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Appraisal Fest Continues: Free Downsizing Workshop Saturday, Sept. 16

By Laura Jackson Roberts

Every year in September, Oglebay Institute hosts its annual Appraisal Fest. It’s a time for digging deep into boxes and basements, attics and antiques. I’m no stranger to clutter. In fact, I think many of us have a touch of hoarder in us when it comes to family heirlooms. But what are those old silver spoons worth? How much could you sell that hand-sewn quilt for? And did that clock really come over on a boat from Germany in 1850?

Tim Luke and Greg Strahm can answer these questions. They’re The Appraisal Guys. Tim appeared on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow and Cash in the Attic, and together they own TreasureQuest Appraisal Group. If you’ve found something in your house, they’re the guys who can give you the skinny.
Cash in the Attic?

Last year, I got a chance to dig into my own attic and visit The Appraisal Guys at their Cabela’s appraisal event. You can read about how I brought several old toys to Tim, and how the little metal train would have been worth $500 if my son hadn’t ripped the wheels off as a toddler. (As it is today, it won’t fetch more than $50.) This year, however, I got the chance to be on the other side of the table, to be the Appraiser’s Apprentice and sit between Tim and Greg to watch the process through their eyes. This year, it was a very different experience.

On Saturday, September 9, people wheeled in their items in carts and wagons. The moment when an item arrived, hidden beneath in a moving blanket or bubble wrap, thrilled me. We saw paintings and rings. We saw quilts and vases. Early in the day, Tim inspected Wheeling resident Ginger Aulick’s stuffed doll from the Gasoline Alley comic strip. He told her where and when the doll was made and a little bit about its composition. On my other side, Greg appraised an ice chest made in Wheeling by House & Herrmann, a popular department store that burned down in 1917 in one of the city’s most destructive fires. The chest was ornately carved and lined with zinc. Its owner, Tammy Gasaway of Martins Ferry, had been moving it around the house for years. Though it didn’t turn out to be a million-dollar find, the piece meant something to her, and therein lay its real value.

Strange Finds

Tim’s favorite item came to the event wound tightly in bubble wrap. As Wheeling residents Robert and Deborah Troeger rolled it in on a dolly, we noticed a long metal rod protruding from the top of the item. Bit by bit, the bubble wrap came off, revealing an angry face, an ornate costume and, eventually, the body of an enormous theater puppet holding a shield.

“This is Sid,” they said. “He was a gift for our son from an antique dealer.”

Tim was fascinated. He determined that “Sid” was a Continental Blackamoor rod puppet, likely of Sicilian origin, circa 1890. It would have been used in a theater, and handlers used the rod to make it move or dance. Tim got a photo with Sid and the Troegers.

From Joy to Disappointment

Still, not everyone came away smiling. Though it doesn’t happen often, occasionally Tim and Greg encounter a visitor who doesn’t like their valuation. Many people have been told by family that their item is valuable, or that it’s older than it is. Sometimes they’ve done their own research and come up with a different value. Such was the case at Cabela’s on Saturday when a visitor wasn’t satisfied with their appraisal and gave Greg a hard time. He wasn’t phased. Clearly, it wasn’t his first encounter with a disappointed treasure hunter. I asked Greg how often that sort of thing happens.

When Your Kids Don’t Want Your Stuff?

“You’ll have that sometimes,” he said and went on to explain that people bring in their items for different reasons. Many people are just curious about a piece, while others hope to make a sale. And while eBay has made it easier to sell such items, it’s also saturated the market. Anybody can be an auctioneer, these days.

Additionally, Greg and Tim have noticed a trend with antiques: a generational bottleneck of stuff. My generation—the Gen X’ers—stands to inherit the china, glassware, and antiques our parents have so lovingly collected or inherited from their own parents. The problem? We don’t really want them. Yes, I love my great-grandfather’s clock and will always treasure it. But that German painting? That creepy clown doll? That thing I call simply “the weird green dish?” Nah. What would I do with this stuff? Younger generations have begun to appreciate a minimalistic lifestyle and a de-cluttered existence. Some even build tiny houses.

So, what’s a baby boomer to do when the kids and grandkids show no interest in the family collection?

Deal With Your Stuff

Tim and Greg can help. They spend most of September in Wheeling each year for AppraisalFest, and for the rest of the month will be hosting helpful events, including a free Downsizing Workshop on Saturday, September 16. And while it may sound like an intervention, it’s designed to help people get started with their stuff.

“We give them steps on what you need to do,” Tim said. “First of all, we have the conversation.” Downsizing means thinking about why you’re holding onto things, what they might mean to you, and whether you value the item itself or simply the memory it represents. Such things may feel overwhelming, so the guys will be talking participants through it.

“A lot of it is being able to give people the information so that they know how to begin or what to begin,” Greg said. The workshop will include helpful tips and decluttering tricks as well as how to deal with stuff, whether it’s a via sale or a donation. Tim and Luke will be joined by a panel of experts including Charlotte Pyle, auctioneer at Joe R. Pyle Complete Auction & Realty Service, Joshua Rogers, estate attorney, and Anne Koegler, elder advocate and resource coordinator.

Meet the Appraisal Guys

If the thought of downsizing worries you, you can spend the prior evening getting to know The Appraisal Guys at HAMMERED, a social hour and auction that benefits the Mansion Museum. You’ll find like-minded people there who share an appreciation for antiques, collectibles, and amazing finds. At the auction, you can bid on an exclusive collection of wines, jewelry, accessories, fine foods, gift baskets, dining experiences, resort packages and more.

Appraisal Fest 2017 continues Saturday, September 23 with an Opera Brunch at the Mansion Museum. Brunch will be prepared by Chef Greg Strahm while attendees hear selections performed by Pittsburgh Opera artists. This will be your last chance to visit with The Guys until they return next September.

In between social events, Tim and Luke will be conducting in-home appraisals. Last year, my family enjoyed our visit to the Cabela’s appraisal event so much that we scheduled a home visit. We broke out the fine china, the fancy glassware, and the horsehair chairs. We had high hopes for a wooden mallard until its head fell off in Greg’s hands. If you have a house full of treasures, Oglebay Institute will send the guys over, though you may want to hide the decapitated duck decoys in the closet.

Oglebay Institute’s School of Dance Has a Vibrant Hip Hop Program

Hip Hop at Oglebay Institute’s School of Dance
By Laura Jackson Roberts

Until I began the research for this blog, I had only vague notions of hip hop. I knew it was a modern style of dance unlike ballet or jazz, but this was the extent of my hip hop knowledge. When I write for Oglebay Institute, I often do so after an immersive experience like a wine tasting or an art workshop. I’m rarely knowledgeable about the classes I take, but I learn through participation. This time, however, I studied my subject as an observer, and sometimes that’s a valuable way to learn.

I’m an outsider to the dance world. What I do know comes to me from the media and other parents. Some of the stories I hear disturb me: fights between young dancers, aggressive moms, and heavy competition. Moreover, while many talented young men dance, my sons do not. Thus, the entire culture remains shrouded in mystery to me.

Instructor Arianne Wade Brings Passion & Experience to OI Hip Hop Dance Program

Arianne Wade lifted that veil. She’s been teaching hip hop at Oglebay Institute’s School of Dance for nine years. In fact, she started the program. She grew up attending a dance studio in Marshall County and began with OI as a parent.

“I came to a Mommy & Me class with my daughter,” she said. “I started the [OI hip hop] program the following fall and it skyrocketed. We have seasoned students that take other classes and we have students that come just for hip hop. It’s something I’m really passionate about. It’s ever-growing, it’s ever-changing.”

To show me what she meant, Wade invited me to observe her Wednesday night class, Hip Hop 4.0. Some of the girls in the class started with her when they were very little. As I waited in the lobby of the dance studio, a diverse group of moms and kids were milling about. The atmosphere was casual and friendly. Adults talked, kids giggled. I detected no tension—an immediate relief.

As the girls filed in, the happy atmosphere persisted through warmups. They stretched and twisted and performed a full three minutes of ab-crunching. This class isn’t going to be easy, I thought. These young ladies are here to work.

This last week in April, the girls were preparing for the spring recital. They did several run-throughs as Wade tweaked the routine, offering suggestions and instruction. During a water break, some of the students approached her to discuss their costumes. One student described basketball pants, another a sparkly top with long sleeves.

When I think of dance costumes, I think expense. There’s often an element of pageantry in dance. And sometimes, I can’t help but notice that young girls’ costumes make them look far more grown up than they really are. But here at OI, Wade has given her students a chance to express themselves in their own way, with age-appropriate costumes.

Teaching Self-Respect Along With Technique

Wade said, “I am letting the kids for the recital this year come up with their own hip hop outfit. I wanted them to be able to express themselves as who they are. I am so proud of them. No one even thought to come to me with something that would have been inappropriate. They all look like individuals and they all respect themselves.” Teaching her students self-respect is exceedingly important to Wade.

In that vein, she chooses music that is equally suited to pre-adolescents. “They’re not training to be in a rap video. They’re concentrating on technique. It’s about free spirit and freestyle and making something your own.”

Non-Competitive Environment for Kids and Parents

Parents appreciate this professionalism, and they’re also pleased that School of Dance students are not required to purchase expensive costumes, nor are they committed to dance pictures or extreme schedules. Wade told me, simply, that they don’t put that kind of pressure on kids or parents. Students get out of it what they want to get out of it. And as for competition, it’s non-existent here. Wade doesn’t want her students pitted against one another. One person’s success is everyone’s success.

“We go in as a class and we come out as a class,” she said. “We teach our dancers to be encouraging to the other dancers. When another dancer [succeeds], the students are encouraged to clap, say good job, rather than competing against each other.”

Students Can Study with Guest Artists, Too.

OI dancers also have the opportunity to study with master teachers from around the globe. Internationally traveled master instructor Nijawwon Matthews visited the studio in February to teach a hip-hop workshop. Matthews is a resident teacher and choreographer for The Joffrey Ballet School in New York City as well as a teacher and dancer for TOKYOtheCOMPANY.

Everyone Is An Equal

In lieu of a competition, the semester ends with the low-key recital, which itself is optional. Most girls want to be in the recital, Wade told me, but not everyone wants to stand in the front row. And that’s okay. Hip hop classes are about expression, about feeling comfortable. Everyone is an equal.

As I sat and watched the girls practice, I waited to see if some students would stand out above the others—perhaps class favorites would emerge. None did because there are no favorites. All the Hip hop dancers had a chance to take center stage; they all spent some time in the background, too. And though pre-adolescent girls don’t always get along, I saw nothing but camaraderie. Yes, the girls worked hard—Wade asked them to give one-hundred percent. But they did so as she assured me they would: as a class.

Maintaining the bonds of supportive friendship takes work, and it’s not always easy being a young person these days, as Wade reminded me. “They’re influenced by so many things right now in society,” she said. “Reality TV. The Kardashians. I just want to be able to teach them to be young women, to set an example, to be role models. Our older girls are just a wonderful group. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of young women. It’s all about setting an example for young children, for other dancers, for society itself.”

As the girls laughed and encouraged each other, shouting goodbyes as they left for the evening, I could see that the hip hop students at the School of Dance are doing just that.