One person’s junk is another person’s memorabilia
Posted on January 20, 2008 in Senior living journey by DM
As we get closer to moving Dad into an Assisted Living apartment (he’s back in the hospital, btw), the prospect of somehow disposing of his lifetime of “stuff” now looms nearer. He’ll be moving from a three-bedroom house (with garage and finished basement) into a one-bedroom apartment.
My brother and I have been discussing how best to do this for quite some time. The problem is, some of Dad’s stuff is the typical 50-years-of-housekeeping type stuff we all have like dishes, flatware, clothes and furniture. But he’s also a collector (meaning pack-rat) and has some collections of stuff that might be worth something to other collectors - if we knew where/how to find them.
For example, baseball. Dad’s a sports fan and has memorabilia and collectibles representing golf and baseball: everything from caps (some autographed), balls, t-shirts, jerseys, figurines, etc. Also, the 1979 Iowa visit of Pope John Paul II was a huge moment in Dad’s life. He has been a faithful Catholic his entire life, and he worked as Media Coordinator for the Pope’s Des Moines visit that year. He has a lot of “Pope stuff” (did you know there was “Pope Corn”? Yep, specially-packaged popcorn) - flags, figurines, etc. And owls - he used to collect Owls, back when he worked at WHO-TV. Basically, what he’s got is a lifetime of collectibles from golf, baseball, religion and broadcasting. Oh, and a large collection of Early American Pattern Glass goblets that belonged to his mother, one each of about 30 different patterns.
I’m considering getting a booth over at Collectamania for this type of stuff. An auction for the furniture and household stuff, and Goodwill for the clothing. Your suggestions welcome!
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You don’t know of anyone who collects or deals with vintage cameras, by the way? My dad had an old Zeiss Ikoflex from the 1950s (I think) and an old Kodak Hawkeye from the 1920s. Unfortunately, both seem to have broken shutters.
Joel, actually I think the folks at Christian Photo might be into vintage cameras. It’s been a few years since I stopped in there, but at one time they were selling some used classic gear. They *might* just be collectors. They’re in Urbandale, on Douglas Ave. just west of Merle Hay Mall. ~ Janet
Janet’s last blog post..Are you a Rotten Neighbor?
Thanks for letting me know, but I talked to them about the cameras at one time. They were interested in having them as decorations–nothing more, sorry to say.