In their former life, these jars were: a gallon vinegar jar, 4-cup Chunky Peanut Butter jar, a Best Food horseradish mustard jar, a small menthulatum jar and a glass salad dressing jar. I think the dog-shapped jar with the red and white lid might have held vanilla originally. The jar that ended up as a sprinkler bottle was probably vinegar too but the one pint jar that is curved on one side and straight on the other is a mystery to me. I don't know what it would have held originally but I like the shape and lines. PS: until I came across this Skippy peanut butter jar, I had never met one this big in real life! This must have been for schools or hospitals. I love it!
I don't know if my paranoia of plastic developed from my love of glass things or if my passion for glass developed from my fear of plastic. I don't fear all plastic -- just new plastic. Johanna once asked me why I like that old early forerunner of plastic, the Melmac, when I tremble in fear from this new flimsey, 9th generation plastic. That old melmac was first generation. It was sturdy and stable and the atoms and molecules didn't rattle around in the Melmac dishes. This new unstable plastic gives me nightmares of a bottle of water exploding because the atoms got to playing around too freely!
As a kid, I knew there were two names for these type of hard plastic dishes but as an adult I have forgotten the second, so I "googled" it:
From the internet: Actually the substance that Melmac is made out of is called Melamine but most people know the Melmac name. Popular in the 1940's and 1960's this durable dinnerware came in many colors and patterns. Pastel Aqua, Pink and Yellow were three of the most popular colors. It was often used in cafeterias because of its durability. Today many people including myself still use and collect Melmac.
I'm one of those folks. I'm a gal that still uses Melmac. I don't really collect it -- but I could. I could collect it at the wink of an eye. I guess folks collect things of an era that takes them back to their childhood. Melmac sure takes me back to the 1950s. My Mama collected her Melmac at the grocery store. Buy so many dollars worth of groceries and get a plate for 29 cents. (I really don't know what the going grocery store rate was for Melmac dishes at SuperValue or Thriftway but in porportion to what I paid for ironstone dishes in the 1980s, I'm thinking I'm pretty close to accurate.)
I think my Mama ended up with 6 pink plates and 6 green plates. When we sat the table in the 50s, we sat 11 places. Half green and half pink new melmac. When it was my turn to set the table, the boys got green and the girls got pink -- or there was a lot of whining when it came time to eat. "I don't want that plate! My plate is green! Give me my plate!" "I want a pink one! booohooo!" ooohhh ya! not pretty!
I remember Mom had a few old glass mis-matched dinner plates but I don't know if we owned a complete set of dinner plates before the melmac or not.
Oh, now, Changing direction . . . I'm trying to remember the drinking glasses we used. hhmmm. gosh. Well yes! I'm pretty sure they were jelly jars in a previous life! I bet that is it! See, no wonder why I love glass and Melmac!
PS: sister Kate says Mama also got a set of silverware at the Thriftway on Elm Street in Creston, in the same fashion. I remember Mom buying green blankets and red blankets for our bunkbeds, the same way. Save up the cash register tapes until you had spent $150 (or whatever?) and get a blanket. I remember waiting and waiting for my red blanket as there were seven others before me! Remember, oldest first.
Then there were "thee Dolls". Mama saved and saved and took her receipts back to the Thriftway and got all of us girls, one at a time, a fancy dancy prancy beautiful doll. Here's mine. My dad, 30 years after the arrival of the dolls, made us all a beautiful hand-made walnut case.
Meet Princess Anne:
She's only about 55 years old.
The case is 30 years old, already. Crimeny! How can that be?
I am so glad that my Mama saved her grocery store receipts and "bought" me this lovely doll. I'm so glad that my Dad made the frame to keep her forever and a day. Isn't she beautiful! love, Ma
3 comments:
your doll and the case Gramps made you are beautiful!
That doll always fascinated me. I loved her pretty eyelashes. Didn't Erica used to save up Betty Crocker stamps? Did she ever get anything?
I do believe Erica got some silver ware with her Betty Crocker box tops. Did you know the wooden blocks were purchased with Green Stamps? The iron stone plates with the 70s flowers were Grocery Store premiums as were the gray/white striped plates. You know, those grey & white plates are all gone. Every single one. How on earth did Gramma Hof use Fiesta Ware plates for 40 years and only lose 1 of 8? Guess it is the dishwashers of today? or maybe just this dish handler?
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