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Basket Collecting Offers Many Choices

Today is Easter, and for many of us, that means searching for — or hiding a basket or two. Easter baskets are an important part of the spring tradition here in the United States, and most children enjoy the search as much as the enjoyment of the treats inside the grass filled-containers. Baskets of all kinds are collectible. For example, Native American baskets have avid fans in the world of antiques. Like most Native American art and tools, the well-made baskets created by tribal people out West are now treasures to collectors who also like beadwork, clothing, weapons and other ...

Cliff’s Last Alarm

Cliff Sligar was a firefighter long before he was old enough to join the Wheeling Fire Department. During his formative years, it was no secret that he could be found more often at a local firehouse than in a classroom. If there was a big fire in the city, Cliff was there no matter what time of the day or night. It was destiny that he would some day serve as fire chief for his beloved city. And that’s just what he did — from 1971 to 1995. Cliff died this week at home surrounded by family. While firefighters battle flames and rush to aid others, the dangers they face can take ...

Something to Chew On: Mystery Dish Had a Simple Use

I came across this sweet little porcelain dish at a neighbor’s garage sale years ago. Not knowing what it was at the time, I bought it for a quarter, recognizing the workmanship and lusterware glaze as marks of vintage quality and put it away for safe keeping, right next to the other china cupboard odds and ends. It’s a very small dish with a puppy sitting on one edge. It measures just three by two inches in size. The reverse side carries the mark Germany 757. I knew right away that this small porcelain dish was well made and collectible — but just what was it used for? I ...

Chalk Up One For Mom

There’s a saying that what goes around comes around. I believe that more than ever. Today, there are many popular TV shows featuring designers and home sellers. Some shows bring us designers for building homes and designers for decorating those homes. Each is as different as the next, which makes me wonder what is really fashionable in today’s modern homes. And during a pandemic when we have all been hyper-focused on amusing ourselves in front of the TV, I will admit I have watched more than my share of these shows. Sometimes I find myself smirking at the insane designs of ...

Mechanical Banks Inspire Nostalgia

In this day and age, the idea of saving pennies seems quaint. But a penny bank was one of the most common children’s gifts throughout the Victorian age. Up until the 1950s penny banks and piggy banks remained popular as a way to teach thrift to youngsters. About the time of the Industrial Revolution, saving coins became entertainment as a fascinating new gadget made its appearance — the mechanical bank. Still considered by collectors one of the outstanding products produced in this era, mechanical banks are enthusiastically collected by thousands of fans all over the ...

Vitamin D

Dear Heloise: With so many of us spending time indoors due to health concerns, we’re not getting enough vitamin D, and this is especially true for the elderly. Besides pills, what foods are rich in vitamin D that we can add to our diets? — Adell D., Newport, R.I. Adell, vitamin D is important in our diets. Here are some of the foods that you can eat to help keep that vitamin in your daily intake of food: * Cod liver oil * Herring * Swordfish * Salmon * Egg yolks from range-free chickens * Fortified foods, such as cow’s milk * Orange juice * Some breakfast cereals ...