Article Archives: What’s in the Attic?

Make it a Vintage Halloween

October 20, 2022 | by Linda Hamer Kennett

In the early 1900s, Martin Luther Beistle was running a small, but successful, company that made calendars and artificial plants for hotels and commercial concerns in Pittsburgh. Life was good, the bills were paid and many would have been content to leave things as they were. But Martin had a … Read More

Great Garage Sale Finds

October 13, 2022 | by Linda Hamer Kennett

This column first appeared in April 2010. Sometimes it’s the small things that we tend to overlook. While the wicker settee and the riding mower may be the things that cause you to slam on the brakes, the real gems at a garage sale are often found in box lots … Read More

Lost in the 50s

October 6, 2022 | by Linda Hamer Kennett

This column first appeared in September 2011. It was a time many of us recall with fondness. We witnessed the invention of Lifesaver candy, Kleenex, Super Glue and the AA battery. Televisions were black and white and so was the tile on the kitchen floor. Chuck Berry, Little Richard and … Read More

A pinch of this, a dash of that

September 29, 2022 | by Linda Hamer Kennett

This column first appeared in March 2010. When my dad’s heart attack necessitated moving my parents to an assisted living facility, I found myself in the unenviable position of both liquidator and client. The one bedroom apartment they would now call home could hold very little of the contents of … Read More

Crate Art

September 22, 2022 | by Linda Hamer Kennett

This column first appeared in September 2010. Paper labels from 1880-1930, collectively referred to as “Crate Art,” are a unique form of American Folk Art. Originally designed to be glued to the ends of wooden crates to identify produce during shipping, the graphically attractive labels are still attainable at a … Read More