By Carol Mobley    Some postcards just catch your eye. The colors are bright, the subjects are interesting and they are whimsical. The postcards I am thinking of are created by Alfred Mainzer and depict primarily cats and dogs dressed as humans doing human activities. The images are usually of some activity with a score of other things happening in the […]

By Robert Reed    Toys have come and gone over the decades just as have the children that once delighted with. However some toys, both famous and not so famous, remain a delightful and enduring part of history.    They may have been as memorable as Arcade’s fleet of 20th century toy vehicles or as obscure as Britain’s moving picture toy Zeotrope […]

By Paula Svincek    The age-old German tradition of hiding a pickle ornament has been carried on for several years by merchants and businesses in the city of Florence. There are several variations of the Pickle story. Parents hide a pickle ornament in the boughs of the Christmas tree and on Christmas morning, the children must find it before the gifts […]

By Henry J. Pratt    Turkish citizens in the 13th century were among the first to enjoy roasted and ground coffee beans. Before that, cooks prepared coffee by boiling the fresh coffee beans in water.    The Turks considered coffee from roasted and ground beans so important that grooms, as part of marriage ceremonies, had to promise to keep their brides supplied […]