Antique Dilemma

      Many people are very interested in antiques.  Some people have a general interest and anything that is somewhat old is interesting to them. Some people are mainly window shoppers and they enjoy looking through antique stores just to see what's there. Some have very specific tastes and collect only salt and pepper shakers . Some want salt and peppers from a definite time period made in a precise fashion. Many people spend much time and money on their antique hobby.

    My Dad had an auction sale in 1974 to dispose of his household effects. Dad was really pleased and happy with the prices paid. When he found out that many items were bid up for their antique value he was somewhat insulted. Many things he had were bought on auction sales so by the time he was ready to part with them they were old. At that time people were becoming more interested in antique articles.

     I have a lake property which I never developed. We spent much time out there. My last post told how I sold my travel trailer. The trailer had been used when we spent time at the lake. We also built a garage and set the garage up as a summer kitchen. We bought a propane stove and fridge. We hauled a picnic table  in and had  a comfortable camping facility. We had many fun summers.

     The other day someone was in the garage. A few days later they emailed me and asked if I might be interested in selling my  stove and fridge. What a deal! I thought I'd never sell those items. I thought I would have to take them to the waste disposal site. 

    My wife wanted to know what the guy wanted these things for. You guessed it. He wanted them for their antique value. He is planning to set up a place and wants to work these items in somehow as antiques.  

    I don't remember where we got the stove from but the fridge has a story behind it. We started looking for the propane appliances in 1980. At that time there were radio spots where some one could advertise items. Somebody said they had a propane fridge. We phoned and it sounded like something we might like. We went out to look at it and found that it did not have a freezer. The old fellow thought for a while and then said one of his old farm neighbors might have one. He phoned for us and yes they still had their propane fridge. 

    So away we go and found that the fridge was in an open shed and hadn't been used for a while so it was pretty dusty and dirty. The fridge had been purchased in 1948. The lady assured us that it would work and told us how to start it. She looked around the yard and found various draws and shelves.  Well, we wanted a used propane fridge and this might be the only one we could find so we bought it.

    My wife spent many hours cleaning up the fridge so that it was perfectly clean. This fridge served us extremely well.

    So now I know how Dad felt when his household effects sold for antique value. I don't know whether to laugh or cry or does that mean I have mixed emotions.