Showing posts with label Antiques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antiques. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Nostalgia 101/William Waldron and Family


Sam and I worked basketball for the first time together this season, last night at Spencerville...a Junior High Boys double header between the host Bearcats and visiting Paulding...with the Panthers coming out on top in both the 7th and 8th grade games. I looked up in the stands as we were walking off at half-time of the first contest and saw my cousin Jim Poling, sitting in the Paulding side. Talked with him for a few minutes...he told me he had just returned from his place in north Florida, and was planning on returning shortly after the Holidays....still riding his Harley, still the old hippy is Jim, a quiet guy who I grew up with and ran around with in 1950s Florida...we see each other these days at Weddings, Funerals, and and occasional basketball game, where he has a rooting interest with Paulding.

No games tonight, but Sam needs to get one more Rules Meeting in, so Ill head with him to Bellfountaine, for one more go around...so he can stay eligible for next season. Tomorrow I'm at Van Wert for a Girls WBL JV game, while Sam heads for St. Marys for a Girls Junior High double header.

Nostalgia_____

After my Aunt Eva passed away in 1998, as the executor of her affairs, I had access to the house in Scott, Ohio{see yesterday's post}...as I have mentioned before, Eva, her old sister Cecil, and Grandma Wilda Houseworth, became pack rats over the last half of the 20th century....they bought at least 2 of every item, and saved everything and anything....When Eva died at the age of 87 after a couple of years in a Van Wert nursing home, I, along with my cousin Linda, who lives in Missouri, were left with the task of sorting, tossing, saving, through the stuff....a large dumpster was needed to dispose of much of the stuff....the antiques and collectibles were sorted out and divided. I eventually sold the old homestead to the aforementioned Jim Poling, he fixed it up and sold it

With a garage and basement full of memories and 'stuff' I went about the task of selling,{on ebay} storing, and looking through the massive amounts of photographs, small items{collectibles, etc} I had inherited....

1950s mechanical toys, trinkets, old glasses, bottle openers, thousands of postcards, sea shells, marbles, and other items, some were put up for sale, others with obvious family interest would remain with me or Linda....Some of the items I sold I regret, but some things just had to go....some were worth much more than I had ever imagined.
William Waldron______

My Great-Great Grandfather, William H. Waldron, was born in January 11, 1861, just before the start of the Civil War, he passed away on June 16, 1950 in Scott...I was 15 months old, so I never really knew the old guy, except from stories passed along. I do know we lived with him for a spell, and after his death, we eventually lived in his house, until moving to Florida in 1954.

The women saved many items of William Waldron, including a collection of Hunting License from the early 20th century....this items were from the 1911 through 1930 era, and the older ones were made of a composit leather type material....it turns out they were very valuable.

I, not knowing just how valuable they were, decided to keep the one in the best shape{from 1915) and sell the rest, including the original "leather" license from 1913....by the time I sold the licenses on ebay, they had brought in over $1500, including $500 for the original 1913 license. It almost knocked me over...I had no idea they were worth that much. I'm thankful I kept the one from 1915.

That is what got me started in 1999 into family history and nostalgic photos....

See my Houseworth Genealogy Blog @:



Everything from Salt and Pepper shakers, to guns, bottle openers, post cards, road maps from the early days of highways, etc....Dad collected large and small antique items...I prefer the smaller stuff, my basement and garage has enough of the family items both large and small to keep me busy for the rest of my days.....

Yesterday's look back at my childhood in Scott, Ohio, got me searching again, and some of the photos on today's post are a result.
Back Later
Photos and descriptions: Top left sitting on my 1900 era desk, which I got from the Houseworth/Waldron homestead are a retro 1940 radio{used for broadcasting XM and nostalgic radio programs and music, along with a 1940s globe from Patrica's dad. And some not so antique items.....A group of Antique Bottle Openers which include from left then top to bottom and right....some almost 100 years old...left opener from the Christ. Diehl Brewing Company of Defiance, Ohio{ Christopher Diehl makers of the long forgotten Centennial Beer}, next an unknow bottle opener with Pipe Tabbaco /Nut Picker, the patton date is 1912. Top to bottom in the next row are a "Drink Wooden Shoe Beer" operner, Old Dutch Beer opener from the Krantz Brewing Company of Findlay, Ohio, followed by a ? from a Cigar Company...the only part I can make out are _____ sh Cigar Co. It's not an opener...but since Granddad Waldron smoked a pipe, I figure it was a Pipe Tapper, used to "tap down" pipe tobacco and tap the end of cigars after they had been clipped...but that is just a guess, maybe I will do some research into that one. The one on the bottom use to have a label of some sort, not that old, Patricia have had this one since our early days of marriage, so it's probably from the early or mid 1970s. Finally the one on the right is from The Bavarian Brewing Company, Covington(south of the river across from Cincinnati), Kentucky, "Bavarians Old Style Beer".
Great Granddad Waldron's 1915 Ohio Hunting License in frame with a photo of him and dad{Stan Houseworth} taken in 1924....Then William Waldron(1861-1950) near the end of his life, and finally an "Airline" Radio from the 1940s...this radio still works{but makes one Hell of a Buzzing sound} and it sat upstairs of Grandma Houseworth's place for as long as I can remember....I doubt if it ever left that west bedroom until I brought it home in 1998.
Links to some of the Brewery Information on the old openers:
Christ. Diehl Brewery:
Wooden Shoe Beer of Minster, Ohio:
Old Dutch Beer/Krantz Brewing Corporation
Bavarian Brewing-Old Style Beer, Covington, Kentucky

Friday, August 7, 2009

Tin Caps, Boggs, and Bees



It appears we will finally get a dose of Hot Weather beginning tomorrow...Just in time for the 9th Annual Bar Stool Open on Grand Lake. Hal, will be coming home tonight, and join Nick, me, and a few others, including his former roomie Woost, on one team on Nick's Boat...this year 13 bars, 13 holes, and an unlimited number of beers are on the agenda. I'll have photos of the event next week, on Monday.

Baseball @ Fort Wayne____

Patricia and I headed to Fort Wayne last evening to take in a Class A game at Fort Wayne. The former "Wizards" are now the "Tin Caps", having moved into their new downtown stadium early this season, thus the Johnny Appleseed inspired new name and logo, to go with the new stadium. It is impressive...the old stadium was not bad, located near the Coliseum on the north end...the city decided to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne, and build this 8600 seat ballpark. The only down size is the parking, or lack of it, near the stadium...and the surrounding construction. All-in-all though, it is a great upgrade.


The Tin Caps are going great guns, last night's sell out put the season attendance above 300 thousand...fireworks, and $dollar draft beer helped in the sell out, a 12-6 victory for the home team over the Lansing Lugnuts. The Caps won the first half of the season, and lead by six games with a 31-9 record the 2nd half...FW is a Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Patrica and I ate some great food{outstanding selection and menu for reasonable prices) had a couple of bottle beers{can't stand draft}, and left in the 8th inning to beat the traffic...I've seen enough fireworks in my life, so that was not an issue.

Yesterday I got to thinking about another baseball game we attended....and after looking at my old diary, I discovered it was 10 years ago...Today!

Wade Boggs hits #3000 @ Tampa Bay 8/7/1999___
Back in the late 90s, we were taking late summer vacations to Florida...we would stay a few days at the Inn at the Beach in my old hometown of Venice.


We would stay there for 3 or 4 days, then head to Key West, and drive up the East Coast, do a couple of other things and head home.

Back in 1999 Sam had decided to take a week and play baseball at the Mickey Owen Baseball School, near Springfield, Missouri. The plan was we would pick him up, and head to Florida for our annual vacation. I thought it might be a good time to take in a baseball game in a different location. As luck would have it, Wade Boggs of the Devil Ray{now Rays} was approaching 3000 career hits, and Ohio's "other" team the Cleveland Indians would be in the Tampa Bay area near the end of our trip....the odds of hitting the right date for Boggs feat were pretty slim, but I ordered tickets for the Tribe vs Rays on August 7, 1999. 10 years ago today.

We finished up our stay at Venice the morning of August 7th. Boggs was now just 3 hits shy of 3000...we headed north to St. Pete, grabbed a motel room, our video camera, and headed to Tropicana Field...Boggs needed a trey of base hits...What were the chances? With seats right behind home plate in the second deck, we had a great birds eye view. The game ended up being a high scoring affair, with Cleveland winning 15-10. Boggs, after making an out his first at bat, collected 2 straight hits...thus setting the script that few could have guessed for this "slap hitter"...Wade Boggs was not usually a Home Run threat, but with youngest son Hal taking the video, he drilled a line drive into the right field bleachers, becoming the first player to collect hit #3000 with a HR. We ended up with great personal video, tickets, souvenirs of the date and event...plus the St Pete Times Newspaper celebrating the event. A once in a lifetime family event, it is hard to believe that 10 years have passed.

Sunflowers and Bees___

Has anybody noticed, at least in our neck of the woods, that we don't have the amount of bugs and bees that we have had in previous years? Even the damn mosquitoes have dropped off the radar. While it may make things more pleasant, it cannot be a good sign. When the Bees are gone, can Mankind be far behind? Just Asking....

Anyhow, my Sunflowers are now going great guns....4 of the Giant Flowers are in full bloom, and a couple more are on the verge...by next week I expect a couple dozen Mammoth Sunflowers to be in full view....the good news is, Bees are taking note, {even though they are hard to see on the photos, they are there} and showing up on the large flowers.

Health Scare Alert____

Watch close this weekend and early next week the "Town Hall Meetings" on Health Care. The real folks, the senior citizens and taxpayers are starting to be slammed by the Press and our illegal Prez. And not the criminal leaders of the union trash, these thugs, are starting to show up to keep the regular folks out of the meetings and shutting them out of the conversation. Make no mistake that Union Leaders are trash, Marxist trash, and will do anything they can to cease the debate, so their hero, Barry Soetoro Obama, can get his agenda passed.

Watch and beware.....don't let these bastards from the AFL-CIO and other garbage stop our First Amendment rights.


I am sure I'll be in no condition to post after tomorrow's Bar Stool Open, and I'm trying to get the final 30% of the painting done in between, well maybe after, beers...so I should be back on board Monday...have a great weekend.

back later>>>>





Photos-{top left}The 3000 hits card from August 7, 1999, when Wade Boggs clubbed a Home Run for #3000. Ticket stubs from last nights game at Fort Wayne, and the 8/7/99 game at Tampa Bay. One of the backyard Sunflowers complete with bees nearing full size{bigger than my melon sized head}, and our Bar Stool Golfing gang from the 8th Annual Bar Stool Open last August...#9 is tomorrow morning thru tomorrow evening.






September 2026? WTH?

 Yep, only the 4th post of this year, marking the beginning of year #20...but tis what it tis... VA eye appointment last week, and yesterday...