Appraisal Fair Turns Up Treasures

Dick Kriebel of Garfield would never put a price on the patchwork quilt sewn by his great-great-aunt in the mid-1800s.

His curiosity got the best of him though.

Friday, he drove to Spokane for a professional estimate of its value.

The quilt, made from brightly colored silk, was handed down to him by his late aunt, Belva Seeting, a lifelong resident of Spokane and Garfield who died in June at the age of 100.

Judging from the intricacy of the needlework, the quilt may have taken years to finish.

“It’s hard to put a value on these pieces,” said Jeffrey Gagnon, a certified appraiser from Coeur d’Alene.

“It could be up in the thousands with all the work.”

Gagnon gave it a conservative value of $1,200.

Kriebel was one of several hundred people who brought family treasures and antiques to a fund-raiser for the Wishing Star Foundation on Friday.

The event was patterned after the popular “Antiques Roadshow” on public television. For $10, participants could have two items appraised. The money will go to support the organization’s work.

John and Winnie Manix of Spokane brought several family heirlooms, including a turn-of-thecentury gold scale in nearly mint condition.

The scale was originally owned by the second husband of John Manix’s grandmother. He had operated a livery stable and saloon in Augusta, Mont., and traded gold from miners for drinks and other services, Manix said.

“My dad gave it to me probably 40 years ago,” Manix said.

Gagnon, one of several appraisers at the event, said, “It’s nice to see one so clean.” He valued it at up to $2,000.

Manix also brought a springloaded cast iron piggy bank with the figure of a black man at the door of a shack. It was made in 1885.

Gagnon said black Americana items are highly collectible, and he estimated the value at $1,800.

The event may turn out to be a windfall for Wishing Star, too.

In a scenario reminiscent of the “Antiques Roadshow,” a vacationing couple from Missouri saw a notice about the fund-raiser and brought an Indian apron they had purchased for $35.

It turned out to be a ceremonial Hopi Indian garment valued at $20,000 to $30,000.

Holly Stetson, executive director of 13 regional chapters of the Wishing Star Foundation, said the couple was so excited about learning its value, they offered to make a donation to Wishing Star when they have it auctioned.

It seemed as if every antique had a great story.

Jan McSweeney of Spokane brought an Italian oil painting that was given to her by her father, who once ran a frame shop in California.

Apparently a customer dropped off the 1809 painting at the shop sometime in the 1950s and never returned for it.

The painting is a darkly colored fantasy scene of a lake or seashore set among high mountains with sailboats and Old World buildings.

Her father mounted the painting and put it in a frame he carved by hand, she said.

“He was an incredible man, my father,” McSweeney said.

Connie Pearce, an owner of Finders Keepers antique shop, 112 S. Cedar, put the value at $850.

“This is a nice legacy for him to leave,” she said.