Norma (Hunnewell) Scopino never planned to retire. She ran the Montsweag Flea Market she started in 1977 until her death February 26. But despite a rumor about a new motel, the Montsweag Flea Market will continue to run for as long as her daughter, Gena Kilkenney, keeps it going with help from her family.

Kilkenny said burglars broke into her home on the Montstweag Flea Market property back in December when no one was around and stole a number of valuable items, including the original deed to the property, jewelry and a large collection of old coins.

She stayed there with her mother for three weeks after the break-in. “So, there was a silver lining in the theft. If they hadn't robbed this place, I wouldn't have had those three weeks alone with mum.”

The Montsweag Flea Market will open again this year on Mother's Day weekend.

The flea market “family” extends beyond Kilkenny's immediate kin to the hundreds of dealers who flock to the old Hunnewell farm off the Mountain Road in Woolwich each year, she said.

Kilkenney has already taken a number of reservations for the summer season, which begins on May 11 and 12. She said she is excited to see old friends and is also hoping younger generations will catch the flea market bug.

Kilkenney remembers her first experiences working in the flea market at age 16, when summer days were spent pouring through old photographs, sorting through antique jewelry and hearing the many stories swapped among elder folks who came from nearby and far away. “I've been involved with the flea market my entire life,” she said.

It was Kilkenney's job to stay home and answer the phone during market hours. The farm looked a little different back then compared to today; the farmhouse was bright yellow and three massive Elm trees stood sentry in the yard.

The farm has been in the Hunnewell family for generations. A gas station used to serve motorists from the corner of old Route One and the Middle Road. Farmers actively worked the fields that surrounded the property. Further down the road, Kilkenney's grandfather ran Hunnewell's IGA. Kilkenney's mother bought the farm in 1968.

When asked what Kilkenney enjoyed most about the flea market, she said, “It was the people.” People treated one another like family and the diversity of objects people sell is always interesting, she added.

One woman rents three tables each year to sell jewelry, silverware and other items. “It is always interesting to look at her table,” Kilkenney said.

Like her mother, Kilkenney also enjoys talking with people. “I never liked history in high school,” she said. “But my history lessons started here. I learned so much from the dealers.”

Maynard Thompson, a local craftsman who made many small items out of wood, answered Norma Hunnewell's advertisement for a weekend flea market in 1977. He rented a table from Hunnewell and a friendship blossomed.

Thompson helped Hunnewell expand the market and built more tables, a snack bar and an ice cream shack. Soon the two were married.

Most people who either sold items or visited the flea market knew Kilkenney's mother simply as “Norma,” she said. Often seen with a favorite mechanical pencil in her left hand and an organizer in her right, Scopino would make the rounds, talking with vendors and making sure all was running smoothly throughout busy summer days, year after year.

Scopino continued to run the flea market on her own after Thompson's death in 1983, but some time later she met Leo Scopino through a mutual friend, Kilkenney said. Norma and Leo married in 1986 and ran the flea market together for several years.

“Mumma was completely hands-on,” Kilkenney said, recalling her mother's final season last summer. “She was always on the field.”

Every year her mother also sent a newsletter to each of the vendors (more than 500 in all) and hustled to get them in handwritten envelopes by April 1. Kilkenney said she plans to continue putting together the annual newsletter, as well as some other surprises to get people to return to the flea market.

“During the season, the whole field is a family,” Kilkenney said. “We need to have new people come in and discover that it's fun and it's not that difficult to do.”

Vendors predict this summer is going to be good for business, Kilkenney said, and people may be willing to spend where they held back last year. Also, Kilkenny said she has a few things up her sleeve to attract new and return visitors to the flea market. One relic folks may remember is the “Almost Rules” pamphlet drafted by her mother, which sets the tone and some basic guidelines for a family-oriented market. Every year brings something new.

“My mumma could find a four-leaf clover and a shark's tooth faster than anybody,” Kilkenney said, encouraging all to drop by the market and look around for their own hidden treasures.

The Montsweag Flea Market opens May 11 and 12. The Antiques Market at the same location starts on May 13. Visit www.montsweagfleamarket.net for more information.