Discover personal treasures at The Raven’s Attic East

DOVER-FOXCROFT — For The Raven’s Attic East owner Jody Arno, it is a thrill to go through some old boxes and see what she may find inside such as when she is working to clean out an estate. The excitement is not just with the contents of what could be inside, but also with what Arno may learn about the person who owned the stored objects. She can then carry forward the details and anecdotes and pass these on to others.

Since opening in January 2018 the Raven’s Attic East has offered a large assortment of antiques and collectibles, arts and crafts, and more. Items Arno said she tries to keep affordable whenever she can, “We offer a little of everything to everybody.”.

Sitting behind the counter as customers browsed the many shelves and the sound of traffic heard coming down and going up the adjacent East Main Street hill, Arno said she and her husband Kirt Stockley purchased their late neighbor’s home. 

“It was floor to ceiling full, so just going through and discovering the things that were in it was enlightening and interesting, a lot of Dover history and things,” Arno said. “Once we finished we bought the property and there was still stuff in it so I had started with a booth in Ellsworth, selling some things there.” 

She said she began to research some of the items she found and from there a business grew.

Arno sold her property management business Raven’s Ridge Camp Care and thinking about what to do next, decided to open The Raven’s Attic East. “We started with two rooms and then we went to this room and then we went with one on the porch and then the secondary part of the porch, and we just opened the last part of it. It’s been a labor of love.”

The raven has been a totem for Arno, including the bird in both her current and past business names. 

“Everybody has their own idea of heaven and mine is just being let loose in the attic with boxes undiscovered, just a huge attic that I would just be able to discover all of these things in it,” she added about another part of the name. The 224 East Main Street location completed the identity.

The Raven’s Attic East items come from a variety of places. Arno said she may get a call about an estate and she will help heirs by cleaning out, some people bring in items to sell, other merchandise may come from auctions, and there are eight different vendors at the business.

When she can, Arno will fix up items such as repainting or redesigning to help potentially keep it out of a landfill.

“One of the biggest mistakes people do is they haul in a dumpster and just throw,” she said, such as when cleaning out a relative’s home. “Ninety-five percent of the time they are throwing away things that are of value and they’re keeping Grandma’s china that was a 100-piece china set that nobody wants anymore.” The dinnerware cannot go in the dishwasher or microwave so nowadays fewer people are apt to want it.

Arno said now people are more likely to hold onto smaller things. She said paperwork and photos are desired because there is not an abundance of these. She mentioned old photos of Dover-Foxcroft, postcards, and bill receipts from long closed businesses as examples.

An old, unopened package of Brawny paper towels has sold for $20 and Arno said people may not be aware of the value of older items. She said prior to selling an estate they should have someone knowledgeable come in and look.

“You are dealing with a lot of feelings with this,’ Arno said. “Most of the things in the shop I know where they came from. We are just the keeper of the items until we find the people or place they are supposed to be with because they go with a story.”

She mentioned working on the estate of a mechanical engineer in town with the nephew and seeing how meticulous the woman was with everything. “It’s a lot of work but you are also getting to know that person,” Arno said, referring to the woman by the more familiar first name.

“I think that has to be my biggest discovery, getting to know the person,” she said. “Those little tidbits tell you who that person was and once it’s gone it’s lost.”

People living through the Great Depression and World War II often saved many things that could potentially be reused, such as Cool Whip containers and bread bags.“You have to give value to those things, you have to give value to that person’s life, as well as what those people think about those things and the stories to be told,” Arno said.

“You start knowing people and you hold onto things and you see people come in and they are excited,” she said. 

Arno said someone stopping by The Raven’s Attic East may say their grandmother had something just like what they have in their hands. “So you’re selling the memories,” she said. “It’s a reminder for them, they are replaying those memories in their head.” 

The discovery Arno said is her favorite part, “Finding life in something.” She said her husband’s favorite part is the people they meet, which Arno said she also enjoys.

Mentioning her love of her hometown’s history, Arno said one memorable find was a collection of old town photos featuring the people and places of yesteryear. She said she got a chuckle out of finding 300 brand new pairs of leather gloves and another discovery was about 500 brand new flashlights.

Arno once found a unique Zippo lighter and information on the specifics was not available online. After months she learned it was available only to police officers and firefighters.

“Each one of them is kind of unique,” she said, saying she loves the experience of discovery. 

“Sometimes it’s the things you don’t know and you learn,” Arno said. 

She likes to learn something new every day. Arno found an old tool and for a while did not know its purpose. An octogenarian said it was used to extract square nails from wooden floors, and Arno soon was able to try it herself.

“I would have never known and we are losing that with our elderly passing and those dumpsters, our history,” she said. 

Arno said not everything can be saved but she is “trying to salvage little bits of history when we can.” 

Currently eight vendors have space at The Raven’s Attic East, paying either rent or a percentage of their sales. 

“Not only does it help pay the bills but it helps add to the diversity of what we carry,” Arno said. She said each has a speciality, including cast iron, jewelry, and glass.

\The Raven’s Attic East is located at 224 East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft.. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. For more, see The Raven’s Attic East Facebook page.