LEWISTON — Up to 300 seniors lined up outside the Ramada Inn ballroom before the doors opened at 9 a.m. Wednesday, some bearing old china, artwork, attic-stashed heirlooms or jewelry that had been handed down through the generations.
Some wanted information on Disney cruises. Others wanted to learn about cremation.
Almost everybody wanted to know if their family heirlooms could make them rich.
“Everyone has that hope and wish that something they have is worth a lot of money,” said Patrick Collins, event director.
More than 1,000 people streamed through the 25th annual Seniors Expo at the Ramada throughout the day. The show is put on every January by Portland-based Binnie Media and is free to the public.
The expo typically hosts vendors, businesses and nonprofits that cater to seniors. This year, for the first time, it also hosted Lisbon Falls antique dealer and “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser Daniel Buck Soules.
Soules drew the biggest crowd, with people lining up throughout the day to have him look at their old gold necklaces, antique glassware and, in one case, a 13-inch pipe that family lore said was used by a pirate.
Soules wasn’t so sure about the pirate connection — it seems a little too new for that era — but he’d also never seen a pipe quite like it. He advised the Jefferson couple who’d brought it in to find a specialist for a full appraisal. His gut instinct: The pipe was worth $200 to $500.
Not that the couple really wanted to sell.
“We were nosy,” said Dennis Sullivan, 74, who brought the pipe in with his wife, Laura.
Although Soules saw some interesting items, including antique porcelain dolls, 18th-century French books, and an old homemade pencil sharpener, few people left his table with news that their item could change their retirement.
Anne Ceplikas learned that her 70-year-old clarinet, which she got as a fourth-grader, was silver-plated and worth about $100.
“I was just curious,” said Ceplikas, who lives in Auburn. “This was a last-minute thought: ‘Oh, that’s old.'”
While Soules was the most popular stop at the expo, seniors also visited more than a dozen other booths, drawn in by free pens, coupons and information about Florida vacations, funeral planning, eye care and legal services for the elderly.
Maine Veterans’ Homes had its own secret for attracting attention: therapy dogs Dolly and Max.
“Seeing the seniors interact with the animals is fantastic,” said Devin Robinson, marketing director for Maine Veterans’ Homes. “It’s just a sight to be seen. They just open up, their faces brighten up. They want to pet them, see them, talk to them. The excitement is unbelievable. It’s contagious.”
While people swooned over the toy poodle and toy poodle-mix, Robinson got the chance to point out to them that pets live in or visit all six Maine Veterans’ Homes.
Monique and Andy Gagne, 81 and 83, respectively, of Lewiston, had a bag full of free promotional items and information as they left the expo around noon. It was their second year attending and they were happy to make the rounds, even though they’d already taken all the cruises they wanted and had made their funeral plans.
They were glad to see other seniors doing the same.
“I think it makes people who have put off doing those final things, preparations, not leave it to the kids to do,” Monique Gagne said. “Do it your way.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
