Behind the Scenes at Antiques Roadshow Iowa

In June of 2024, "Antiques Roadshow" rolled into Living History Farms in Urbandale. Thanks to the show's producers, we were given full access to the event. Join us as we take a sneak peek behind the scenes of "Antiques Roadshow: Iowa.

Funding for "Behind the Scenes at Antiques Roadshow: Iowa" was provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, and by...

Woman: The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services encourages Iowans to talk to their doctor or healthcare provider about vaccines. Learn more at hhs.iowa.gov or ask your healthcare provider.

Here at Living History Farms, crews are getting ready to welcome a crowd of about 3,500 people, and a lot of those people are very excited to find out more about the cherished items they have picked out to bring with them. "Antiques Roadshow" is a highly anticipated event. For some people, the journey to the show is years in the making. When it was announced that "Antiques Roadshow" was coming to Iowa, more than 10,000 people entered a lottery to get a ticket.

Jan and her sister are two of about 4,000 lucky ticket holders. We recently talked with Jan as she began the process of deciding what items to bring.

Part of the "Antique Roadshow" is you get to bring two items, so we kind of have the conundrum needing to make a decision of which ones that we bring.

Nebbe: Jan's treasures come from the farm where she grew up. Her ancestors immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s, and her items reflect that history. There's a corn planter, kitchen tools, and a spinning wheel made by her great-grandfather. Every item has a story.

So, this is a beer tapper from Germany. It's in the 1800s, and they use it -- They didn't have the modern beer tappers, obviously, and beer came in large barrels, so there would be a bung, they called it, in the barrel. They took that off and they would hammer this into the -- the barrel and then turn the spigot. And that's how you'd get beer. Being 100% German, beer was a refreshment that was enjoyed often. So this was an important tool in our family history.

These are coins that my great-grandfather gave his wife. It was a tradition in Germany at that time that they exchanged coins instead of rings. So these are actually $2 coins. One is from Hanover and one is from Prussia. They got married in 1865, and it's fun to have these in our family and knowing that I'm holding something my great-grandfather and my great-grandmother exchanged 170 years ago.

So, we have some decisions to make before Monday of which ones that we're going to be able to bring, but it's just been a fun process leading up to this.

Nebbe: "Antiques Roadshow" gave Jan an excuse to sit down with her parents and talk about their family's history.

Jan: I've always wanted to capture some of the family history and videotape it. They're not really comfortable sitting down and doing that, but part of this process -- for them to have props, per se, able to be sharing the antiques -- and once my parents got going, it wasn't even about the antiques anymore. Now we've captured history. So, what an exciting thing. Not even -- If we don't make the "Antique Roadshow," this is a treasure for our family and that we're going to keep for generations. And you still use it? And we're still using it. Bakes the best rolls and bread. [ Chuckles ] Good.

Nebbe: "Antiques Roadshow" visits five cities every year, and behind me you can see just a sampling of the amount of equipment they need to travel with. It takes months of planning and hundreds of people to put all of the pieces in place.

While the crew was setting up, we had a chance to talk with three of the show's producers about how they're able to pull off this enormous event. How did you decide that "Antiques Roadshow" was going to come to Living History Farms? It's actually a funny story because we -- You know, we've been to Iowa before, but now that we're filming outside, we're looking for these kind of historic, iconic, culturally significant American locations. So, we have a team that works on this, not just myself. So, Ally Izzo Smith, who's one of our producers, came into my office and she's like, "I just found this really great place in Iowa I think we should go to." At the same time, our other event producer said, "I just got an email from them today." So, like, the same day that we found them, they found us. So I feel like it's very serendipitous that we're here. Des Moines has a character, just like any other part of the country. It's lovely to come out here to the Living History Farms and see just a day out in the rolling hills with the sunshine and the green grass and seeing a bunch of people looking to explore what they've brought.

Giles: We plan almost a year ahead of time. Every "Roadshow" does kind of have that same feeling of, like, a three-ring circus where there's all these parts, all these things happening at the same time, but it's very controlled chaos.

Farrell: When people come for the first time, they're often amazed by the number of people coming. There's 3,000 guests. There's 75 appraisers, including 8 or so at triage. There's 110 volunteers. There's 45 people who travel from around the country on a regular basis, and we have a local crew of at least 20.

In order to do the show, there are -- Myself and my core staff, we work year round. And we have, you know, mortgages and stuff, so we are paid. This is our full-time job. [ Laughs ] We hire crew, freelance crew. They are paid. We hire some freelance crew locally, too, and they are paid. After that, this show is made on volunteerism. We asked Iowa PBS to secure 110 volunteers. We couldn't do it without them. Okay, furniture.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Thank you. Thank you.

Nebbe: Volunteers are trained by "Antiques Roadshow" staff in a number of roles. They work with television crews, welcome guests, and are essential to the success of this event. We will see about 3,000 people tomorrow. Most of them will not be taped. They need to have a really good experience. They need to understand more about what they own. The morning of the show, there's just like kind of this buzz in the air. It feels really electric because you know what's gonna be happening next. You know that it's gonna turn into this awesome, you know, event, but you don't know what's coming. And that, for me, is my favorite part of the day, is, like, just the anticipation of, like, "What are we gonna find today?"

My name is Don. I'm from Story City, Iowa. So I drove 45 minutes this morning to be here. Alright, that's not bad compared to a lot of the crowd. I know it. To these gals. Brought two items. What -- Tell me about them. This one, I believe, is a 1949 Quaker cereal contest prize poster. I got this when I was 12 years old by accident. It was actually in a frame behind another picture, which I didn't know it was there. So, I'm 64 now, so I've owned it almost 52 years. Wow!

Nebbe: Today is show day. This is season 29 of "Antiques Roadshow," and the guests begin their day excitedly standing in a very long line to get to the triage section, where they'll find out about the next line they get to stand in.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

My name is Christine, and I'm from Hammond, Indiana. My name's Olivia, and I'm from Hobart, Indiana. Wow. So, you guys drove all the way here from Indiana? Yes. Wow! [ Laughter ] And what did you bring with you? I have a Victorian locket, and I have no idea where it came from or its origin or anything. And it's pretty rare, so I'm just -- I just held on to it. And, you know, I said, "If I ever go on the 'Roadshow,' this is what I'm gonna take." And after 20 years of trying to get on... [ Laughs ] Here we are! [ Laughter ]

Nebbe: When guests arrive to "Antiques Roadshow," tell me a little bit about the process that they go through before they get to see an appraiser. Well, hopefully they've parked near the location, and we try to have our parking lots as close to the location as we can. And they line up for the first time, waiting to get in. Somebody will check their tickets, and they come in. And then the second time they line up is for what we call triage or front desk. And at this point, they meet somebody who has some experience in knowing how to direct people to the right tables. And it's much more complicated than it looks. They don't know too much about it, had bought it in a gallery, you know, just really enjoyed it.

Woman #1: This is a Japanese helmet.

Woman #2: Okay. And it's got a bullet hole in the top. Whoa! They have to be trained or knowledgeable. It's not -- They're not necessarily antique specialists, but most of them are. A lot of them are family members. A lot of them are people we're trying to bring along and see if they might become appraisers in the future. They're there to help start the process moving along smoothly.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

And what are you hoping to get out of your adventure today? The painting that my grandparents had -- The family story is that they went to a county fair in northeast Iowa and the painter was there painting it and they purchased it there. So, we're hoping that they can tell us, is it really a paint-- is it really true? Nice, nice. But it's been the family a long time. Alright. And so you're headed to paintings and Asian art, and you're headed to...? Arms and militaria and Asian art. Alright. Well, you guys have a wonderful day. Thank you. We will.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Nebbe: When guests know what category their items fall in, they get in another line to meet with an appraiser that has specific knowledge in that area. People are so excited to meet our experts. They can't wait to meet them. They're literally -- Some of them are jumping with excitement. In the air -- It's a palpable, palpable feeling in the air. How are you? They see their favorite appraiser, and you see them whisper to each other, "Oh, there's Lark Mason," or, "There's Leigh Keno," or, you know, whoever their person is. And then when they have the chance to talk with that expert, they are, whether it's someone they recognize or not, truly captured by all that person knows.

Nebbe: When you watch the appraisers work on the show, you get the idea that a lot of them are really excited about kind of the puzzle-solving part of what they're doing. What is in it for them, though? What makes it worthwhile for the appraisers to spend their time with "Antiques Roadshow." They're on "Antiques Roadshow." I -- You know, I said this before, that participating in "Antiques Roadshow" is a good thing for your career, is a good thing to put on your company website. It's really an amazing thing for people to say that they've done. But of course "Antiques Roadshow" gets a huge amount from them. And they are people of integrity, with good business reputations, who know their stuff and can tell it well.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Can you play it? It's a symbiotic relationship. And of course they get their presentation on a broadcast or streaming of many millions of people each week. They also get on our website. They have their contact information on our website. They have a connection to this pool of appraisers. There's about 150 of them, and every one of them now can call each other for help with a problem or, "Are you gonna be in this place? Can you look at something for me?" So, they become a network that is much, much more than just simply being participants on a television show. This is a winner! Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for bringing it in. I'm here with appraiser Leila Dunbar, who focuses on sports memorabilia. That's right. And you seem to be having a great day. Tell me what's going on. Well, I cannot believe the great amount of items that have come in already and from some of Iowa's favorite sons and daughters. We've got pieces from Bob Feller. We actually had a gentleman who has a Caitlin Clark jersey from Iowa. And we just got in a piece, a signed 1939 Heisman Trophy program from the great Nile Kinnick.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

The great thing about the "Roadshow" is we never know who we're gonna meet, what we're gonna look at, and what we're gonna learn. So, you have one ticket or two? I don't know. You have to open it up and see. Alright.

Dunbar: We get to learn enormously about them and their stories, and we try to fill in the blanks. So, if the folks who come in today can have a great experience and can leave with a little more knowledge and have a fun day, we've done our job. When somebody brings something to you, tell me a little bit about your process. What do you go through? Usually the first thing I do is to ask them where they found it. And I say, "What's the story?" And sometimes you have a have a great, great story about a piece that might be minor, you know? But I ask them to tell their story and to share that because that's really important. Some people have been waiting for years to be on the "Antiques Roadshow," to talk about their piece, and to find out, you know, how old it is, what it's worth. But they want to share that story, and that's an important part of the piece that needs to be recorded listened to. And sometimes it plays a part in the value. This is more interesting. I love this little panel. We want to make sure they have a great time. And this is public television, so it's -- You know, although 99.5% of the things don't get on TV, these are all people, loyal -- We wouldn't have a show if they weren't here, you know, bringing their things. We wouldn't have a show without viewers, as you know.

Nebbe: Having a show also depends on finding interesting items to feature. On the day of the event, Marsha, Sam, and Jill are pickers. That means they're the ones who decide which stories will get recorded. Busy appraising items. A lot of times, it's things that he or she has seen many times, not worth a lot of money. But occasionally they'll see something that they really like. They might ask a couple of questions. And if they're smart, they don't say anything at all except, "I'd like to call a producer over." The guest sits down, and one of us four pickers goes to interview the appraiser and the guest.

Farrell: Hi, there. Hi. Hi. I'm Sam. I'm one of the producers. Okay, Sam. And you are? Sue. Sue, and I'm Jack. And what did you bring? What we brought was a Navajo rug that I had inherited from my parents, who -- and my mom had inherited from her parents -- so, my grandparents. Can we take a look? Sure.

Farrell: It's story building. It's creating something out of what we see in front of us. Sometimes you have to coax a story out of it, or sometimes it's so complex, you have to distill the important bits. Or sometimes it's slightly awkward and you have to find a way to express things that are not so easy to say so that everybody can get to see important objects. Even some very pricey things don't make it if we've already seen something so similar more than once and I'm yawning. I can't be bored with anything I'm picking. I won't be. And I think all the pickers feel the same way. I've decided not to tape these today. Okay. Fair enough. I understand. Thank you for coming and waiting for me. How do you weigh story versus item? Because sometimes items have great stories, but they may not be very valuable. I mean, for me, the value is the story for sure. I mean, it doesn't matter. Some of my favorite things have been, you know, a really rare $2 bill that somebody had that they used to do a teaching lesson, and I think it was worth $400. So, it's not always about the value of the item. It's definitely about the story behind it for me. You got to go in totally open-minded. Everybody's story is truly unique. Truly unique. And you got to give a chance for that to expose itself. People will line up with their items, and they bring all different kinds of things. And one of the categories of things that gets appraised is weaponry. Is that challenging? How do you handle that? Well, we have a category called arms and militaria. And we see weapons. We see guns. We see anything that is associated with that category. And what I like about that category is that we're gonna learn history. We really learn a lot of history through those items. As far as feeling safe, we all want to feel safe here. And so we only allow in antique guns. We trigger-lock the guns. We don't allow ammunition in. And never mind guns. We have a lot of people here tomorrow with very pricey items, some of them. We have plainclothes and uniformed police here to make sure that everybody is safe with their treasure, whether it's a rifle or a pot. All kinds of things get passed down through families, and some of these items speak to uncomfortable periods in our world history. How do you handle some of the more uncomfortable items? Things like Nazi memorabilia, a reputable auction house or dealer won't sell. We have issues, like, even with Confederate material, which are problematic. It's very hurtful to some portions of our population. So, what we do, the most responsible thing we can do, we give you the facts. "Here's what we know about this item. Here's its role it played in history." A good example of something that came in and it's not a weapon is in Boise. It was somebody I interviewed, and she was a Japanese American woman whose uncle had been in an internment camp. And she talked very elegantly about what that was like as a Japanese American. And so it wasn't even anything we said. It came from our guest. And for me, that was so powerful. And that's one of the really powerful things about "Antiques Roadshow." It's their -- It's our stories. That's her story and the impact it had on her family.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

I don't. I thought about it, but I haven't.

Bemko: I love the stories of things that are unique. It's like a one-off. Or a first person -- they were there. You know, we've had the person who is the AP photographer who took the photo of Johnson getting sworn in after Kennedy's assassination. And because it went out on the AP wire, he was never credited with it. So he didn't have any notoriety until "Roadshow" said, "Oh, my gosh, you're the person who took the photo." And this was, like, years ago. But I love those stories, like things that come in and we're the first person to tell the tell the story, to give this person credit, or to hear those "I was there" moments. It's going to be down there, so you can -- Did you want to start here?

Nebbe: Of the thousands of items seen at Living History Farms today, only a few will be selected for taping. And of those, even fewer will make it into the episodes. If an item is chosen for taping, the guest and the appraiser will make their way over to one of the television areas, where the crew is ready to record their appraisal on camera. So, by the time we walk out of here, at the end of the day tomorrow, which will be very late for the last person, we'll have enough for three-plus shows. We caught back up with Olivia and Christine from Indiana after their appraisal. Tell me -- how did it go? Oh, it was great. We got to meet our favorite appraisers, and it was great. Can you show me what the big hits were? This was worth a little bit less than this one, but it was -- What made it so intriguing was that Kevin -- he'd never seen anything like this before. And it was from a Victorian piece, and he was just blown away by it. So, it's a Victorian brooch. Mm-hmm. Where did you get your hands on it? At a thrift store. Wow. Do you remember how much you paid for it? $8. $8. Alright. So, you had a sneaking suspicion it was something special. And then this is the other piece. Tell me a little bit about that one. Well, that's late Victorian. He said it was like early 1900s. And especially with the blue enamel, it's 14 karat with natural pearls, with the diamond starburst. $16 for that, 14 -- Gold and diamonds. Yeah. $16. Gold, diamonds, and pearls. Diamonds and pearls and -- Diamonds and pearls and gold. Amazing! That is amazing. Yes. Yes. So, do you guys feel like all of your "Antiques Roadshow" dreams are coming true? Yes!

Nebbe: You've been doing this for 24 years, so you've been at this a long time. What have you learned from observing humanity on "Antiques Roadshow?" Well, we're all part of the same thing in the end. We're all the same that -- There is an element of focusing on something that's not terribly important and enjoying finding out about your history, your parents' history, or something you've collected. There's a -- There's something about cooperating with a large group of people in order to get something done. I do think that, in the end, there is an element of humanity in learning a little bit about where we all come from because it's all the same. We've all traveled. We all made journeys. We've all had loss, and we've all had surprises and joy. And you see that every day at "Roadshow."

Giles: It's a great job to have, to be able to tour the country and always go to these places that you wouldn't necessarily go to, you know? Like, it's not like -- Sometimes Urbandale, Iowa, isn't, like, the major tour stop on your grand tour of America, but then you get here, and you're like, "You have to come here. It's so great. "The people are so nice. There's so much to do. Living History Farms is amazing to visit."

Bemko: The ultimate goal of "Antiques Roadshow" is that we are teaching history with material culture. I mean, that is really ultimately what we want to do.

It has been an incredible day. So many people came out, eager to join the event, eager to learn, eager to share their treasures and their stories. Thank you to everyone who shared their items. Thank you to the volunteers who gave their time. And thank you to the producers of "Antiques Roadshow," who allowed us to show you how this iconic experience comes together. Be sure to watch the "Antiques Roadshow: Iowa" episodes to find out who made the cut. I'm Charity Nebbe. Thank you for joining us for "Behind the Scenes at Antiques Roadshow: Iowa."

Funding for "Behind the Scenes at Antiques Roadshow: Iowa" was provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, and by...

Woman: The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services encourages Iowans to talk to their doctor or healthcare provider about vaccines. Learn more at hhs.iowa.gov or ask your healthcare provider.