Country Notebook
By Rogene "Jeannie" McPherson
By definition, a frenzy is uncontrolled excitement. I’ve had a few frenzies in thrift or antique stores, but not to the point I embarrass myself. For example, I get excited when I can add to one or more of the numerous items I like to collect – especially if rarely found and priced below value. I don’t jump around and yell. Mine are considered mild frenzies. I have found happiness.
Before I put myself in a frenzy just describing the items collected, please note I am not a hoarder. In my opinion, my chosen collections are organized and displayed somewhere in my home, at least visible and valuable to me.
During the pandemic, I made conscious decisions as to what I wanted to recycle or give or throw away in an attempt to make room for retirement life. Younger generations prefer a simple lifestyle, i.e. dispose of memorabilia as soon as you think no one will notice it is gone. I just waited a little longer.
When my sons pull out the plastic bins under the guest bedrooms to find A+ math worksheets, shared classroom valentines, orchestra programs, report cards, and artwork from their school years, they may be in a frenzy. Sometimes a frenzy is not about excitement, but disgust. In case I’m not around when they find this stuff, I want them to know I actually revisited all of what I had collected for 25 years and reduced the evidence of their being good students by about 75%. See, I tell my kids, “I am not a hoarder.”
China dishes, angel ornaments, thimbles, framed artwork of dogs and children, treadle sewing machines, nativity sets, and beer steins are my current obsessions that make me happy. By collecting sets, like the holiday Budweiser steins, I anticipate my offspring will find financial value when they publicize such collections on internet marketplaces. When I have duplicates, I offer to give one or more steins to them, but they seem to like drinking beverages from a can.
Besides not being a hoarder, I am not a frequent beer drinker, but that doesn’t keep me from honoring a beautiful horse breed. When Charlie-Horse was alive, my collection of steins only manifested the respect I have for these huge animals. Charlie-Horse was an English Shire, narrower in the rear end, but taller than a Clydesdale, the breed of horse featured on these particular steins.
The company owning Budweiser began the holiday stein collection in 1980 and have sponsored the design, manufacture and distribution of the steins every year since. Just like the Clydesdale commercials for the Super Bowl, the steins are part of a successful marketing venture. Years ago, how else would the product be delivered to local pubs other than by big, strong horses pulling a wagon, barrels, and a beverage?
Thanks to my sister, who recently found 2008 and 2012 at a flea market for $20 each, I need only one or two to complete my collection of 44 years. I prefer ordering the newer ones on-line, only because I don’t have enough years left to find them in an antique store. This year, 2025 is not yet available, but should be by fall for less than $30.
Preparation for a possible frenzy begins when a certain friend calls and suggests we go "slumming." I put on my most comfortable shoes, a t-shirt, likely vintage 2010, and a faded pair of jeans. Even if I don’t add to any of my collections, it is cheap entertainment.
If looking for adventure, mark your calendar for the Welcome to Highway 36 Treasure Hunt, typically the third Thursday through Sunday in September. Beginning in Doniphan County, eastern Kansas, it runs 400 miles to St. Francis, Kansas in Cheyenne, County almost into Colorado.
Someday all too soon, we will all cross the bridge to the local junk yard, thrift store, or antique shop to find what makes us hoot and yoller. Make fun today, young people, but your time to reminisce will be found in someone else’s hand-me downs.
Rogene “Jeannie” McPherson, from the Centerville area, is a regular contributor to the Linn County Journal. Her latest book Posts from the Country, Adventures in Rural Living is available online at Amazon.com, Thriftbooks.com, and Barnesandnoble.com.
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