Blown Glass Nesting Egg

In "days of yore", these blown glass eggs were used to encourage hens to lay eggs. Placed in the hens nests, supposedly, the girls would produce more eggs !! They were also used inside a sock when darning worn spots on heels and toes. Who darns socks anymore ?? We just throw them away and buy a new pair !! Mom always had a "darning basket" filled with different colors of darning threads and several pairs of socks in need of repair. One never threw out any type of clothing that could be mended and another few months of use available. This particular egg sitting in its little pedestal, measures about 3" tall and sits in my front entry curio cabinet. It was a gift in the mid 70's from one of my weekly clients when I was working as a hairstylist. She told me the egg had belonged to her mother. Vi had no children, knew I had grown up on a farm where we had chickens, so wanted to pass it on to someone she thought would appreciate it.

Whiskey Jugs

These three stoneware whiskey jugs sit in my stairwell along with the snuff jars. One of them came from G'ma Lottie's. My Dad would pick them up at farm auctions just because he liked them, so, every one in the family has one or two of them. Your G'pa J. was always dabbling in making wine and beer, so, I wouldn't be surprised if G'ma Lottie might have made some homemade whiskey at some point in time. Your Dad made some wine and "home brew" beer when we lived in Tulsa. He was always proud when a batch turned out to taste good enough to drink !!!

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 !!!

Snuff Jars

These two old stoneware snuff jars came from your Great-G'ma Lottie. I don't know what their history is as far as who used them or how long they have been in the Johnson collection of treasures. Snuff jars were used for storing chewing tobacco. When I googled 'snuff jar history', there were some interesting stories about women in the Civil War days and their "chewing" habits. I don't know that anyone in my family ever chewed tobacco on a regular basis. Mom once told the story of my brother, at about three years of age, tattling to her about Dad. Dad and Donny had been outdoors with some of the neighboring farmers. When they came into the house, Donny told Mom that Dad had been "eating that dirty stuff, again". I think "chewing" was probably a social thing for Dad, as was having a cigar when he had a "night out with the boys".

Red Velvet

A special little red velvet manicure set was another of those "grown-up" Christmas gifts received from my grandparents when I was around 9 or 10 years old. The implements are gold tone and the "cut-glass" bottles have their special spot inside the case. As a young girl, this sat on my dressing table and is now home in a drawer with other mementos. I never put any kind of liquids into the bottles, so they are like brand new. I never felt like I was a "girly-girl" having always been the one out with my Dad driving the tractor and working at other outdoor farm chores. Consequently, this kind of thing didn't get a whole lot of use by me. Of course, that doesn't mean that I didn't spend my fair share of time in front of a mirror as a teenager, primping for the day at school or a big date !!

Ducks for Easter

When the "Easter Bunny" filled our baskets with candy and eggs, there was always something non-edible placed in it, also. These two little guys appeared in my baskets a couple of different years back in the 40's. We three each had a basket that was reused every year --it was brought out of the storage closet on the day we dyed eggs. The "bunny" filled our baskets and hid it somewhere in the house Easter eve. One particular Easter when I was 7 or 8 years old, I made the comment that the baskets were always too easy to find. Easter morning came - my baby brother"s basket was easily found -- my big sister found hers -- I hunted high and low, upstairs and down and couldn't find mine. I was beginning to think I had been forgotten. Mom and Dad finally took pity on me and gave me the hint that it was in the kitchen somewhere. I opened every cupboard door and looked in the refrigerator. When I opened the oven door, Mom said "you're getting warmer". I finally found my basket in the water reservoir of Mom's old Home Comfort wood cook stove. I never again complained whenever anything was "easy" !!

Mirror, Mirror

When I was taking this photo, I began to wonder "who invented mirrors" ? The strange and trivial things that pop into a person's head sometimes !!! Oh, but, Google knows ~~ What a great age we live in -- just type in a question and up pops the answer ~~ It seems that mirrors of sorts have been in existence since 4000 B.C. AND, I thought this one was ancient !! This ornate beauty appears to have needlepoint flowers under the glass on its backside. The mirror itself, is not in good condition, but for me, that only adds to its charm. This small 8" vanity mirror called to me on one of the antique mall treks we love so much ! It is home on my bedroom dresser along with a few other "favorite things".

Pot of Beans

Great G'ma Lottie told that this wonderful stoneware bean pot had been in her family for 150 years when it was given to G'ma Ruth and G'pa Paul in 1967. They passed it on down to your Dad on his birthday in 1980. For once in my life, I wrote the information down and stored it inside the pot. Wish I had done the same with a few other things - certainly can't depend on my memory for specifics !! I found similar pots when researching, but, nothing exactly the same. Inside the pot, I have stored a few old paper mementos from family dealings--a hog feed contract dated 1950 and receipt that it was paid in full, two savings account booklets from the 40's that belonged to my Mom and Dad, three receipts for sugar purchases in 1942 when sugar was rationed during WWII, and a WWII stamp album that was your Dad's. These could be filled with 10 cent "war stamps" purchased at school or post office, then exchanged for a $25 savings bond. It has $1.40 worth of stamps in it --I'm sure it would be worth way more than that to a collector. The pot was difficult to photograph with the shiny surface wanting to reflect everything around it. It is deep brown, almost black, in color, measures about 7 1/2" tall, and is home in my china cabinet. There is still room inside for more mementos !!

"THE" Tool Chest

Your Dad loved things from "days gone by" as much or more than I do. A fellow aircraft mechanic kept his tools in this vintage oak chest. Your Dad, having coveted this chest, had offered to buy it many times. A day came around in the early 80's when the fellow was in need of some cash and your Dad, once again offered to buy the chest. At last, it was for sale !! He needed $50 and was willing to sell it to Dad for that amount. Our garage was broken into in '97 - a Craftsman chest filled with tools along with a few other things, was stolen. Fortunately, the burglar didn't appreciate antiques !! This chest now sits in my bedroom and stores my costume jewelery collection in its many felt lined drawers.

Country School

This little oak bentwood student chair came from a rural country school in the area where I grew up. As 80 and 160 acre farms were bought up to become larger farms to fewer owners, the country schools located in every four square mile area, were closed and children were bused to "town school", as we called it.. Auctions were held to sell the fixtures and books, then the buildings were dismantled and there would be another acre to farm. Once upon a time, there would usually be four farmsteads on each square mile section -- 160 acre farms. A very few "rich" farmers would own half a section -- 320 acres. A few squares would include farms of only 80 acres. These were the days that a family could survive financially with these few acres, by growing crops and raising a few pigs, cows, and chickens. Each of those farmsteads had families with at least one child. Most had 3 or more children. There were 18 to 24 kids every year at Union #10, my one room country school --kids from "primary" to 8th grade. Dad brought this chair home from an auction and eventually bought two more, so each one of his kids could have one -- a piece to remind us each of childhood, happy and simpler times, when cares blew away with the wind !

Let's Print Again

My other printer's box is slightly larger, 16" x 24", and hangs in the downstairs bathroom. All of the little "collectibles" are held tight with some tacky stuff. The Opium perfume bottle on the top row is the one that got me started on liking the mini-perfumes. It was a gift from your Dad one Christmas, my favorite (and his) perfume ! Many of the little bottles were given to me when people found out I liked them. A couple of them are Lalique's, on the top row are two antique bottles picked up on a shopping excursion, some bottles are men's colognes. There are three vintage rouge tins and a brass key, flea market finds, a compact given to me by my boss when I worked as a cocktail waitress, and some Swarovski crystal animals. The little red dog has a movable head - a gift from Gladys, that same farm wife friend of Mom's, that gave me the plastic name pin. The pink barrette on the bottom row was one Mom used to put in my hair, the brass one, a flea market find. Amber dog's name tag, 4-H mementos, a fence staple, porcelain bear ornament from G'ma Ruth, pink plastic bear from a baby bracelet, green jeweled pin that belonged to G'ma Schultz, Mickey M. and bulldog tac pins given to me by blackjack players, a plate, cup and spoon lapel pin from my childhood, a New Hampshire souvenir spoon, and the key fob from my '80 Cougar fill some of the other spots. Just a lot of "stuff", but, fun to look at and reminisce. AGAIN, not much fun to clean !!!

Printer's Box Mini Mementos

This 11" X 16" printer's box, picked up at an antique mall years ago, hangs on my entry hall wall along with a collage of other life mementos. It was easy for me to find small things to fill it, pack rat that I am !! The mini perfume bottles are part of a collection of many and most of them are more than 20 years old. Some of the little dogs are part of your collection that you had as a young girl. One little silver looking dog came as a Cracker Jacks box prize when I was 7 or 8 years old. Two of the brass thimbles were my Mom's and one was my G'ma Hanle's. I have a bit of paper stuck inside them with their names. The rest of the thimbles were found at antique malls or estate sales. A wood thread spool and bobbins from Mom's treadle sewing machine, a boot whittled by a friend of your Dad's, a couple of "lucky" coins and Ginger's dog tags fill spots. At the one room country school I attended from kindergarten (we called it primary grade) through 8th grade, we drew names for gift giving at Christmas time. Terry Beckman drew my name and gifted me with the pretty decorative goldtone pencil. My first locket, something every little girl of the 40's era had, lays in one spot. My "baby ring" that once had a red stone in it and another childhood ring, lay in another spot, along with a "friendship" ring that I believe was yours. The plastic "Virginia" once had a pin back on it, a gift from one of Mom's farm wife friends, when I was 4 or 5. The pewter horse, a memento of a weekend trip your Dad and I took to stay at the Colorado Belle in Laughlin back when companies would comp rooms for their employees. The brown pocket knife was your Dad's when he was a kid and he carried it for many years. I had the little white one on a key chain for years, but, don't recall where it came from . The small gold one was my G'pa Hanle's. A fun and perfect place for small mementos - not much fun to clean !

Treasure Hunt

We love browsing around those antique malls, hunting for treasures, don't we ? And those little out of the way antique stores and junk shops are fun, too !! These days, that browsing is like a trip down memory lane. Facing the reality of my age when I see "my things" in antique stores ! What's up with that? "Oh, Mom had one of those ! I wonder what happened to it." OR, "I" had a set of those bowls, but only one has survived" ! Sound familiar ?? What is really fun is when you find something and the price is just right. A few years ago on one of my visits to Wichita, we were in this little out of the way antique store ( I think it was more of a junk store). In a little back room, on the back corner of a low shelf, sat this pretty little cup and saucer, covered with dust and grime, saying "Pick Me". No, I didn't need any more stuff, yes, I could live without it, BUT the masking tape price tag said 25 cents ! I couldn't let it stay there on that shelf with all that other old dirty stuff ! How pretty it looks all cleaned up and sitting in my china cabinet !

Flowers for You

This little 7" tall flower vase has been around as long as I can remember. It had been stored away and forgotten on a shelf in Mom and Dad's basement. On one of my visits and again helping Mom do some cleaning, I came across it, remembering how Mom always had flowers in her garden and how she would bring a bouquet into the house on occasion. This was the vase that held that bouquet. Of course, "Can I have this, Mom?" came out of my mouth. Mom never said "No" to my requests. I think it made her happy to know that her special things meant something to me. The vase sits in my china cabinet. I do bring it out every so often when a neighbor allows me to cut an iris, or another neighbor says "Come cut some roses". I am thankful for neighbors with "green thumbs" !!

Pickle Dish

This pretty little 8" long piece was once my G'ma Hanle's. My Mom called it a pickle dish ! There are so many beautiful vintage glassware pieces that defy explanation. Your imagination is unlimited as to what they could have been used for. For me, this would have been something I saw in the store and that particular day, I just couldn't live without it ! Mom brought it home from Ohio when she and her sister were sorting through G'ma's things. I spent a lot of time with Mom and Dad in the early 80's when your Dad was traveling a lot with his job. During one of my "stays", Mom had me help her hang this little dish on a kitchen wall, along with a couple of other pretty plates. It remained there until I brought it to my home when my brother, sister and I were sorting through Mom's things. Mom had labeled it on the back with adhesive tape as "G'ma and G'pa Hanle's". It is now at home in my china cabinet.

Carnival Times

This 8 1/2" tall "Carnival glass" vase belonged to my G'ma Hanle. It came to me by way of my Mom. The actual origin is unknown to me - I can only surmise ! These vases were produced by Fenton Glass Co. in the early 1900's, their popularity, somewhat limited at that time. They became prizes at carnival games, thus, getting the name. Our family made a road trip to Ohio in the summer of 1948 in my Dad's brand new Ford pick-up truck. A "stock rack" had been built for the truck bed and a canvas tarp was placed as a protective roof. Then a mattress was placed in the bed of the truck to make it comfortable for my sis and me. My little brother rode in the cab with Mom and Dad. I shudder to think about this in today's world of high speed traffic !! There was a carnival in Canton that summer and the whole family went out for rides and games one day. I remember Dad winning some cobalt blue glassware and maybe G'pa H. won this piece. The blue glass was "safely" packed in our suitcases for the trip back to Iowa - one vase I distinctly remember, was broken when the suitcase was opened. Other pieces have long since disappeared. This "marigold" iridescent vase has a special spot in my china cabinet.

A "Butter" Job

Yet another step in making butter ! When the butterfat clumped up in the churn, it was removed, leaving a thin liquid behind. Butter was then placed into this wooden bowl and stamped down with the wooden paddle, getting the last little bits of liquid out. There were fancy wooden and glass forms to eventually make nice squares, rectangles and circles of butter to put on a butter dish to set on the table. I have seen them, but, don't have one, so I won't be posting anymore about butter making !! This 12" wooden bowl and paddle belonged to my G'ma Schultz and probably had many other uses in her kitchen. When we would go there to visit, it seemed like she spent most of her time in the kitchen cooking for G'pa and my Dad's bachelor brothers. Dad married fairly young compared to my uncles as most of them were in their mid and late 30's before taking a wife. Remembering stories my Dad told and looking back on those days, I think G'ma was somewhat of a domineering mother, plus, liked keeping her boys close to her. One of Dad's stories was about how his Mother thought the money he made picking corn in Iowa should all go into her pocket. Of course, he would give G'ma some money, but, never told her exactly how much he made. He was a very frugal man throughout his lifetime and had his goals set, even then. I purchased this bowl and paddle at my Uncle Lehman's farm sale in So. Dakota at the same time I purchased the copper boiler.

More butter, please !

These two stoneware butter churn crocks came from Gr. G'ma Lottie, also. They would originally have had a wood or stoneware lid and a wooden paddle. Their history can be read on the site noted in yesterday's post. I do not know any family history about them and did not even know they existed until your Dad came home from Iowa with them when G'ma Ruth was moving into the Eastern Star home. Apparently, G'ma and G'pa J. had them stored away. I had always thought G'ma Ruth didn't keep mementos - I have been happily proven wrong several times through the years !! These churns sit in my entry hall, making a great home for umbrellas and canes.

REAL Butter

This "modern" Dazey brand butter churn belonged to your Great G'ma Lottie. They were widely used by the farm families in the early and mid 1900's. An interesting site to read about the history of the churns made by this company and how to make butter, is http://www.dairyantiques.com/ . One didn't go to the grocery store for butter, you made your own with that cream that was separated from the milk coming from those cows out in the barn. A "cream separator" was kind of an amazing hand pumped machine that always amazed me. The fresh milk was poured into a tub at the top, you turned the pump handle and cream would come from one spout and the "skim milk" from another. You can read about those on the dairy antique site, also. If you let that quart of fresh milk set in the refrigerator overnight, cream would have risen to the top because of all the light fluffy fat particles in it. We had one of these butter churns when I was growing up and I helped "churn" a few pounds of real butter, myself !

"Sew" Special

This 7" tall, hand operated sewing machine, Mom's very first sewing machine, was a Christmas gift to her when she was about 10 years old in the early 1920's. It has a clamp on the underside which allows you attach it to a table. The hand turned wheel originally had a wooden knob on it to ease in the rotation. When I asked Mom what kind of store would sell something like this, she said she thought it was probably ordered from a catalog. Mom was an absolute perfectionist with her sewing and needlework - it HAD to look as good on the inside as it did on the outside ! I'm sure she created some lovely things with this "machine". This was another "Can I have that, Mom?" when I was helping her with some cleaning and organizing on one of my visits. I have since had it displayed on an end table in my living room. About a year ago, as I was "dusting", I am in shock ! The little sewing machine is NOT on the end table ! "What on earth ? Where is it ? I don't remember moving it to another spot !! Someone has taken it ! Why would anyone want to steal that from me ?" I am in a frenzy, looking around for where I might have moved it. "Am I going nuts, or what?" I am going over in my mind, all of the people that have been in and out of my house and can't imagine why any one of them would take it. Then it hits me !! About 4 years ago, an upstairs water leak wreaked havoc in that room and everything was moved or packed up and away while renovation was being done. Lots of different people were in and out at that time. Surely, it had to be one of them that took it !! Mystery solved - I am depressed - there is no way to ever replace this memento !! This spring, as I was organizing for a garage sale, I open a box of stuff I have placed on a garage shelf AND there, right on top, is that little sewing machine !! OMG, I can hardly believe it ! I am ecstatic !! I am also, humbled !! Hopefully, I learned a lesson here - Don't be too quick to blame others when it is only your own forgetfulness !! I am also wondering "why did I not miss this before now?" Got to get some of those supplements that are good for the memory !! What are they called ??