G.I. Jonesing

A couple's search for a doll and other antique treasures

by Dawn Keable

For more than 20 years, my boyfriend Andre has courageously lived with a void in his life. It's not something he's comfortable discussing with strangers, but someone who is very perceptive might glimpse the pain in his eyes. This has to do with lost childhood. Where could his favorite GI Joe have gone?

This wasn't just any GI Joe, but the hottest toy of Christmas 1971 -- the Talking GI Joe Soldier with Kung-Fu Grip. When his dog tags were pulled, Joe would say, "mission accomplished" with the authority of a man who had seen combat.

Andre's favorite GI buddy lasted years longer than that military impostor, Action Jackson, whose limbs were connected by an elastic band that couldn't withstand the rigors of battle. But years later, GI Joe's fate is still unknown.

According to Andre's mom, continuous destructive play probably caused the doll to lose his limbs on a daily basis. Andre does recall Joe's fingers falling off, which greatly affected his ability as a combat soldier. Perhaps mom threw Joe away piece by piece.

Regardless, we were going to find another one so that I, too, could experience the magic of the kung-fu grip, or at least get some sort of understanding of what it was. Thankfully, the East Bay area -- Barrington, Bristol, Warren, Seekonk, Mass. -- is a plethora of antiques shops and extremely convenient to Providence. Let the treasure hunt begin!

Stock Exchange, Barrington

We began our adventure in Barrington. From Providence, take Rt. 195 East to Rt. 114 South. Stay on Rt. 114. The main road winding through the heart of East Bay communities, it is the only road you'll need. While driving in Barrington, Andre pointed out the football field where his Pop Warner team lost the 1975 championship. Twenty-two years later, he still felt the pain of defeat. It was going to be a long day.

Our first stop was the Stock Exchange (57 Maple Avenue). Take a right off Rt. 114 at the light after Barrington Town Hall. The shop is the fifth building on the right and has a large parking lot in the rear.

The Stock Exchange is a consignment shop specializing in just about every household item except major appliances. Consignors receive 60 percent of the sale price from each article. Although the shop specializes in buying out estates and households, with a lump payment for the entire contents of a house, the Stock Exchange is also a great place for bargains. For each month an item is in the store, its price is reduced by 15 percent.

According to owner Jennifer LaFrance, reasonable prices are the key to their success. "We try never to overprice. We try to be fair to purchaser and consignor," says LaFrance.

Andre and I spent some time scoping out the three levels of the shop. There was stuff everywhere! Fortunately, the store has UPC-coded merchandise, so if you have something specific in mind, the staff can pull up the computerized catalog and let you know if they have it in stock. At last count, the store held 19,414 items, so it seems like a good system.

We started at the top and worked our way down. The upstairs has moderately priced items with quite a bit of furniture, china, and linens. Two animal-related items caught our eyes simply because of their oddity factor. I was intrigued by the ceramic duck planter ($12), complete with lifelike webbed feet. Andre managed to find a poodle decanter with a screw-off head ($10.20) that he wanted to use for his finest cologne. We left them and continued downstairs.

On the main floor housing the finer items, I spotted a pair of funky, brightly painted wooden fish ($40 each). Next to them was a great mirror with a greenish border adorned with hand-painted lilacs ($191.30). Maybe I'll stop back next month to see if either has been marked down. Appropriately enough, the lower level is as close to bargain basement as you can get. There are tools, books, records, glassware, and a habitrail (circa 1975) here, as well as a $1.50 section. A lot to search through, but no Kung-Fu Grip GI Joe, so we were on our way.

Lady Next Door, Warren

Next stop further down Rt. 114 was the Lady Next Door (196 Water Street). Take a right off Main Street (Rt. 114) onto Miller Street and follow it to Water Street. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but what about a store by its name? I loved the name of this one and the story that went with it.

Sandra Nathanson, the owner, used to be a set designer, working a lot with PBS. She met Gil Warren, owner of Warren's Square Peg antiques store, through her constant search for the perfect prop. Warren encouraged her to go into the antiques business when Nathanson was searching for something new. Warren rented part of his store to her and encouraged his customers to "go see the lady next door."

Nathanson has since moved around the corner from the Square Peg, but she didn't change the name. "I figured I'd always be next door to someone," she says laughingly. You can't walk in the store and slip by Nathanson unnoticed. She asks everyone who enters if they are looking for something specific. Andre and I kept our item a secret (just a gut feeling that she wasn't a GI Joe fan), choosing to meander through on our own.

The store had, by far, the funkiest goods we had eyed so far. Fiestaware, in bright hues of blue, orange, and yellow, caught my eye first. But with a saucer priced at $8.50, a service of four would've cost a fortune. We had the most fun checking out the vintage clothing in the back of the store. I saw a fabulous simple black silk sheath ($22) that would have been a great bargain if I didn't have hips -- it was a very straight size 4.

Andre attempted to try on a navy blue tux ($48). While the jacket was a size large, it apparently was not large enough -- Andre nearly ripped it at the seams trying to get his arm into it. He also tried on a straw porkpie hat ($9) that would have looked smashing on him if he'd had the lead role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Square Peg, Warren

We only had to walk around the corner for our next destination -- Square Peg (51 Miller Street). Gil Warren has owned this shop for 33 years. A RISD grad with a formal background in pottery, Warren ended up in town when he was forced to move from his studio in Providence. After a failed attempt at a bookstore, he decided to open an antiques shop.

Square Peg is packed with eclectic merchandise. Who would have thought that you could purchase a taxidermied pheasant ($48) and a small tin Mickey Mouse trash can ($38) in the same place? We spied a table-top fan from the 1940s ($78), which got us thinking about how far safety features have come.

Warren was outside washing some end tables when we left, but we were able to pry him away to chat with us for a while on the stoop. Of course, I didn't dare ask if he had any GI Joes, particularly after he told us the following:

"I don't think that most stuff that sells as antiques is really antiques," he said. "I bought a whole box of Barbies, most of them in their cartons. [They] looked like they had never been used. I made out selling them." We moved on before he caught on to us.

It's A Doll World, Warren

After almost three hours on the road, we finally hit paydirt at It's A Doll World (354 Main Street). Nancy Duffy, owner of the toy store, talked frankly about why she decided to specialize in the business. "I was trying to buy back the toys I had as a kid," said Duffy. We knew we had finally found someone who could relate to Andre's grief.

Duffy didn't have the specific GI Joe model that Andre so fondly craved -- we missed that doll and the GI Joe Headquarters by about a week. But she did have a European model with "eagle eyes," the soldier's peripheral vision controlled by a sliding lever in the back of his head. This GI Joe also had kung-fu grip, but I was disappointed to learn that this only means his wrists rotate and that his hands are unclenched enough to hold a weapon. Even Duffy had to admit that the American version is superior because of more flexibility in the hands.

We managed to play here a little longer. Andre spent some time on the floor, sorting through a container of plastic cowboys and Indians and looking for the "horse cowboy," whose legs are molded in a way that allows him to ride a horse. I spotted a Donny Osmond doll ($10) dressed in a purple jumpsuit. I was tempted to purchase him and the nearby MC Hammer outfit -- metallic-red balloon pants and half-shirt ($12) -- to bring Donny into the '90s.

Jenkins & Stickney Antiques, Bristol

Alas, we ended up leaving our new friends behind and continuing down Rt. 114 into Bristol. There we stumbled into a great shop called Jenkins & Stickney Antiques (295 Hope Street). The shop specializes in American and European furnishings and accessories for the home and garden.

Paula Silva owns the store with her partner, Robin Furze. She says they have a lot of the "shabby chic which is in vogue right now."

The space seems relatively small, but probably looks this way because of the huge number of large-scale items inside. Indeed, the store is not overly cramped. And it has an excellent minimalist presentation of goods, making it easier to picture how the pieces will look in your own home.

This technique worked for me. I pictured a cut-stone pedestal ($125) as a plant stand in my dining room and a painted Mission table ($325) in my living room. We had to leave quickly before I started whipping out my credit cards and arranging for home delivery.

Vinny's Antiques Center, Seekonk, Mass.

On the way home, we made one final stop in Seekonk at Vinny's Antiques Center (380 Fall River Avenue, Rt. 114A). According to Eileen Parrillo, the weekend manager, some 350 vendors rent space from the owners, Vinny and Denise Ororato.

Vinny's is like a giant antiques department store, two stories of case after case of merchandise. You could find anything here.

On the lower level, we discovered a CHIPS Officer Ponch doll ($25). In the same case was the Steve Austin Bionic Man with bionic limbs doll ($30). I think we uncovered a scam with this one -- the doll had a GI Joe head! I also found an opened box of Jell-O Tapioca Pudding from the '60s ($4) -- gross!

In the home decoration department, Andre liked the advertisements replicated on tin signs, most featuring Babe Ruth ($13). He also spotted a uniquely shaped vase that I still think looks like a snake's mouth. Andre decided the heavy, green glass object ($5) needed to come home with him.

Upstairs I drooled over the jewelry section for quite some time. Vinny's has a great selection and is an ideal place for unique estate jewelry. Andre finally pried me away to the register to cash out our only purchase of the day. Wow, that was some willpower we exhibited!

Exhausted, we headed for home, with only one final stop -- the florist. Hey, we needed something to dress up the bargain of the day! We never did locate Andre's commando buddy from years past, but our expedition was still therapeutic. Andre has hope now. He knows it's only a matter of time before he hears that familiar mechanical voice again.