Ed & Mary Knight Recognized A Gem Hiding Under the Grime

In Bar W Field at Warrenton, the star of the OK Ranch Vintage booth this spring is a giant 1920s-era pine farmhouse kitchen cupboard. When Ed and Mary Knight discovered the 8½ x 8-foot hutch with old-time wavy glass and a built-in flour bin, it sat in two pieces covered in dust and debris on an old Missouri barn floor. While the shelves and drawers were there, they had been lined with a self-adhesive plastic paper from the 1960s that would have to be painstakingly removed, strip by strip, little by little. But even though the old piece of kitchen furniture was filthy and badly needed refurbishing, the Knights, who live in southern Fayette County, got excited. They bought the pieces and slowly transformed them into the hutch they saw in their imaginations. The old cabinet doesn’t have far to travel because it has been sold to a Fayetteville woman for her vintage 1920s home. A steady stream of other spring show vendors, who are shopping for quality antiques and collectibles that have been meticulously restored, sourced and staged have already stopped by OK Ranch Vintage during the spring show. Now it’s your turn. – Elaine Thomas