We found this repaired china sugar bowl lid at an estate sale this week, in a box lot of nice Homer Laughlin pieces.
It reminded us so much of something our parents would have done that we both had to laugh. In this day of throw away cell phones, and VCR's that are cheaper to replace than repair, it's hard to imagine someone taking the time to so carefully glue the pieces back together and then, of all things, glue something like a toothpaste tube top on as a substitute knob!
What makes this even more amazing to me is that this sugar bowl is a vintage 1955 piece of the Homer Laughlin Moss Rose china pattern in the Virginia Rose shape, which was originally sold by the J.J. Newberry's 10 cent store!!
When we cleaned out my father-in-law's home after he passed away, we found every nook and cranny crammed full of all kinds of "junk", saved in case it would some day be found useful. Out of economic necessity, they lived by the Environmentalist's motto: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.
Will there ever be another generation like theirs, whose whole attitude toward material things was influenced by the Great Depression?
nostalgia, The Great Depression, vintage collectibles, Homer Laughlin china
13 comments:
it depends if I would repair it. I collect Nippon China...definately not repairable. And my everyday dishes are cheap so they are not worth it. but there are somethings like a cup my daughter got from DisneyWorld, that I did repair. I collect stuff...it must be in my blood, my mm does too.
Beautiful! I think that is a much more interesting piece than a fresh, perfect sugar bowl. It makes me want to know the story behind it. Who owned it? How was it broken? Did they use it for its intended purpose, or for something else? Where did they buy it? Was it a gift?
You just know there's a story there!
And my everyday dishes are cheap so they are not worth it.
My point, exactly, Dawn. These were NOT expensive dishes when they were new, but their value for this couple was priceless!
I fear, even if these dishes were important to me, I would have grieved over the piece being broken, maybe even been heart sick ... but I would have thrown it out. Says way too much about me.
You're right, Suzi, there's bound to be an interesting story behind it. Maybe this set was a wedding gift, way back in '55, and the few remnants we bought are all that's left of them.
That makes me sad, though, to think of my children getting rid of something, after we're gone, that we had tried so hard to preserve. We see this over and over at estate sales ... harried adult children trying to dispose of their parents' lifetime of memories .... very sad.
Amazing. I could learn some lessons from this, indeed. ;)
Glad you stopped by, Memestream, but your comment left me wanting to know more, so I hope you come again!
Thanks so much, New Jersey Mom, for the link! I've added your blog link here and also to our
Plush Memories blog.
I bet some of these short story bloggers, who are always proposing writing prompts, would have a heyday with that top ... there's just gotta be a good story there!
I think it's just lovely to see that the poor little broken thing was "rescued". :-) It's sad that everything in life these days is so "disposable": we will have nothing to leave future generations but overstuffed land-fills!
It's sad that everything in life these days is so "disposable": we will have nothing to leave future generations but overstuffed land-fills!
We were just talking about this yesterday. People didn't have yard sales when we were growing up ... they just fixed things, handed them down, gave them away, or eventually threw them out.
People today buy so much stuff, they have to have yard sales to make room for more stuff!
It's these sort of examples of the way things used to be that make me wonder how people are so sure what's now is better.
Thanks for contributing this to the carnival!
Any thought of having a "nostalgia" carnival?
It's refreshing to read a post like this Rosemary. In years gone by people were a lot more resourceful than they are now. They would always keep things and mend them, rather than just throwing them away. A lot better than the "easy come easy go" attitudes of today.
I'll be the first one to say that there are many things about the "good ole days" that I wouldn't want my grandchildren to have to go back to, Kilroy. But I do think there are many valuable things about earlier times that they are going to miss out on.
You're right, Naomi. That "easy come easy go" attitude, that is so prevalent today, has led to higher crime rates, more bankruptcies, more drug abuse, more abortions, and more divorce.
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