NESCATUNGA—Up the road from the north shore of the Great Salt Plains Reservoir in the lakeside community of Nescatunga is a little red building adorned by metal art and a rusty roof with a sign that reads Marvelous Antiques and Bob’s Crap Flea Market.
Inside visitors can find a bevy of treasures from a time gone by.
For owner Marva Fallis Stewart, who was grew up nearby in Cherokee, having a shop near the lake just made sense.
Her late husband, Bob, who grew up in Alva and was Vietnam War veteran, had always wanted lakefront property so he eventually bought a lake home in Nescatunga.
In 2011, they moved full-time from Alva into the lakeside community; but sadly, he passed a year later.
“He never got to see it,” she said about her antique shop in Nescatunga.
Antiquing for living
Before she ever met Bob, Marva’s idea of antiquing was furniture.
When her parents downsized, she loaded her van with odds and ends and rented booth space at the back then-newly opened antique store in Alva.
Her new husband Bob discovered he liked antiquing too, so Marva had to expand the booth space by getting a bigger one.
“We were wheeling and dealing,” she said with fondness.
He would hit the road to find garage sales and she enjoyed bidding on auctions.
The couple then learned about Ashby’s Antique Mall in Blackwell.
“My husband and I had booths there, seven booths when all was said and done,” Marva said.
Ashby’s closed its doors in 2018, and the owners moved much of their inventory to Broadway Antiques & Uniques in Enid, so Marva did too.
“I downsized to one booth in Enid,” she said, adding much of her inventory went into storage.
Meanwhile, Nescatunga was calling to her.
A sign touting the sale of the former restaurant on the north side of Oklahoma 38 next to the bait shop “R” Store interested Marva.
She bought the building the same day she found out.
It required a lot of hard labor to make it ready and presentable for customers, she said. There was a hole in the floor, and the place was a mud daubers paradise. She also had to hire carpenters to redo the roof and walls.
Marvelous Antiques and Bob’s Crap Flea Market opened for business in 2022.
Finding hidden treasures
The shop lives up to creative name—Marvelous Antiques for Marva and Bob’s Crap in honor of Bob as an inside joke—and offers a mix of authentic antiques, collectibles, and eccentric flea market “crap.” It is the perfect place to hunt for hidden gems, vintage decor, and oddities.
Many things are half price and Marva is often willing to negotiate.
The most popular items she sells are farm and western themed, including John Wayne memorabilia, and oil products from places like Champlin, but she said one never knows what is of interest to others.
Campers and travelers alike pop in when she’s open, happy to see, touch, and reminisce about bygone eras.
“People come in and buy odds and ends,” she said.
At present, the shop is run by Marva and her son, who currently resides in her old house in Alva, but is planning to move to the lakeside community soon. He’s had good luck with selling beer steins and matchbooks in the shop.
“It will be his when I’m gone,” she said. But for now, “it keeps me active.”
Between finding antiques to add to the shop, her garden, and church activities, Marva stays busy, adding she spends more at auctions than she brings in at the shop.
“This is definitely a hobby. If not for the lake, I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
Marva encouraged visitors to make the trip to the Nescatunga area, adding it’s a wonderful scenic drive. When they’re done shopping with her, they can head over the lake to fish after stopping at the town’s lone bait shop next door or on down west of Jet for crystal digging.
Marvelous Antiques and Bob’s Crap Flea Market, along Oklahoma 38, in downtown Nescatunga, is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted on the door; periodically Marva attends estate sales or auctions so call (580) 984-1135 before heading that way to double-check she is there. The shop is routinely shut down for the winter season between Dec. 15 and March 15. The shop does accept both cash and credit cards.