Avon LIFE - October 4, 2004
by Brooke Pielli
The familiar big rocking chair in Old Avon Village
has enjoyed an interesting life.
One of the most familiar directions given to anyone who decides to shop in
Avon is to "look for the big rocking chair." Whether you then turn right
into the Old Avon Village shopping center turn left into the strip of shops
opposite it, or go past it, you have to wonder why anyone would build a
nine-foot-high rocking chair.
Well, it wasn't constructed to accommodate a giant. It was built to be a
symbol of quality, that quaint, old-fashioned commodity so valued by those
who helped build the town.
On July 9, 1964, Old Avon Village opened for business
on two parcels of land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel
R. DaBica. The land had been originally purchased
to be an extension of their business, the Elmwood
Furniture Company.
The first parcel was purchased from Ralph Sisson and consisted of a
two-story house with a garage. The house had an apartment upstairs and
enough room downstairs for retail store. The store became the Thrifty
Yankee, a fabric outlet owned by Boucher Smythe.
The garage became the Little Silver Shop owned, then and now, by Richard
Parker.
The second parcel of land was purchased from a Mrs. Miller. It consisted of
a barn, a cottage and the main house. The barn soon became the DaBica's
furniture and gift store called the Spinning Jenny.
The main house became an antique shop owned by Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, a gun
shop owned by a Mr. Ramsey, and the R.R. Preston Real Estate Company. The
cottage, located on Towpath Lane, was rented to Gladys Boss as her
residence.
This little village of shops formed what was to eventually be called Old Avon
Village by the DaBica's. So how did the rocking
chair come to live there?
The big rocking chair started life as a Nickols and Stone rocker, made to
order at the shop of Tom Bec, a woodworker on Talcott Road in the Elmwood
section of West Hartford. Its first job was to adorn the roof of the
DaBica's store, next to the Elm Theatre.
It was mounted on a platform and illuminated.
And it rocked. When the DaBicas moved their business
to Avon, the big rocking chair moved too, becoming
a symbol of the quality of the furniture sold at
the store, as well as drawing attention to the other
shops in the village.
When the DaBicas closed the Spinning Jenny they left the big rocking chair
behind. By 1987, when William Raveis owned the center section of Old Avon
Village, the chair was suffering from old age and exposure to the elements.
Fortunately for it and for those who use it as a marker, it was decided to
repair the chair, rather than do away with it.
Several thousand dollars later it was back in
its place where, except for a strong storm that
once blew it into the middle of Route 44, it remained
until recently.
"The chair has been repaired a couple of times," said Ann August.
The August family now owns Old Avon Village, and with it, the big rocking
chair.
"Actually, it's probably been rebuilt but retains the exact shape as it
always has. People may not realize how much of a toll the weather takes on
the chair. And wobbly, too, and had fallen over many times," she said.
"A Local carpenter, Doug Mooney of Canton, has done the repairs. He said it
cost so much and he felt so bad about it that he charged us less than the
hourly rate. That was nice of him."
Ms August added that a lot of people have their wedding photo taken in front
of the chair.
Not long ago, it was moved to a new site two driveways further east toward
Avon Mountain. Not everyone is pleased with that decision.
"It belongs in the middle of the hedge where it sat all these years," said
Mr. Parker, owner of the Little Silver Shop, one of the original stores in
Old Avon Village.
"If they don't want it to be back here in the middle of the hedges, then
they should put in front of the bank. It should be in front of a white
building with its light casting on the building."
"It was in the front yard of the bank and close
to the street. We didn't want anyone getting into
an accident. And the chair was so wobbly, too, so
we moved it away from the street. We'll keep it
repaired and plan on painting it often," Ms. August
said.
