By Robert Reed  Many years ago author Lester Margon described a pine and walnut cradle that had been made in Pennsylvania around 1750. “Its design is a consummate delight,” Margon wrote in Masterpieces of American Furniture. “‘What a joy it must have been to sit beside this cradle and rock the baby to sleep, sending the little one off to […]

By Robert Reed  Ever since baseball began there has been bit-by-bit collecting of it, and as the great American pastime has grown so have the bits and the numbers of collectors.  Fans seek out everything from key chains to bleacher seats, from buttons to Wheaties cereal boxes, from ticket stubs to Jim Bouton’s book, Ball Four.  In 1988, for the […]

By Carol Mobley  Chief Red Fox, Tokála Luta, was born June 11, 1870 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Dakota Territory.  He was the nephew of Crazy Horse and was considered an authority on the Little Bighorn massacre, because he witnessed it!  He participated in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and was in over 107 silent films.  Red Fox graduated from […]

 If Grandma or Great Aunt Maude are constantly reminiscing about the good old days, why not preserve their stories for your children?  Every family should have an oral history tape library right next to the family picture album. Starting such a collection is easy to do with an inexpensive tape recorder. (Yes, tape recorders are having a rebirth but for […]

By Robert Reed  While the grand old pocket watch never got its start in the United States, it had certainly become a great American tradition by the end of  the 19th century. It adorned the outfit of every stylish lady and sat in the pocket of every dapper gentleman.  There was a gleaming and engraved pocket watch for every taste, […]