A Pickin' and a Salin'

Many Summer holidays of my youth were spent at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.  If you're not familiar, this theme park is located in the Ozarks mountains of southern Missouri.  The park is themed in 1880's rural with a touch of hillbilly (okay, a heavy dose).  Bluegrass music plays throughout the park and bands perform it at various stages within the park.  For me, this music became associated with happy times, but I never listened to it outside of our trips there.  Years later, I developed a love of bluegrass and it's performers, from the classic Flat & Scruggs of the Foggy Mountain Boys to Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.  Yes, that Steve Martin.  Who, I might mention if you're a fan, has another bluegrass album coming out next week.  If you're unfamiliar and so inclined, you can download a free song from the new album at his website.  I also highly recommend his 2009 album, The Crow.  KDHX, 88.1 here in St. Louis plays the Bluegrass Breakdown show every Sunday at noon.

What does all of this have to do with garage sales?  Well, earlier this week I received my weekly email of upcoming estate sales from estatesales.net.  This picture caught my eye:

The sale began this morning at 8:00, and having set out at 9:30, I wasn't optimistic, figuring I might have missed it, but I was nonetheless determined to not come home banjo-less.  I was not disappointed:

It's a Harmony, so it's by no means an expensive banjo, but it appears playable with no major defects, other than the fact that it needs new strings and a bridge.  I paid $25 for it.  It's a 4-string Tenor Banjo and from what I've read, this model was made from the 1940's to about 1970.  I thought the soundboard was plastic, but reading online has lead me to believe might be bakelite, although I'm not sure how late bakelite was used.  I'll have to test it the next time we have some 409 in the house (rubbing a q-tip sprayed with 409 will turn yellow on bakelite).

I spent the better part of the day digging around on the internet learning about the different types of banjos, different ways of tuning them, and different ways of playing them.  I even learned the official name for a pick -- a plectrum.  I learned more in that afternoon than I could have in a class.  While I realize the internet is ceratinly not the place to believe everything you read, I read enough from multiple websites to get the common concensus whereas in a class, you're limited to just one person's teachings. 

I played guitar in my younger days, so hopefully I can pick up the banjo with a little practice. Something about picking a banjo while I sit on my porch on a summer day appeals to me.

A Devil of a Sale

I was at an estate sale on the hunt for a banjo (more on that later), when I came across a box of Halloween decorations.  Most were fairly new, run of the mill pumpkin candles, etc, but this caught my eye:

The Many Loves of Charlotte

A number of years ago (I'm starting to lose track), I was at the estate sale of a family friend.  Actually, it was the estate sale of his wife Charlotte whom he had married in later years, he himself having passed on several years prior to that.  The only thing I found that day was a scrapbook for $1, but a quick glance through showed it was well worth the dollar.

Inside was a snapshot of Charlotte's early years dating back to the late '20's through about 1945.  Among its pages were her childhood Valentine's.  She attended Oakville School, which at the time, based on her report cards, was  located in Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and these were the Valentine's she and her classmates exchanged.  Written on the backs of the Valentine's are names familiar to long time residents of Oakville -- Heimos, Earley, Winheim, and others.  It reminded me of how innocently "love" used to be tossed around, boy to girl, girl to girl, boy to boy, teacher to student, student to teacher and it made me smile and remember.

Charlotte graduated from Hancock High School in 1935 and, sometime not too long after that, married Gene Weyler, known to her as Darling Gene, while she was known to him as "Shorty" and "Horseyfoot."  One can only imagine.  Gene ran an auto shop that still operates as such at Lucas & Hunt at St. Louis Avenue.  Gene received a deferment in WWII and worked for Robertson Aircraft Corporation, the company for whom Charles Lindbergh flew as an Air Mail pilot.  The memories in the scrapbook dry up around the late '40's.  I don't know what became of Gene.  I will detail more of the scrapbook in a later post, but for now, enjoy the Valentines.

I’m Your Fuller Brush Man and I Have a Gift for You

Back in the days people actually let salesman come into their homes (coincidentally also when you could trust salesmen to come into your home), the Fuller Brush man peddled brushes throughout the United States.  Unlike Avon and Amway and closer to the ice cream man today, the Fuller Brush man (and woman) bought their own supplies and relied on their own skills to move the merchandise, keeping 50% of the sale price.  The company's slogan was, "45 Brushes—69 Uses—Head to Foot—Cellar to Attic".  In 1956, the Fuller line was expanded to include aerosols, detergents, vitamins, cosmetics, and chemicals.

Many years ago, I came across this letter opener in a quarter box at a garage sale.

Apparently, these were gifts handed out by the Fuller Brush man as either a thank you for your order, or an ice breaker to get you to buy their product.  I love the fedora and suit.  If he showed up at my door, I think I'd probably let him in -- but I still don't think I'd buy anything.

Fuller Brush is still in business, but don't expect them to come to your door.  You order online now, the man that made them famous walks no more.

The Pause that Refreshes -- If You're Not Very Thirsty...

I went to an estate sale this weekend.  I've never been a big fan of estate sales, for reasons I've espoused previously.  But recently, I joined an estate sale online group that emails locations of upcoming garage sales.  They display pictures for the sale, so it's nice to get a feel for what's there.  If only they would post the prices too...  I stopped at one in Dogtown Saturday and found this:

I've always been a fan of Coca Cola, the drink as well as and the imagery and collectibles associated with it.  The fact that all of the bottles come out sold me.  I've seen these online, but can't find much information about them.  I'm not sure if they were premiums or toys.  I have the real version of the yellow tray and have it hung on the wall in my basement for a display case.

Glasses with Character

When I was little, my sister and I would have sleepovers with my oldest sister.  Due to the age difference, she was more like an aunt to us.  On those occasions, we would always go out to lunch somewhere.  We didn't eat out much when I was a kid, even at McDonald's, so anything was a treat.  My sister would always ask whether we wanted to go to Pizza Hut or Taco Bell.  This was around 1975 and both were new to St. Louis.  They also both happened to stand right next to each at the intersection of Weber and Gravois roads.  Pizza Hut is still there, but Taco Bell's recognizable structure has been converted into a Chinese restaurant.

No matter how much hinting my oldest sister would make toward Taco Bell, we always chose Pizza Hut.  It was around this time, Pizza Hut had a promotion with Pepsi for giveaway glasses with Warner Bros. characters on them.  I recall getting Henery Hawk and my sister getting Petnuia Pig -- 2 third tier characters from the Warner's roster.  I didn't even know who Henery Hawk was -- still too young to appreciate Foghorn Leghorn, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Bugs Bunny fan.

I had that glass for years, but it finally broke a few years ago.  This past summer, I came across 2 of these glasses, and one just happened to be Henery.  I paid a quarter each for these.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

When I was young, the weeks leading up the Christmas were almost unbearable.  The days dragged.   Now the days fly so fast, I find myself posting Christmas albums to my blog after New Year's has passed.

In preparation for Christmas (as if I needed further ramping up), my mom would play Christmas albums on the family's Magnavox console stereo.  These first 3 up were my favorites.  They were premiums from A&P Groceries (where my father worked), Goodyear and Firestone.