Uncovering Our History Through The Relics Left Behind
Posted in Death, flea market, history, and Military
You can’t sell those on eBay, the man told the dealer, referring to two cast iron Civil War grave markers that she was selling at a flea market over the weekend. The two markers were…
The items were laid out peacefully on the auction table like the remains of a relative. Tintype photos in beautiful cases of relatives long gone. Small personal books and Kodak photos. A heavily worn Bible in a…
I was surprised to learn that Alex Haley’s childhood memories had been immortalized in sculptures. I “discovered” them last summer while visiting the home of a friend’s sister who owned several figurines depicting his growing-up years in Henning, TN.…
Some time ago, I wrote a blog post about the Lane mini chests that furniture stores handed out to high school graduates. Lane started making them available in the 1930s with the hopes that these young women would…
Posted in Black history, history, and Politics
The two women had a glow about them. They sat across from my friend Valorie and me on the Washington, DC, subway headed to President Barak Obama’s swearing-in on the National Mall. I had driven…
The auctioneer could barely give away the mounted illustrated ads. I understood why, because I had tried to figure out where they had come from and how I could use them. None of the other…
Posted in Art, Carvings, collectibles, history, Personal items, and travel
My auction buddy Janet and I were headed to an auction recently when I broached the idea of the two of us becoming auction hunters for a day: Pretend we’re on a TV show where…
Posted in Black history, civil rights movement, history, and Radio
Confronted by so many DVDs at a recent nostalgia convention, my friend Rebecca began looking for some Amos ‘n Andy recordings. She collects African American memorabilia, and a collection is not complete without a few…
