Fostering History

History is a funny thing.  Valuable for its experience, and, when told honestly, its shows us the best and worst of who we are.  Written in time with perfect reverence and absolute truth, it is viewed through a lens that is subject to the changing focus of its observers.  It is told in passages selected by the victors who often paint portraits instead of crowds.  The portraits only tell the stories of a few who played key roles on public stages, but those celebrities of the past are only the navigators of ships rowed by millions.  Joseph Pulitzer wouldn’t have run The World, if not for the newsies and typesetters.  Andrew Jackson wouldn’t have had much of a westward expansion had it not been for the pioneers, the farriers, the wheel- and cartwrights.  Would Carnegie have his hall without the smiths, makers, and fitters?

^{Antiques that tell the story of common lives abound at Bucks County Garage, an assemblage carefully curated by its keepers, representing every walk of American life. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

Tell it as you may.  Talk of giants, politicians, moguls, and millionaires.  The truth lives in the artifacts; and history – well, history stands on the shoulders of the common folk. 

Walking around Bucks County Garage, a Kintnersville property owned by David and Kailyn Marchese, is visiting a wonderland of that reality.  The artifacts of the everyday people, from cogs to cash registers, wagon wheels to war helmets, and everything not yet captured in your imagination, reside here.  Displayed in nothing I could describe as anything less than a living exhibit of art, architecture, and history, items of every size and function merge in an amusement park of eye candy for the eclectics, the intellectuals, and those who just appreciate really cool stuff.

^{David and Kailyn Marchese of Bucks County Garage stand amid centuries old treasures and repurposed art in the yard of their Kintnersville home. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

David, who also owns DVC Roofing, refers to the property as an “outdoor museum.  This is just a lot of time, and collecting, and relic hunting, and picking, and trash collecting, and repurposing.  There are a lot of things here that were being tossed for trash that were repurposed into art.  There’s a lot of unique architectural salvage, a lot of industrial pieces, revolutionary pieces, a lot of cookware, a lot of implements that would’ve been dragged around on a wagon back in the day.  I’ve got a real neat attraction to rust.  That’s my drug of choice.”

I would be remiss to call David and Kailyn “collectors.”  They are much more than that.  They are preservationists, protectors, and stewards of items they feel are relevant and deserving.  Their home is a sort of refuge for things waiting to be rediscovered.

“We don’t use the H word anymore,” David laughs, when talking about how his wife used to tease him.  The collection, however, despite its incredible volume is nothing even close to a hoard.  Items are repaired, restored, displayed, maintained, and eventually rehomed.  Sometimes with other collectors.  Sometimes for public consumption.

^{Bucks County Garage welcomes visitors by appointment and for public sales twice a year. The fall sale will be September 15-17 and October 6-8 this year. Photos by Kristina Gibb.}

“I think that’s the best thing, curating for the museums and the historical places,” Kailyn says.  The couple have placed items in multiple exhibits, including the Anatomy of Death Museum in Detroit, The Museum of Sex in New York City, and in the summer kitchen at The George Taylor Mansion Museum in Catasaqua, PA.  The mansion is the former residence of the Declaration of Independence signer.  David, whose roofing company has the knowledge and inventory to work on specialized, historic projects, had recently completed an improvement there, but his interest in the property extended well beyond replacing broken antique roof tiles.

Taylor was a gentleman of means who supported the idea of a colonial separation from England.  He was also co-owner of the Durham Iron Factory, which stood a literal stone’s throw from where the Marcheses reside, and David is “on the hunt for all the things they made there.” 

“Taylor dedicated his life to providing munitions and needs to the war efforts,” David explains.  “Cannonballs, musket balls, pots and pans… it was manufactured across the street and excavated out of this hill (where the Marcheses’ house now stands). People say, ‘you’re kind of bringing all the iron back to the hill.’”

^{Tractor seats displayed on an old farm gate separate the Marcheses‘ converted barn home property from the neighbors who reside in the original farmhouse. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

The tiered landscape of the property makes the extraction of materials from the ground suddenly obvious, and the return of the iron is more than poetic.  It is a marvel with meaning.  Anyone with a fascination for craftsmanship, the trades, art, history, or the just plain interesting would find a walk around the property time well spent, especially once you get talking to David who has a story for just about everything. 

His bright, friendly personality, his contagious laugh, and his true love for the items he and his wife are fostering is enrapturing.  He is also completely forgiving of the tendency of guests to let their eyes wander as they listen and occasionally interrupt with things like, “Is that a bear trap?!”

^{Gifts, purchases, and rescued items from the familiar to the outlandish have homes here. This painted bull skull is one of the more curious pieces. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

David doesn’t just forgive these outbursts.  He loves them.  In fact, countless times during our interview, he commented on my expressions as my eyes and mouth flew open in amazement. 

“I’m looking at your reactions right now,” he laughs.  “People don’t know what to say. They just get lost in it.”

Tiny cast iron toy stoves, musical instruments, old boardwalk amusements, everything imaginable.  Although there is tremendous diversity, there is also noticeable cohesion.  These pieces are curated, chosen for their significance in the lives of people with no names, people just like you or me or the man you see getting his mail but have never spoken to.  They are the tools, toys, and treasures of all of us.  This is human history, and David is a historian creating a library. 

“I love [history], the written and the unwritten.  There is some good folklore in the tales of the So Saids,” he says.

^{The collection is fully interrogated into the family’s living space, where pieces are cleaned, moved, and maintained according to the changing content. David offers his repair and restoration services to others as an extension of Bucks Country Garage. Photos by Kristina Gibb.}

With David assembling much of the inventory, Kailyn, David’s wife of 11 years, is something of a librarian.  “I’m tasked with finding things a home on the property so that it doesn’t become hoard-ish.  I have moved things 2, 3, and 4 times, and then moved them again.  It’s a constant rotation of copper, steel, artifacts, antiques, uniques, whatever is interesting enough to us.”

“The collection is definitely a joint effort,” she extrapolates.  “I wouldn’t say it’s a 50/50 split, but it’s certainly not all him.  I have a deep love for architectural salvage, so a lot of the repurposed steel you see around the property has caught my eye for some particular reason, which is why it’s landed some real estate on our property.”

She giggles, telling me how he comes home saying things like, “I got three things, and you have to figure out where they are on the property.”

^{The iron banister, leading to an upper tier dining area, is adorned with wagon and train wheels, cogs, propellers, and other round items. It is a highlight among the more permanent installations at Bucks County Garage. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

Beyond the fun and games, Kailyn is invested well beyond her own additions and knowing what’s around.  In addition to her welding hobby and owning a business – Goldie Links Permanent Jewelry, she also elevates the presentation with her green thumb, enlivening every corner of the property and completing the artistic nature of the assemblage.  Items hundreds of years old are teeming with life, as flowers and vegetables grow within and around them, and David adores her touch.

“I bring these things home because I love it and think it’ll look good on the property, but if she doesn’t plant things, it’s all just very plain. This time of year, I just love it,” he says.

Kailyn’s support and love for the mission doesn’t mean she hasn’t rolled her eyes a few times, and the couple laugh about this.  David recounts the story of acquiring a massive, painted iron, Victorian era garden structure.  They were enjoying an ice cream cone at the shore, sitting on the bench of the enormous piece.  “I said to my wife, ‘I wonder if they would ever sell this.’ And, she’s like, ‘here we go again.’”

Four days later, the piece was being reassembled and prepared for protective measures in their yard.

^{SLIDESHOW: Bathtubs to buses, gazebos to grain scales, Bucks County Garage has thrived on their ability (and courage) to move larger items. Photos by Kristina Gibb.}

The garden structure is not the only enormous piece they have obtained.  A kid sized wooden school bus with over a dozen seats and an even larger pirate ship sit in the play space of the couple’s two children, Oaklyn and Phoenix.  A corn crib cleverly houses the Marcheses’ hot tub, and a massive gazebo was moved to its location on the property with the help of a huge crane.  David had grabbed it in a hurry from a man who posted on Craigslist, “Come today and pick it up, or come tomorrow and watch me burn it.” 

Not fully realizing the magnitude of the thing, David raced down there with manpower and a means of mobility.  The owner used a commercial winch to help them load it.  David got it home but didn’t have a plan to unload it.  While he pondered, it sat on the trailer.  He built it a foundation and hardscaped around the space, then David called a business associate who owned a crane.  The gazebo was moved at no cost; the man insisted it was a wedding gift for the couple.  David and I sit inside it, in large wooden chairs, under a canopy of curiosities, and discuss how this all came to be and the future of these items.

^{Relaxing in the gazebo, surrounded by wonder and beauty, David talks about the inspirations for and future of this collection. Photos by Kristina Gibb.}

David’s father was in the military, which meant being uprooted every few years, but David didn’t mind it terribly.  He had no trouble making friends and enjoyed the attention of being the new kid.  It was his mother who taught him the joy of finding and keeping unique things, but his own collection didn’t start until he was an adult, when his best friend’s father gave him an old weathervane. 

As a roofer in Upper Bucks, he has had a great many chances to see and acquire more weathervanes.  He is also constantly adding to a stock of antique roofing materials – tiles, slate, and the like, which enables him to match existing work and give repairs an authentic look.  This has made his roofing business the Go To company for repairing historic properties, and that has given David even more opportunity to meet “likeminded people who have just had enough of their stuff.”

This is where many of his items have come from, but he and Kailyn also search yard and estate sales, scrap yards, and various online sources.  Gathering, however, is only half of the equation.  The Marcheses welcome people onto the property for prearranged private browsing and sales twice a year.  (The fall sale will be held September 15, 16, & 17 and October 6, 7, & 8.) 

^{SLIDESHOW: Macro to micro. Visitors and shoppers will have to shift focus from the very large to the very small to truly appreciate their experience when viewing. Photos by Kristina Gibb.}

“Everything here, in my eyes, is a family heirloom,” he tells me, “but as soon as somebody else comes here and is interested in something, I am interested in them being interested in it.  So, I’m excited to see it go.  I have attachments to a couple of choice things, but if someone else was really sentimentally attached to it and could afford to pay what I was asking, it’s gone.  I wouldn’t think twice about it.  Hopefully, it’s somewhere where I can visit it.”

Kailyn adds, “I’ll never forget him selling the Mobile gas pump, though.  It’s one thing that left the property that I absolutely loved, and thought would always stay with us, but that’s the thing – we bring things in to give them new homes.  Nothing is supposed to stay.”  

Being in the company of Kailyn and David tells you things their words cannot.  Their warmth and welcome, the jokes they make at their own expense, the nearly unbelievable stories evidenced by the items you’re staring at, and the curated, organized, and stunning collection all bring their commitment to one another and this mission into focus.  This isn’t just stuff they’ve picked up along the way, no matter how laissez-faire they like to be about it.  They are master pickers and keepers of yesteryear. 

^{Old lanterns, hanging on a pergola over the family’s outdoor eating area, reflect on the laborers and miners who pulled the iron from the ground on this very site. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}

Copper pots and grinding stones aside, there was still a question that begged an answer, and they had one…  What happens to all this when their time with it comes to an end?

“When the time comes, I’d love to see important pieces make their way into museums,” Kailyn says, well supported by David’s sentiment.  “We’ve already helped facilitate that for a local museum, but there are some really, really interesting pieces in our collection that I just can’t put a price tag on.  For it to be used to teach a part of our history… that’s priceless.  My kids are usually with us when we pick, so they are already well trained in walking homes and property lines looking for treasures.  I’m sure their love for the pick will continue on with them as they grow, or at least I’ll keep telling myself that as we continue to add to our collection.”

Both David and Kailyn know that passing on their keen eyes, knowledge, and passion will be instrumental to their children placing items with the right stewards, because ultimately that is what this is all about. 

Call it whatever you like – salvage, collecting, picking, antiquing, or treasure hunting.  All of these terms boil down to the one thing: the Marcheses are sheltering the history of the common people, keeping it alive, and they’re displaying it in a truly unique exhibit at a place they call home, but I would call extraordinary.

^{Kailyn and son walk and play in the uniquely beautiful setting. Photo by Kristina Gibb.}