Winter 2010 … (part 2) more Iowa stories

interesting places...

I learned that my co-worker Lora collected buttons – old buttons – actually more specifically the cards that buttons used to be attached to for sale.  Those cards have intricate and amazing art on them! Lora asked if we could visit antique stores and antique malls to look for button cards.  Okay by me, because every such store is a visit to the past – a past I still remember.  It was memory lane time for me, because my parents were older, and their friends were older, and I can find, in every antique shop, some visage of the past from someone or others house I remember visiting as a child.  Such memories are a comfort to me, as they were some of the happiest and most peaceful hours of my childhood. Sitting on some Asian-patterned carpet, quietly listening to the adults talk about things long past.

So into the antique shops we went. Any time we had extra time to spare. I remember chatting with antique shop owners about various items they had for sale… and did they list any of it on eBay? I recommended a few of them that way – try listing on eBay to move items that are desired by folks far away from Iowa, who will pay a decent amount for certain collectibles.

Thus somewhere in Iowa I found a spoon rest that matched one my mother owned, but this one was not broken…

 

This was only part of our adventures in Iowa.

One snowy Saturday morning in February Lora and I made the trek from the Sioux City area to Vermillion, South Dakota, to the National Music Museum.  Quite an interesting place for any music lover... everything from antique violins to electric guitars, and accordians, pianos.. anything and everything music.

The National Music Museum, Vermillion, SD

Another Saturday, in Columbus, Nebraska we visited a local library for a concert by digeridoo and zither. We happened upon the advertisement while perusing the local newspaper during breakfast. Lora asked if we could go, and why not!  It was educational and the sounds were amazing.  A winter afternoon well spent.

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Additional to the button card collecting:

Later Lora and I were in an antique "mall" somewhere in Texas... Lora was perusing a bin of vinyl record albums from the 1950s and 1960s when I walked over and noticed a sign on the wall above the bin.  I drew Lora's attention to the sign: "Estate sale button collection available.  1,000s of buttons." and below the text a phone number. 

We immediately adjourned to the pickup truck, where Lora made the call-- and we were off to a private home where we spent some 3 hours looking at thousands of old buttons.... and Miss Lora spent a little money on some really cool button cards and buttons.

sorry, no photos... 

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up next: getting to Texas....

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