Desperately Seeking

Sometimes you search high and low for something only to find the thing you're seeking is right under your nose!

If you follow my blog, you know I've been looking in antique stores for just the right old typewriter for a loooong time. I almost bought one in Joplin on Friday, but those things are too heavy to ship home. So I had to pass until a time when I'm traveling by car. I swear -- next year I'm driving! Yesterday, I mentioned my search to my mother, a former typing teacher, and poof -- one was revealed! It had been right under my nose all these years!

This one is the nicest one I've seen! Almost mint except it needs a new ribbon.

My mom's linen closet -- bottom shelf.

Here's the story. A great uncle was a business professor at OSU in Stillwater. He actually had his own little museum in his basement full of memorabilia from his life. He and my grandfather at one time had run a business college. When my great aunt and uncle died, my parents and aunt cleaned out their house since they had no children. And the old typewriter ended up on the bottom shelf in the linen closet. When I first looked at it, I thought it was the typewriter that sat on my grandmother's dining room table, but when I saw the Stillwater Typewriter Co. cover, I knew my mother was right about its origin.

Dibs!!! (I WILL be driving next year!)

More Snaps from the Whirlwind Roadtrip

I'm sitting here at the Independence Library writing this post under the supervision of the guard cat. She's very serious about her duties. When I started to take this photo, she swiped at my camera and yelled -- no pictures, no pictures! (But she obviously doesn't know who she's dealing with!) Geez, I just realized this cat looks like Tonces, my crazy convertible driving avatar!

My friend Judy and I had a lot of fun this past weekend on our whirlwind roadtrip around Southeast Kansas. Her sister Jill accompanied us on Day 1 to Joplin, but I think we truly wore her out! Saturday, we antiqued our way through Chetopa, Kansas (our arch rival in high school) and Coffeyville. I was shocked that Coffeyville really has a lot of stuff! We were too busy shopping to snap very many photos, but here are some odds and ends from Saturday's tour.

Jar of stink?

Old kitchen stuff.

Grandma had flour and sugar tins like these.

Cool All bucket!

Oh gosh. I think I accidentally consumed some Amish coconut cream pie that day!

Little soda fountain/lunch shop in Coffeyville, Kansas -- home of the Amish pies.

My alma mater, Oswego High School. My brother used to drop me off in front. He refused to actually stop the car, so I had to roll out of it as he glided by. Oh Brother!

One of the old historic buildings in downtown Oswego. I think they should turn the entire town into an antique destination so I don't have to do as much driving next year! Maybe I should bring a load with me and have a yard sale at Woodgate!

I wonder if this pool hall is exclusively for chicks, or if some guy nicknamed Chick in Coffeyville, Kansas owns it?

Extremely strange sculpture art garden in Coffeyville, Kansas. Makes the metal sculptures at Punta Sur on Isla look quite lovely!

Remember Mode O'Day?

Tiny house in Scammon, Kansas.

Big ole plate of spaghetti and meatballs consumed at Josie's in Scammon.

Grandma Bowman's house in Oswego, Kansas. It looks the same except for the recent model car and the two trees blocking my view of the front of the house.

Mural of early Oswego with the Osage Indian village and the trader John Matthew's house.

Oswego Library where I spent my formative grade school years reading all those teen love novels! I was so sad when I completely read through all those shelves and actually had to move on to biographies. I think the librarian, Mrs. Potter, led me over there with a rope around my neck. I remember her suggesting that I really should move on to better books.

My biggest regret is that we were unable to locate a sign in Hallowell, Kansas to photograph it. The sign, Tig Ole Bitties, used to stand at the now closed local strip bar. Dang! We think God fearing vigilantes may have torn it down. (Or maybe the wind blew it away?)

I'll be flying home later today after Judy and I do another antique tour here in the Tulsa area. Another fun chapter in the adventures we've had over the years. Hopefully, I'll be back next summer and we can do it all over again! : )

Detour!

In the process of trying to get from Tulsa to Oswego last Thursday morning, an antique store reached out and grabbed me. Detour! I just happened to notice an antique mall sign in downtown Vinita, Oklahoma and all bets were off on what time I would arrive in Oswego!

The scene that made me stop. Antique Mall!

I'm into these old tins. It all started with a Dillons coffee tin that I picked up when we cleaned out Craig's mother's apartment.

I have a similar piggy bank I named Henrietta as a child.

This front window pulled me in!


Must have been the original blender?

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

Something I hadn't noticed before. Mexican Majolica. It was pricey, but maybe I'll see it somewhere else without the high ticket! I'd love to have some.

Anyone remember Cootie?

This brings back memories of cold mornings in the Oswego pool!

Love this old Kansas flour bag.

Old lunchboxes with startling prices.

Old crocks and blueware.

Was the Coast Line the ghost line?

I was able to extricate myself after over an hour of browsing and making a few small purchases. That's what I love about roadtrips! You never know when an antique mall or flea market's going to reach out and grab you! Next year, I'm driving so I can haul back larger items! : )

Historic Riverside Park

I thought I'd share some glimpses of my hometown with you since I'm still hanging out in Kansas. As kids, we ran through the town park and never gave any thought to the history or the fact that a small town had such a valuable well-maintained asset. Now I marvel at the work that went into the construction of Riverside Park. The park's just a few blocks away from Woodgate Farm (my aunt's home) along a bluff overlooking the historic Neosho Crossing for "the old Indian Trail" between Missouri and the Osage buffalo hunting grounds in central Oklahoma. The crossing was above the present dam and falls pictured here.

I can't write a post on the town park and look over this bluff without remembering the small town tale that I was told as a child. My father always said that the name of the town, Oswego, was coined when a distraught Osage Indian stood on the river overlook and yelled os we go as he leapt to his death in the river below. I guess the Indian must have had a Norwegian accent?

The land for the park was purchased around 1885 by a group of Oswego women who raised the money to pay for it by conducting food sales and ice cream socials. Most of the stone structures in the park were built by the WPA during the Depression.

In addition to all the stone shelters in the park and bathhouse, there are also trails (in particular a lover's lane) in the ravines around the park. I decided not to brave the mosquitos and ticks to take any photos in that area!

This little fish pond had koi in it when we were kids. We called them big goldfish!

The pool bathhouse is one of the structures built by the WPA in the 1930's. There's a rooftop deck where we occasionally had dances back in the 1960's.


The pool is still beautifully maintained and basically looks the same as it did in the 1960's!

The pool concession stand. We used to hang out here as kids. I loved the frozen Zero and Snicker bars!

Can you find the fossil and boot in the fancy stonework?

This little stone building actually has a fireplace in it! I'd always thought it was just a storage/maintenance shed, but now I wonder if there was a caretaker in it at one time?

Someone really does a good job keeping flowers planted in the park!

More stonework designs! I'd love to know the name of the WPA stone mason.

Gorgeous planting beds.

These new banners were purchased with the money from my aunt's memorial fund. Birds and flowers -- her two favorites hobbies! I can't think of anything more appropriate to honor her life!

Breakfast at Tina's

Before our whirlwind antique road tour on Friday morning in Southeast Kansas, the girls (term used loosely!) decided to chow down on some breakfast. Not to be outdone by Catz, the famous blogger who travels with her personal posse of trolls, we decided to take Blueball the Pirate along for the ride.

Tina's is the place to eat breakfast in Oswego, Kansas. When we were kids, the restaurant was owned by Mitch and lunch at his counter was a welcome alternative to boring school lunches. A hamburger with mashed potatoes and gravy was my personal favorite. When Mitch died, a woman named Treva took over and continued the tradition. Now Tina owns the cafe and serves up great hometown food! So eating breakfast here was a walk down memory lane!



We tried to leave Blueball in the car for fear he'd embarrass us with his bad behavior, but he was having none of it! So warning -- this post is Arrr, Arrr, Arrr Rated! Blueball quickly perused the menu and demanded pancakes and a side of sausage pronto.

Blueball butted in on the chick party and declared himself Oswego's biggest fan! Once the food arrived, he immediately began to play with it, plundering bacon from an adjoining plate to make a smiley face. Blueball was out of control!

I warned him gorging on pancakes could lead to a carbohydrate crash soon afterwards, but he wouldn't listen.

Within minutes, Blueball the Pirate was down for the count. He soon recovered and signed up for the Boys Breakfast & BS Club's weekly meetings.

We gave our sincerest apologies to Tina for Blueball's behavior before we left. I snapped a photo from the spot at the bar where I remember eating my favorite lunches on the way out the door.

Blueball once again declared his status as the biggest Oswego Indian fan and strolled contently to the car. Notice the satisfied look on his face!


Next stop -- Joplin antique malls! Maybe we'll lock Blueball up in the car when we get there!