Yellow Magnolia Antiques was born in 2015 in the barn beside their house, but really was a lifetime in the making. Joe and Elaine Cummings have always loved antiques and decided to try running their own shop. “We had a very simple business plan: only buy things we like and sell them for more than we paid,” Elaine said.
Elaine’s mother immigrated from Scotland and Elaine inherited her antique silver and English China. “I just love setting the table with my mother's family china and silver for special occasions,” she said. “My grandmother used her silver every day so she never had to polish it.”
Elaine and Joe met shortly after he returned from being a ski bum in Aspen. They had their first date at Albertos in Bennington. They were married in 1972. “We just clicked,” Elaine said.
Joe returned to be part of his family business, The Peterborough Transcript, after graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology. He ran the printing side of that business for 25 years. After his dad retired, Joe became Publisher of the weekly newspaper for 10 years, the fourth generation to do so. “I started at The Transcript with a paper route,” Joe said, “and finished as publisher.”
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