, it brings the visitor face to face with American technology, tools, toys, and is as special as the collector himself. “I guess it’s fair to say that I don’t throw much away,” grinned Farnsworth. “I grew up with my father’s collection in the house and simply love to collect. I have been told I like to collect anything that doesn’t move.” His father’s passion was the products of inventor Thomas Alva Edison and Farnsworth grew up with his father playing records (cylinders) on some of America’s earliest phonographs. On display in Smith’s collection are working phonographs from as early as 1901.
    Impossible to grasp or even explain in its size and scope, Farnsworth has 80 gas pumps, tractors, phone booths, typewriters, toasters, lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, farm tools, chain saws, trains, Coca-Cola memorabilia, toys, lightbulbs of every size, phase and shape, shoes, a complete country store, cash registers, televisions and local memorabilia from service stations, homes, iconic local businesses and every tool imaginable. Displayed with an eye for organization and a flair for mixing iconic images with those from daily living, each shelf, nook and corner delights and entices more exploration. With Farnsworth on hand to provide the backstory to the collection, it is impossible not to be fascinated and mesmerized with the display of America that includes growth, innovation, fun and whimsy. “Do you remember Lazarus Department Store?” queried Farnsworth, presenting an item from the collection. “How about the local Drive In? I got this piece from the Vergennes Opera House when they refinished it. Or here is the original sign from the A&W in Middlebury. There were two of them. I got one.”
    Jumping between sharing knowledge of his beloved oil cans, Coca-Cola memorabilia and a room full of bit traces, drills and tools used in his careers in carpentry, plumbing and electrical work, Farnsworth points out pieces of his family farm, his mother’s kitchen implements, his sister’s camera and photos of his grandparents and pieces of farm equipment that date back before pipelines and bulk tanks. Quizzing this reporter on certain tools and their uses, Farnsworth weaves into the tour a delightful mixture of passion for collecting, appreciation for American industry and the simple fact that more than half of his collection is simply not available out there in the world anymore. “I was born in Middlebury but grew up on this property,” shared the collector. “My parents bought the property in 1932 and I was born in 1940. Added to my father’s collection is a little of everything.” Traveling New England, the Midwest and even the south, Ralph and his wife of fifty years Yvonne visit sales, hit flea markets and each year add to the collection.
    “The bulk of this I collected over the past thirty years,” shared Ralph Farnsworth. “But I do admit that I still am collecting and adding. You never know what you will run into.” Pausing a moment to admire the first edition of Life Magazine, this reporter struggled to grasp a collection that spans over a century of life in America and literally took four hours to tour quickly. Whether it was a collection of pencils, hundreds of rulers or the mind boggling pieces of Edison’s earliest inventions, themes were clear. Ralph Farnsworth collects for many reasons. First he loves it. Secondly, he appreciates each piece. Thirdly, he knows that what was created in the past are still treasures today. Lastly, he loves history and loves to learn more. Each new phase of his collection represents hundreds of hours of reading, researching and as Farnsworth calls it, “his winter reading.” Wrapping up the tour, the feeling was one of awe, respect and yet a feeling of family. For mixed in with the collection are the memories of Ralph, his father and mother Harold and Flora and generations before who worked, struggled and reached for goals working with their hands and hearts. People interested in seeing Farnsworth’s collection can reach out to him at (802)453-2275.

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