For the Love of Characters: Dalton Munson

Twenty years later, I'm happy to report no one has fallen "clear through to the floor," making this $5 chair an exceptional bargain. 

Shopping to furnish our home, I was on the lookout for a good deal. Often, I’d find them on the side of the road in East Machias, where Dalton Munson set furniture out for sale.

Over the course of several enjoyable visits, I found three dressers, a mirror, a wooden stool, and two old wooden chairs — one in worn silver and one painted yellow, but with big chunks of glue escaping a repaired crack in the seat.

“What’s the price?” I asked, pointing to the chairs. 

“That one’s $10,” said Dalton, pointing to the silver chair. 

“But I’ll only charge you $5 for the yellow one,” he said, in his quintessential Downeast accent. “That way, when you sit down and fall clear through to the floor, you can’t say you paid too much for it.”

Sadly we lost Dalton Munson this summer. But during an interview in 2019, I let him know that the cracked yellow chair was still going strong.

We got our $5 worth, and then some.