Pressed Glass Pitcher

I picked this beauty up at an antique mall a few years back. If I remember right, I paid $18 for it, thinking that it was a fairly good buy. When I set the pitcher from the auction next to it on top of the refrigerator, you can certainly tell the difference in cut versus pressed glass !! When I was growing up and all those big meals were being served to farmers, relatives, or friends, a pitcher full of lemonade, iced tea or coffee, or water with ice, was always set on the table along with all the bowls and platters full of wonderful food. I think maybe I used to set a pitcher of iced tea on the table at meal time. Your Dad always loved his iced tea in the summer time !! Strange, how little things like that are something a person forgets about or doesn't think about. Then, some memory button is pushed and it seems almost as plain as if it happened yesterday !!!

For the Jam

Capturing the beauty of vintage glassware has become a huge challenge ! After at least 150 shots of this little 5" pressed glass dish, as usual, I ended up with one of the first ones taken !! This was another dish brought out for those "special" dinners for "special" friends. It was usually filled with some of Mom's homemade strawberry jam to slosh onto those fresh homemade baked rolls or biscuits served with that Sunday "dinner" ! Yummy !! One particular Sunday dinner remembered - Cleo and Ralph were invited. Of course, the children were always part of the package, but, as teenagers, their children usually had other plans for their day. 18 year old son, Dwayne, came along one particular Sunday as he had a brand new car to show off - --a 1950 Studebaker convertible. Freshly graduated from high school, starting a new job at the Firestone tire factory in Des Moines, he was in the money and proud. After dinner, Dwayne put the top down on that convertible, we three kids piled in with him and off we went for a Sunday afternoon drive. Good food, good friends, hair blowing in the wind of that first ride in a convertible. A fun afternoon with a teenage boy ! What more could anyone ask for ? This day has always been a reminder of how short and precious life can be. It remained in my memory as it was the last time we were to see Dwayne. A few months later, he was killed in a factory related accident.

For the Berries

This pretty little pressed glass "dish" measures about 9" long counting the handles. Another one of my Mom's special things brought out only for special dinners cooked for special guests !! Mom and Dad "traded" Sunday dinners with a couple of sets of friends through the years. Friends I remember most were Elmer and Luella Watson and Ralph and Cleo Hitsman along with their children. These were families that at some time in Mom and Dad's early years together, were neighboring farmers and they had become close friends. Luella and Elmer's children were younger than me, but, had the neatest toys. Cleo and Ralph's kids were teenagers so they were awesome to me. It was always a BIG deal to plan and cook for this Sunday noon meal -- cleaning the house, getting all the "good" tablecloths, dishes and silverware out and ready, preparing 2 or 3 choices of desserts the day before -- I mean, REALLY BIG DEAL ! It seemed the gals always tried to outdo what the other one had done the time before ! This dish usually held jellied cranberry slices. It was just the right size. I have used it for the same thing for just us, because we were special, too. It now has it's place of honor in my china cabinet. Oh yes, I forgot ! I think Cleo's windows were always more sparkling than ours !!