By Cathy Miller

Junkin’ for the Joy of it!

Angelo and Carrie Accetturo, from Oxford, have been the faces of Five Acres Flea Market on Route 46 in Belvidere for a decade, happily sharing their knowledge derived from a business in antiques and collectibles. Self-affirmed “junkers,” they make certain a trip to Five Acres is nothing short of an adventure!

Established 50 years ago, Five Acres Flea Market includes an outdoor flea market and an indoor shop brimming with collectibles. Open Saturdays and Sundays, the Flea Market starts at 7:00 am, the Shop hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. There’s an onsite concession stand, free parking and free entry.

Angelo reminisced, “When we were kids, my father, Rocco Accetturo, grandfather, Louis Rello, brother and I always visited Five Acres, sometimes twice a day. It was one of my favorite places. We’d wander the tables, collecting all kinds of things, especially baseball cards and old toys.”

In August 2023, Angelo and Carrie celebrated their tenth anniversary as owners of Five Acres Flea Market. Angelo said, “People travel from as far away as New York City, Brooklyn, eastern New Jersey, Poconos, Scranton, and Philadelphia so we want to have plenty for them to explore. A week doesn’t go by that there’s not new merchandise in the building, on the porch, or out in the lot. There will always be something for everyone, not just antiques.

To maintain that constant turnover, the couple purchases estates and collections of antiques, collectibles and general merchandise, like jewelry, old toys, military, silver. “We’re here every Saturday and Sunday actively buying,” Angelo noted.

Clean-outs are another aspect of their business. “Clean-outs are hard work, but it’s exciting because we’re kind of like treasure hunters,” Carrie explained. “It’s a valuable service for people who need it and we’re fortunate to have an outlet for the things we clean out.”

Never knowing what they may find, when customers step inside they should be prepared to dig around, as all true junkers do!

The outside vendors are separate from what Angelo and Carrie do. To sell at the Flea Market, the cost per day is $20 on Saturday and $25 on Sunday. Some vendors begin to arrive at sunrise, there are no reservations, they choose their own spot, and put out their wares. By 4:00 pm, things are winding down.

Have the Accetturos ever asked anyone to leave? Yes, several times. Angelo explained, “It wasn’t based on what they were selling, but due to bad attitudes – rudeness, swearing, drunkenness, just bad behavior.” Carrie added, “This is a place for people to come enjoy themselves. We don’t tolerate people making it ugly for other visitors.”

Route 46 has a long history of junk shops, including Five Acres Flea Market, and Angelo and his family spent many hours along the route “junking” together!

Angelo’s aunt, Carmella DeFinis, owned and operated three antique/junk shops on Route 46 between White Township and Knowlton. He said, “She was a big influence on us. Her shops were like ours, where you could poke around and never know what you’d find.”

There was another where Legendary Cycles is now located. “It was a digger’s delight, but the owner was a real ornery guy. He had really good stuff, so he kept a close watch on everyone,” Angelo said.

The current site of Motors 46 once housed Edwards & Edwards, a cool antique shop. Angelo went on to say, “My old partner and I eventually rented that building and ran our own antique shop there called A & E Antiques.”

Another of the Accetturo’s favorite haunts was Jack’s Antique Shop, now Jack’s Barn in Oxford, which housed several dealers.

Don’t forget Crane’s Junk Yard, right across the Belvidere Bridge. “My father, my brother and I could spend hours looking around there,” Angelo said.

His mother, Marie Accetturo, played a large part in his joy of junking. Angelo explained, “While my father and grandfather took me and my brother to Five Acres almost every weekend, my mother drove us to baseball card shows everywhere – Montclair, Bethlehem, Allentown, wherever there was a show going on.”

Little did he realize then, all this exposure growing up around collectibles would lead to a successful career buying and selling baseball cards after college. Angelo said, “I never dreamed you could get paid to do something you love. My mom was a big part of this for me.”

Angelo graduated from Seton Hall University in 1989. By 1990/91, he took a job with an auction house that specialized in baseball cards, stamps and coins. He and a business partner had an antiques business on the side called A & E Antiques for a few years, after which they opened an auction gallery in Pocono Summit, PA for about ten years. In 1996 he began selling on E-Bay (and still does). When Five Acres became available, he purchased it.

It’s obvious “junking” is in Angelo’s blood. And Carrie? “Not in my blood!” She was not a flea market aficionado or antique collector to start but, “It’s something I learned to love and something I’m learning about.” She specializes in jewelry, gold, silver, costume jewelry, and holiday items.

About 60% of their vendors show up on a regular basis – people that set up every weekend or once a month. The other 40% need to sell items off due to moving, downsizing, or emptying the old family homestead.

Angelo explained, “People purge their old stuff in many ways. Some park a dumpster in front of their house and just toss everything. Some people hold less-than-successful yard sales, then come to the Flea Market for more foot traffic. There’s people that pack it all up and immediately head to the Flea Market. Some will call us, or someone like us, to purchase it all, or clean it out. Bringing it to the Flea Market is so much better than discarding it in a landfill.”

Carrie noted, “We’re definitely recycling by saving things from the landfill. It’s a process of reusing and recycling items that were unwanted and now will get a whole new lifetime of use. It feels good to do it this way.”

During the course of a weekend at the Flea Market, do any items catch their attention? According to Carrie, it happens all the time. “We’re everyone’s biggest customer,” she laughed.

Many of the vendors even set up over the winter, mostly in the parking area. “We never officially close the vendor area. We get very busy inside during winter. People still need to fill their weekends, so they’ll come to the store,” Carried explained. “They’ll spend hours sifting through boxes, looking for their favorite items.” To this day, people will admit they’ve never been inside the store – until winter arrived.

Covid was an unlikely ally for the Accetturos. When Five Acres was allowed to reopen, the demand for certain things, like bicycles, was very high due to supply chain issues and the inability of stores to stock them. People came to the Flea Market, they went on Facebook Marketplace, they looked at used merchandise. It taught them to use those types of outlets to shop. It’s always been good, but things definitely got busier post-Covid, as folks came to buy a generator, or a hose, and other things stores couldn’t stock,” Angelo said. “People learned how to research before going shopping.”

The truth is people go to Five Acres looking for a bargain, they don’t want to pay retail. Angelo stated. “We have a happy medium between wholesale and retail that works for everyone.” What are big sellers nowadays? Old signs are very popular. Vintage toys are too. Advertising pieces have gone crazy, particularly oil and gas items. Coca-Cola was always, and still is, big.

50 years ago, former owner/operator Dorothy “Totsy” Phillips founded Five Acres Flea Market. She had a weekly high-end auction in the back room for many years, and advertised all along the Eastern Seaboard. She held tailgate auctions during the week. She put the flea market up for sale at age 81. She passed away in 2013 at 83 years of age.

Angelo remembers looking through the big front window of the Shop. “You could see pinball machines and pool tables up front. You could see the ice cream parlor. At that time the bar was open. Supposedly Totsy was a phenomenal cook. Our checkout area is where the bar was, the dining room was there as well. I know the local Republican Committee would meet at a table in the back.”

Angelo had an extensive background in buying and selling antiques by the time he purchased Five Acres. Although Totsy was active in food/beverage service and auctions, Angelo steered the business to the retail sale of antiques, collectibles, and household wares.

He discussed how their plans for Five Acres evolved, when even a vendors co-op was momentarily considered. Angelo said, “Ten years ago, we were pretty much all antiques. As time passed, we did more and more estate purchases and clean-outs. We’d bring everything to Five Acres – treasured antiques, shovels, old paintings, garden supplies, kitchenware, records – we handled it all!”

He added, “Ultimately it became our own show. We and our team work very hard to put on a decent show every weekend for the people.”

Through it all, Five Acres Flea Market continues to flourish. It’s been a landmark for 50 years, a true destination in Warren County. Carrie said, “People all over the tri-state area head to our Flea Market.” Angelo added, “We always suggest additional activities in the County, places to dine, local wineries to round out our customers’ visit.” Carrie laughed, “We’re so symbiotic!”

The day the Acceturro’s closed on Five Acres Flea Market, a beautiful rainbow arched over the property (see photo on Facebook). Ten years later, they recall that rainbow and the happiness it brought. Promising great treasures and good deals on new and old, collectibles and antiques, kitsch and general merchandise, Five Acres is, itself, a treasure.

Five Acres Flea Market, 421 US Highway 46, Belvidere, NJ
t: (908) 303-1608       e: 5acresfleamarket@gmail.com       FB:www.facebook.com/5five.acres/

NOTE: To date, Angelo has not located any photos of the old Five Acres Flea Market beyond one he acquired taken in the 1940s. Carrie lamented, “There was too much fun going on here for nobody to have pictures!” If any readers have old photos of Five Acres Flea Market, please contact the Accetturos.