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January 5, 2009

Oh, if we knew then what we know now about value of old stuff

The Way We Were

By Wally Wachter

If we only had the foresight when we were young to predict today’s demand for items of the past and to store the useless items we sold every week to the junkman it would be like finding sunken treasures or winning the millionaire lottery.

The popularity for “brand new antiques” is growing among the nostalgic as the legitimate old pieces are becoming rarer and rarer at flea markets and garage sales.

Bedroom items we took for granted when we were kids also have joined the memorabilia of the past.

Brass and metal beds were the most common and most affordable when we were young. When the trend to beautifully designed wooden bedroom sets began to develop, homemakers dreamed of the time when they could go modern and replace the brass and iron with solid wood head boards and foot boards.

We, as kids, also dreamed of that day because the brass and iron brought a prime reward of pennies from the junk dealers who canvassed the neighborhoods weekly.

The wooden bed steps, usually homemade, which helped little children climb into beds which were much higher from the floor than today’s models, were featured in two recent sales catalogs that I leafed through. The night stands which contained a porcelain wash basin and water pitcher are still being manufactured today.

Our modern kitchens, complete with all the latest appliances — dish washers, microwave ovens, bread-kneading mixers, blenders, food choppers etc. — still yearn for a touch of the past.

There are ice cream makers. Shaped like old churns, we used to have to make our own. But these have been modernized with electricity.

Even radios are available to help our hunger for nostalgia.

Living rooms back in our early days always had smoking stands with built-in ash trays and humidor compartments for storing cigars and pipe tobaccos.

Circulating ceiling fans have become modern appliances in many of our homes today, but they also are a reflection of the past.

Wally Wachter is a retired Herald managing editor.

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