"The Iconic green thrift store staple is now a cult collectable with a price tag to match."

Jadeite is an opaque, jade-green milk glass that was widely produced for kitchenware and dinnerware in the United States from the 1930s through the 1970s.  Named for its resemblance to the semi-precious stone of the same name, jadeite was manufactured by three principal American glass companies .. Anchor Hocking, McKee Glass and Jeannette Glass each of which used a distinct spelling and formulation.  

Jadeite was sold cheaply through grocery stores, hardware stores and five-and-dime shops.  It was frequently distributed as a promotional premium with the purchase of flour, oatmeal or gasoline.  Although production had largely ended by the 1970s, jadeite experienced a dramatic resurgence in collector interest beginning in the 1990s, driven in large part by Martha Stewart's public display of her own collection and the color remains in production today by both heritage American glassmakers and overseas manufacturers. 

If there's one person who's most responsible for the growing interest in the jadeite market over the last half century, it's probably Martha Stewart, who multiple collector cited to me as the reason they got started in collecting this iconic collectable. Influenced by her daughter, Alexis who began collecting jadeite on a cross-country road trp in the '90s, Stewart started her own stockpile of the glassware, which began making cameos on her TV show and in the pages of Martha Stewart Living.  

One cannot talk about Jadeite without mentioning Martha Stewart.  It was because of Martha's passion for this glassware that many collectors were reminded and reintroduced to its many beautiful qualities.  

Martha Stewart Signature Jadeite Chandelier

Original 1930s salt box with the orignal wooden lid still intact.  

The sought after Jadeite cake stand.

A Jadeite pitcher.

Having  this set is a goal for many collectors.  You can tell reproductions from real sets by the lettering and the condition of the screw-on lids.

The sought after electric mixer

"Say Good-bye to hand beating!"

Instructions for using MAGIC MAID and Tested Recipes

Model D

Cat. No. 805

Among these Jadeite gems is a juicer and a milkshake mixer

And among these Jadeite gems is a rolling pin with a cap to fill with ice water.  It was called an ice water chamber.  The hollow glass body allowed bakers to fill the interior with cold water or ice cubes to keep pastry dough chilled while rolling.

These canisters are some of the older Jadeite out there.  The square ones were made in the 30s and 40s.  Like most Jadeite, they all very ain color and mold imperfections.  Every piece is unique!  The large canisters are 48 oz. and came in coffee, sugar, flour, tea, salt and cereal.  And if you are wondering about the telephone .. No, Jadeite did not make a rotary phone though companies like Tecno released a phone named "Ice Jadeite".

Did you know?  Real vintage Jadeite glass contains uranium and will glow a bright vibrant green under a blacklight though not all vintage Jadeite kitchenware glows under a black light.  Whether it does depends entirely on the manufacturer and the presence of trace amounts of uraniium dioxide added to the glass formula.  Pieces by McKee Glass Company and Jeannette Glass Company before WWII will glow a bright radioactive green, while peices made by Anchor Hocking's Fire-King do not glow at all.  

Jadeite continues to be a popular collector's item due to historical utility, mid-century nostalgia and celebrity endorsement.  Collecting Jadeite is a passion for many.  People adore the soft green hue of this glass to no end and are devoted to collecting it for their homes.  There are collectors who will tell you they only collect one pattern of Jadeite and are dedicated to getting as much of it as they can.  Then there are those who don't mind having a mix of patterns and styles or even a mix of old and new.  

 

 

What Happened to the Station Wagon?

You are sitting in the back.  The third row.  The one that faced backwards.  you were seven years old and your knees were pressed against the tailgate and the road was urolling behind you and your parents were so far away in the front seat they might as well have been in another country.  That was the station wagon.

Station wagons went from three percent of all cars sold to seventeen percent. Nearly one in five.  The Ford Country Squire with the fake wood paneling was nineteen feet long and weighed five thousand pounds and got eight miles to the gallon.  Nobody cared because gasoline was thirty cents a gallon.  

1958 Country Squire 

You made faces at the truck drivers behind you and they pulled the air horn.  Your mother's arms was your seatbelt.  You fell asleep in the cargo area on sleeping bags and your father carried you inside at midnight.  The tailgate folded down at the drive-in, the Fourth of July and at Little League games.

The Dodge Caravan came out in 1984.  The boomers who grew up in their father's wagon bought minivans.   Then SUVs.  The Country Squire was discontinued in 1990 after forty years.  The last full-size American station wagons were gone by 1996.

The SUV is a station wagon that changed its name.  The station wagon was honest about what it was.  A family car with wood panels, nine seats and a tailgate.  It never pretended to be an adventure vehicle.  It just carried families and the family pet.

Station wagons hauled groceries, paint supplies, plants, wallpaper and lumber!

The lesson in this painting .. always tie a red flag to extended lumber!

 

Palace Theatre

810 Austin Avenue

Georgetown, Texas

Circa 1937

The Palace Theatre was built in 1925 by A. C. Moore of Bartlett, Texas.  The grand opening was held February 1926.  It opened with silent films and three years later it went on to talkies. The original buff brick building was remodeled in 1936 to its present day Art Deco style.  It is reported to be the only Art Deco styled building in Georgetown. 

The seating capacity in 1941 was listed as 500.  It operated as a movie theatre until 1989 at which time it was the oldest continuously operating movie theatre in Texas.  

In 1989, the owner Jack Hall was faced with declining revenues, competing with 20 new movie screens in the area and outdated equipment.  Mr. Hall put the property up for sale. Concerned citizens formed the Georgetown Palace Theatre, Inc.  The group raised enough money to make a down payment and closed on the heatre sale in 1991.  The group cleaned and refurbished the theatre in a little over 90 days and it was ready to reopen.

Today, the restored theatre operates as a non-profit Community Performing Arts facility.  They have a mix of Broadway shows live music performance and occasional movies.  Total seating for the refurbished theatre is 295.  

 

Looking Back at Lucy ... the 100th Birthday Celebration

Most county residents and visitors will remember the Lucy Festival that celebrated Lucille Ball's 100th birthday.  I do because I was there.  The year was 2011 and 915 people dressed as Lucy setting a world record for the most Lucy look-alikes and a parade that featured several drum and bugle corps. passing through the area enroute to a national competition.  A sincere thank you to the late Bill Stevenson who arranged for all the corps to be part of that memorable parade to honor our hometown girl. 

One of several visiting drum and bugle corps for the historic parade.

Thanks to the late Bill Stevenson, longtime Jamestown resident

The festival showcased comedians Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone.  In that year, Sirius XM Radio channel 82 hosted by Greg Bell launched Redhead Radio: 100 Years of Lucille Ball from The Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy.  It was a limited-run channel celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the comedy legend with non-stop broadcasts for two days of classic radio shows featuring the comedienne at key moments in her storied career, as well as interviews with her fans, devotees and fellow comedians.  Redhead Radio launched at 12:00 a.m. ET on August 6, 2011.

I have two memorable experiences to share during Lucy Fest 2011.  The first was being able to greet Lucie Arnaz as she entered the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum on the corner of Main and Third Street.  The second was meeting a young gal who had traveled to Jamestown from Australia.  As a festival volunteer that year, I took the time to welcome her to Jamestown.

We came together to honor Lucy's 100th birthday 15 years ago only to realize that she was the one bringing us together all along.  Lucy's story isn't measured just in years, but in memories shared.  So in 2026 as we celebrate Lucy's 115th birthday, 115 candles couldn't burn brighter than Lucy's smile.  Here's to Lucy and a spirit that keeps shining, long after the party ends.

As a family of Lucy fans we know that homes are built with walls, but they are remembered through the love, laughter and memories shared within them and Lucy has given us more than a century's worth as we sing the opening lyrics to the I Love Lucy theme song just in time for the 2026 Lucy Fest .. "I Love Lucy and she loves me".

The Lucy mask 915 Lucy look-alikes wore on August 2011.

 

Book Tower 

Detroit

A Storied Building for the Books

Commissioned by the Book brothers, Book Tower was designed by architect Louis Kamper to transform Washington Boulevard into an upscale and fashionable intersection of Detroit.  When it opened in 1926 it was the tallest structure in the city at 38-stories, designed with Roman-influenced intricacies and sparkling interiors that featured fine dining, shopping and offices.  

Today, Book Tower is an instantly recognizable Detroit landmark.  The restoration and renovation embrace century-old design and modern amenities, revealing a collection of spaces for visitors to live, work, dine, celebrate and stay once again. 

There are 29 caryatids, 7,000 rotunda skylight jewel embellishments and 2,483 windows  all, of which, have been replaced, maintaining historical accuracy and increasing energy efficiency.  Dating back to the 6th century BC, caryatids are stone sculptures of female figures that serve as architectural support. The 29 adorn Book tower's facade and are found across the building's midsection and along the roof's cornice.  

The Rotunda rises three stories and features a massive art glass dome.  It is the crown jewel of the building's entryway and consists of a cast-iron and brass dome framework with 6,000 glass panels.  

The lobby's original plaster ceiling has been restored with an eye for authenticity.  Molds of the intact portions were made to recreate the intricate patterns which were then hand-painted with care.

Restored Staircase

The ornamentation on elevator doors have been replicated and replaced.  The flourishes, florets and figures of birds and features of a motif found throughout the building. 

Originally constructed as offices Book Tower's 229 residential apartments are spread across 28 floors and configured in 45 different floor plans to suit every lifestyle. 

Incredible Ceiling Detail

The "Cherub Clock"

It was the original master clock in Book Tower serving as the central system that regulated all secondary clocks across the building's offices and shops.  Designed by German immigrant architect Louis Kamper, whose style reflected traditional European clock craftsmanship. The intricate carvings and cherub motifs symbolize the flight of time.  For many years the clock was hidden and obscured during previous decades of shifting ownership and building decline.  In time, it was carefully restored by Electric Time Company, Inc. during the massive historical renovation of the Book Tower to reclaim its original 1920s grandeur.

Kern's Department Store in Detroit once rivaled Hudson's Department Store in its popularity and quality of service and sat alongside it for 76 years.  Founded in 1833 by German immigrants Ernst and Marie Kern, the Ernst Kern Company began on a small scale featuring imported fabrics and laces.  Between 1919 and 1928 several expansions led to a ten-floor emporium addition encompassing 200,000 square feet.  The building featured Art Deco styling with marble floors, mahogany counters, 30-foot high ceilings and decorative cast-iron railings.  To enhance the store's appeal, an auditorium, roof garden, dining room, a 21-car elevator bank and a gymnasium for its 500 employees were added.  New street entrancess led customers directly to the basement.  Kern's pioneered mail-order services to out-of-state customers. The store also featured a Brentano's Book Shop and a lending library.  Kern's was famous for its Basement Dollar Days and Founders Sale.  Every September the Founder's Sale drew such crowds that in the late 1930s, Chevrolet offered free rides home to package-laden shoppers.  By this time, a third generation of Kerns, Otto's two sons had strategic positions in the company.  

Very popular with children, Kern's Toyland featured visits with Santa, merry go-round rides and surprise packages.  The store changed the theme of the Toyland regularly, alluding to popular children's characters like "Dumbo" and "The Long Ranger".

Otto Kern sold the company in 1857, citing the lack of customer parking, emerging suburgan shopping centers and the inability of Kern's to establish branch locations as challenges. 

Kern's Department Store opened in 1929 and closed its doors December 23, 1959. In 1966, the building was demolished as a part of Detroit's urban renewal of downtown and the Kern's Clock found its new home in secure storage.  In the late 1970s the Junior League of Detroit let a successful campaign to restore the clock and placed it back in its original location.  However, in 1998 it was once again removed to avoid the clock from being damaged during the demolition of the Hudson's Department Store.  In November of 2003 after the One Campus Martius building had been completed the Compuware Corporation reinstalled the famous clock at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot where it can be seen today.  

Christmastime at Kern's Department Store in the 1950s.

The three-faced "Kern's Clock

Circa December 1959

A popular Detroit landmark, the Kern's Clock was originally located at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot Avenues (1048 Woodward Avenue) where it adorned the entrance to the Ernst Kern Company Department Store in downtown Detroit.  Appearing in 1933, the clock was placed above the entrance to the store.  It became a beloved landmark for Detroiters who often used it as a meeting place.

"Meet you under the clock" was the common Detroit expression for almost a century by Detroit shoppers.

Even in the thick of the Depression, which slammed Detroit particularly hard, city residents weren't about to allow the grim economy to stifle the Christmas spirit, as witnessed by these hordes of holiday shoppers crammed on the main floor of Kern's Department Store. 

When Kern died in 1901, his sons Otto and Ernst Jr. ran the company.  Both brothers lived in the city's elegant Boston-Edison district .. Ernst on 121 Edison Street and Otto at 1244 W. Boston Boulevard.  Otto's sons also became involved in management.  Kern's remained a third-generation family business until 1957 when it was sold to the Buffalo, New York based Sattler's Inc. Although the Kern's building was razed in the 1960s, one part of Kern's was salvaged, its famous clock which was a downtown icon. The landmark timepiece stands at Woodward and Gratiot, a constant reminder of Detroit's retailing past.

 

Circa 2022

Now the saying is probably I'll meet you at the clock" rather than "I'll meet you under the clock". 

 

Canadiana on its inaugural trip from Buffalo to Crystal Beach

Circa May 30, 1910

This vessel was a beloved 216-foot passenger excursion steamer built in 1910 in Buffalo, New York.  Known as one of the "Crystal Beach Boats", it carried up to 3,500 passengers daily across Lake Erie from the foot of Commercial Stret to the Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Ontario.  

The ship featured Victorian-style interiors, a 1,000-light grand ballroom with the largest floating dance floor on the Great Lakes and hosted famous big band acts like Duke Ellington and Cab Callaway.  After the construction of the Peace Bridge and changing post-war entertainment habits, the ship completed its final run in 1956.  The vessel was ultimately scrapped in 2004 though preservationists successfully saved its historic steam engine.  

Designed by respected architect, Frank Kirby and built in Buffalo at the Buffalo Dry Dock Compnay on Ganson Street at a cost of $250,000, the coal-fired steamship Canadiana was owned by the Lake Erie Excusion Co.  The Canadiana and its sister ship, the Americana (1908) were known as the Crystal Beach boats.  Taking the Canadiana and the Americana to Crystal Beach quickly a summertime tradition for Buffalonians.  A 1911 advertisement promoted the 25-mile, 75 minute lake ride for 25 cents.  For passengers the ride was part of the total holiday experience.  They enjoyed the promenades, benches, bandstand and hardwood dance floor. At night, the Canadiana's 1,000 lights made the trip back to Buffalo 

.. magical ..

 

646 Main Street

Buffalo, New  York 

Installed December 1925 at the then-stupendous cost of $72,000 a four-manual twenty-eight rank pipe organ, it was one of the largest instruments the Rudoph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, New York had built up to that time.

This is  a map of our Wurlitzer organ, showing how all the bells and whistles are laid out.

Michael Shea

(1859-1934)

Michael Shea was one of the last of the real showman of the old tradition.  With his name the growth of vaudeville in America is inseparably linked; the greatest star of stage and screen during the past half century knew and respected him; much of the glamor and color and zest of the most robust period of the American variety stage clung to Michael Shea and made him a more remarkable figure, in most respects, than the most famous of the star he hired and put upon his stages.  He was a peculiar titan in the business of make-believe, a two-fisted Irishman who dealt in lights and laughter, gaiety and song. 

Michael Shea was born April 17, 1859 in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada* son ofDaniel and Mary Griffin Shea.

*It is disputed as to whether or not Michael Shea was born in the First Ward or in St. Catherines, but sometime shortly after his birth the family definitely settled in the First Ward. The young Shea attended both public and parochial schools in the Ward and as early as age 15 went to work on the docks as a laborer, much like the other young men in the Ward.

He took his earnings and borrowed $2,500 from a friend to open Shea's Music Hall in 1882.  His first theatre would succumb to a fire 11 years later, but Shea would rise up to create an empire of entertainment in Buffalo, giving his name to no less than a dozen theatres.  Performers clamored to get a run at Shea's theatres. To most of Shea's Buffalo though, Michael Shea could be found standing at the back of the theatre, wearing an old hat, a Mackinstosh (waterproof raincoat) always seeing how his show would "go over". 

Michael Shea was known for his generosity.

To the employees of the Shea's theatres, he was "The Old Man" and many had stayed with the Shea's theatres for more than 25 years (although it was a safe bet that he had fired each of those veterans at least once every year as well).  One young usher, not recognizing Mr. Shea, told him to put out his cigar in the theatre.  Michael Shea took him to the manager's office, insisting on promoting the young man.  

"Downtown Buffalo was not long without a sign that spelled out S-h-e-a and proclaimed that refreshment and amusement were on tap within. The people of vaudeville stage are nomads and they wander ceaselessly from metropolis to tank town, from stage to stage the country over.  Their contracts are brief and hurried and they find little time to bestow their affection in passing.  And yet Michael Shea, working through many years with hordes of these minstrels and troubadours, left an indeliable impression on each of them.  Indeed, in the brightest days of vaudeville there was no such town as Buffalo .. they called it Sheatown".

The Buffalo Times

This advertisement was taken out by a cast of performers to show their appreciation. 

"If you've got the show, they'll come in."

Michael Shea's 'theory of amusement'. 

"My memory of him goes back to the days of vaudeville.  The old tradition used to be that if you were in love and wanted to get married, Buffalo would be the place because Mike was always there to help you.  If you were feeling rotten and wanted a rest cure, Buffalo was the place because Mike Shea was there to help you. No matter what you did backstage, your friend Michael Shea was on hand.  That's what made Buffalo a good show town.  Michael did more for every trouper, including myself, than any other man."

Eddie Cantor

(1892-1964))

All  the Bells and Whistles"

Michael Shea loved strings and the Buffalo Wurlitzer organ contains seven ranks of them. Quite a large number for an organ of this type.  The pedal organ is one of the largest to be found anywhere with twelve ranks of its own.  Among the ranks of pipes is a gorgeous-sounding sixteen foot tibia plena (8' open wooden flute). The smallest pipe is no bigger than a pencil while the largest of the pedal pipes are thirty-two-feet long, huge enough for a good-sized man to sit in.  Virtually every instrument is a symphony orchestra represented in this organ and when full organ is played it sounds very much like a complete orchestra.  

The massive instrument is located in six large chambers, three on each of the theatre.  It contains a complete set of percussion stops, commonly known as the "toy counter".  Included in this section is a large xylophone, marimba, harp, chimes, cymbal, kettle, snare and bass drums, orchestra bells plus the usual array of sounds that were initially used to accompany silent films such as auto horn, boat whistle, Chinese gong, bird whistle etc.  Sitting in the lower box on the right hand side of the stage is a large grand piano which is played from the organ console. 

The original voicing of the organ* was done personally by Joseph Carruthers and James Nuttall, the company's two major voices.  Carruthers was the best diaphone man in the business while Nuttall was a top reed voicer.  Both men were proteges of Robert Hope-Jones. Rarely did these two men leave the factory to go out into the field and voice the various organs, themselves. Their assistants usually performed this task.  The fact that Carruthers and Nuttall did the voicing themselves is one reason why this organ sounds so great; the other reason is that the instrument and the room seem to be perfectly matched.  

*Voicing of the organ is the intricate process of adjusting the physical components of an organ's pipes to control their tone, volume, color and speaking speed.  Often performed by a highly skilled artisan, it transforms a collection of manufactured pipes into a cohesive artistic musical instrument designed to complement the acoustics of its specific space.  While tuning simply adjusts a pipe so it plays the correct pitch, voicing shapes how that note sounds.  This meticulous process involves several key aspects:  Timbre (Tone Color):  Voicers adjust the brightness, darkness and warmth of a pipe.  They do this by manipulating the size of the pipe's mouth, altering the thickness of its upper lips, or carefully making small cuts called "nicks" in the pipe's interior.  Speech:  (Attack):  This refers to the initial transient sound the pipe makes when air first enters, much like the consonants in human speech.  Voicers regulate how quickly or slowly a pipe "speaks" so it articulates clearly in a room.  Volume and Balance:  Every single pipe must be adjusted to ensure one stop (a distinct set of pipes) doesn't overpower another.  Voicers adjust the airflow at the base of the pipe (the toe hole) and the width of the air channel (the flueway) to balance the volume across the entire keyboard.  Acoustic Adaptation:  Because every space has unique reverberation and geometry, the exact same organ will require different voicing in a grand cathedral versus a small chapel.

On digital or electronic organs, "voicing" refers to a similar concept where technicans adjust the digital parameters (such as harmonic content, digital wind pressure and tremulants* to simulate traditional pipe styles or emulate the acoustics of various historic venues.

*A tremulant is a device on a pipe organ which varies the wind supply to the pipes. This causes their amplitude and pitch to fluctuate.