Sale of Superlative Antiques to Benefit Owego Emergency Squad


Mead & Sons Auctioneers and the Faith and Val Kucher Estate recently announced an important Auction of over 300 superlative Antiques to be sold on Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m.

This special Estate dispersal will take place at the home, located at 30 Front St. in Owego, N.Y. A preview of all items will precede the Auction at 8 a.m. With great generosity, the Auction proceeds will be donated to the Village of Owego Emergency Squad to assist with the purchase of State-of-the-Art Emergency Medical Equipment.

Faith Kucher was of two minds when she opened her first Antique Sales stall in a shared shop in Huntington, N.Y. in the 1970’s. While she was excited to turn her passion into a business, she was torn when she sold an item she really loved.

Her business continued to grow and was featured in “The Antiquarian” in 1982.

When the time for their retirement came, Faith and Val moved to the Village of Owego. There, her love of antiques was unleashed, with the opportunity to fill her new Historic home. She was never faced with parting with her treasures again.

Faith died in 2015 and the family is now moving forward to pass on her 75-year personal collection, with the same appreciation.

“My Mother would try to find a ‘good home’ for the items she cherished, and I hope to do the same in her memory”, said her daughter Kathy, adding, “My mother always sought out the unusual rather than the common. She was eclectic, way before it was fashionable.”

Named “The Cubby Hole” after that first small original space, her well known shop in an historic house on Main Street, Huntington, carried the best selection of Victorian wicker furniture on the North Shore. Her tagline was “The Cubby Hole for Collectors”. Some of those choicest pieces of Wicker are included in the upcoming Auction.

As for benefiting emergency service workers, Kathy added, “Mom was a committed collector, curator would probably be a more appropriate term, with deep roots in community service and civic involvement both on Long Island and in Tioga County, New York.”

“It will come as no surprise that this lifetime collection is being sold to benefit the Village of Owego Emergency Squad,” said Colonel Jim Mead, principal auctioneer of the collection.

Mead was immediately impressed when he first visited the collection. “It was like walking into a Front Street estate with my dad sixty years ago,” said Mead, adding, “The quality, placement, and presentation were perfect, this is a sale not to be missed.”

Photos of all 300 plus items can be viewed at https://www.auctionzip.com/Listings/3916182.html. The sale will be held rain or shine, under tents if necessary, and lunch will be offered, also to benefit the Emergency Squad.

In an announcement regarding the auction, representatives from the Estate of Faith and Val Kucher wrote, “The Kucher Family is honored to acknowledge the day-to-day Dedication and Service of our local Emergency Service Professionals and Volunteers. And they hope their friends and neighbors will bid generously as they purchase these remarkable items to be cherished by their new owners.”