Most days in the downstairs area of Cranberry’s Antiques on the square, perhaps sitting at a mid 1900s Coca-Cola table, among rusty farm tools, lanterns, antique toys and old books, you will find 12-year- old Stephen Bowie Arnold. Stephen is the youngest vendor in Cranberry’s. Although he has only been running his booth in Cranberry’s for four months, his passion for antiques has been around for much longer.

Stephen has always had an interest in antiques, but the passion was really sparked three years ago when he began going to garage sales and “picking” for antiques to give to his grandmother. This continued for a couple of years, until his grandmother no longer had room for the antiques. Stephen then began what he called, “collecting” but his father, Mike Arnold, called, “hoarding.”

Eventually, Stephen no longer had room for the antiques at his family’s house, and he and his father had to find a better place to take some of his antique finds. Thus, they decided to open a stall in the downstairs area of Cranberry’s.

Stephen has a deep love for antiques, which is evident in how the young boy’s face lights up when he holds up one of the objects from his stall and explains the item’s history. Learning the history of the item is one of Stephen’s favorite parts of dealing antiques.

“I just like old stuff, the older the better; especially rusty farm tools,” said Stephen.

He and his dad go picking for antiques almost every weekend, at garage sales, estate sales, and occasionally auctions.

Stephen is learning a lot about business and negotiation through antique dealing and can really drive a hard bargain. He also has big goals for the future and he hopes to continue dealing antiques and eventually open his own antique store. He also wants to be able to travel farther for auctions, namely to Indiana and Europe. He is very proud of one of his biggest accomplishments, the 1947 Dodge truck that he hopes to have ready to drive by the time he has his license.