Tailgate seating

Bill Corn doesn’t collect antique tailgates for spare parts or decoration.

He makes them into benches.

The Winchester resident started building tailgate benches — outdoor seating made with a tailgate as the back panel — about two months ago. And now through the rest of the Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show, he’s selling them on Votaw Street in Portland.

From Chevy to Ford, from the 1950s to ’80s, he finds a variety of old tailgates from other vendors. He’s traveled as far as Kentucky to pick up his materials before, and he usually hauls 10 to 12 home.

“It’s repetitive work — some people think I get bored with it,” said Corn, the brother of highway superintendent Donnie Corn. “But all the tailgates are different, so to me it’s different.”

So far, he’s made more than 60 weatherproofed benches. He brought 20 to sell this week. For a while, it became like a full-time job.

“I kind of slowed down with it because, as you see, I got obsessive with it,” Corn explained.

Depending on the tailgate, prices range anywhere from $200 to $350. The highest priced tailgate bench — it was created from a 1957 Chevy Silverado in the back panel — he made to date sold for $600.

Treated wood prices have nearly doubled because of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, so he’s been buying his stock from different locally owned stores.

Several years ago, Corn noticed similar seating in Oklahoma that had 1-foot by 4-foot planks. He decided to “beef up” his creations with 2-foot by 6-foot planks, although benches can vary in size depending on the tailgate. He’s customized cup and ash trays.

He’s already sold about 44 benches. The farthest buyer has come from Chicago, and Corn said he’s been selling more in Ohio than he has in Indiana.

“People come from two hours away to get them,” he noted.

Mike Best, 233 E. Votaw St., rents his lawn to Corn every year during the week of the engine and tractor show. A self-proclaimed “Ford freak,” Best explained that different car owners like to collect associated brand items. He admires the tailgate benches for being unique.

“It’s something you don’t see at Walmart,” he said.

Corn has set up a yard sale at Best’s for the past three years, although he used to sell items from his own yard in Portland before he moved. His items vary depending on the year. He’s sold everything from guns, knives and fishing gear to glass, antiques and ceramic kitchenware.

He’ll be selling benches and other items from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day during the show, which officially opens today and runs through Saturday.