Adamstown: Good Bathrooms & Bad Eggs

Renninger's in Adamstown, PA was small enough that Erin and I were able to hit Shupp's Grove on the same day. I found great stuff at both markets, but the atmosphere at Shupp's Grove is much nicer: shady trees and better bathrooms. I purchased a few more things than I photographed for this post, but the total for everything in this post is $160.

Do you see that red metal box in the middle of the photo?  It is FILLED with vintage decals. The box was probably used as the store display - it has dividers for different sizes and prices of decals. I'll have to write a separate post to share the decals with you. These are a couple of my favorites:

A vintage globe to add to my collection, a stack of Country Club Sweet Cider labels (these were for gallon jugs of cider), two sets of card games/flashcards, a small medicine cabinet and an old Order Book:

The man who sold me this Order Book had tons of neat journals, ledgers, photos and other ephemera, but his prices were a little steep. I would have bought a lot more from him, but he wasn't willing to budge on his prices. I settled for this book, which is definitely worth the $25 I paid for it (despite the fact that it is falling apart).

This isn't an ordinary Order Book. It is the diary of a Lancaster County Mennonite farmer that spans from 1896 to 1926. It contains his labor accounts, where he lists his farm workers, their hours and how much they were paid (one dollar a day). He has a page that lists the subscriptions to farm journals, how much he paid and when they run out.  But the best pages start in 1907, when he began writing a short sentence for each day of the month. Most of the farm-related entries are about tobacco, so I think that was his family's major crop. But there are also references to growing cherry and peach trees, corn, strawberries, blackberries, watermelon, sweet potatoes, pigs and cattle.

The farmer was a member of the Herr family, who are some of the earliest settlers of Lancaster County (and, more importantly, make a mean potato chip). I've been reading the journal to see if I can figure out if the farm is part of the Herr Family Homestead. There are some mentions of the Hershey family, too.

On each page (which is a month's worth of entries), there are a few references to attending funerals. This page from December 1914 has twelve burials. You can see that someone marked off each burial. I thought that it may have been the flu epidemic, but that didn't happen until 1918. Maybe they all had some bad eggs.

Fast forward 50 years to these ten vintage activity books:

This one is filled with blank pages, but the cover is my favorite:

I bought another Redman picnic basket, created by the Redmon Company in Peru, Indiana. You can see my others Redman baskets here, here and here. The basket had a pie shelf inside, along with these bingo cards. The seller told me to keep the Bingo game because someone else was supposed to pick them up and never did. Sure thing, lady!

Here are a few of the 115 assorted metal stencils that I bought at Renninger's. Most are numbers, but there are a few letters, too. They have a tab on the bottom, so they can stand up on a shelf. Tre industrial chic, no?

This is my big purchase for the day - a wooden rack. It may have been used as a baker's rack. Or it could have held shoes or textiles in a factory. My mother-in-law, Mary, has one in her kitchen, and I always loved the way it looked. I totally copied off her. It is in my family room because I don't have room in my kitchen.

It is a little impractical because the shelves are made of widely-spaced dowels. Mary suggested getting glass cut to fit the shelves.  For now, it is holding a couple of quilts and a chenille bedspread.

The old cast iron casters are in great shape, but the wood could use some conditioning:

I thought about using the rack to store wine. But then I remembered that wine doesn't last long enough in my house to necessitate any type of storage.

How would you use the rack in your home?

Comments

[Vintage Whimsy]

Wow! I love all of your finds- especially the decals & the Cider Labels! I have that exact picnic basket too!

Thanks so much for mentioning the flea markets. I checked and I'm only 100 miles away so I'm definitely going to have to check those out very soon!

[Heidi]

Neat Redman basket--I've never seen one like that before in those colors. And the labels--SWOON! Can't wait to see more!

If I had that rack, I think I'd use it to store my vintage tablecloth collection and some other vintage linens.

[Amanda]

I really like the globe. I'm looking for one like that for my new built in shelves.
Good haul though, very nice things!

[Wendy]

Awesome finds as always. I absolutley love those cider labels! I would use that rack to hold my Pyrex, Fire King and other assorted vintage kitchen goodies. I have a lack of display space in my kitchen!

[joyce]

What a wonderful load of stuff you brought home!! I love those cider labels and stencils! we need bookshelves so badly at our house that I'd cut wood to fit the shelves and load it up with books.

[Angie Tieman]

Oooh, excellent finds! I'm green with jealousy!

[Sarah]

Since I am super short on quilt storage space right now, it would hold quilts.

Are you going to be selling the decals? I have been buying some lately, but there don't seem to be as many on fleabay as there used to be!

[Alicia]

Ooohh I love those stencils! How much did you get that lot for?

[laurie]

You certainly have great luck in your antique market shopping. I LOVE seeing what you find! My fav is the decals...can't believe you got a whole box!

[tammyCA]

Cool stuff...love that tablecloth & decals. I love globes, too but only have 2 big ones 'cuz "I got no room". :) Almost bought another at Goodwill, but it was $7 and that's more than I want to pay...hmmm, wonder if it will be half price color tag and still there?

[janet]

Oh, I'm jealous of your finds! Love the decals. I usually go to Shupps for the linen/button theme weekend (this weekend), but didn't make it this year. But every weekend is good so I'll definitely make the trip later this summer.

[brand-eye]

great stuff. i need to get out to renningers one of these weekends. have you ever been to williams grove? it is a bit far (about 2 hours away) but is in such an awesome location. i wrote about it a couple weeks ago, check it out. williams grove
by the way, i love your blog.

[brand-eye]

i tried to make a link, it didn't work, just cut and paste if you have time.
http://brand-eye.blogspot.com/2008/06/best-flea-market.html

[Lindsay]

i think id get some baskets or fabric boxes for the rack to store things in a more organized way (as opposed to just piling). maybe some magazine files with back issues of my favorite magazines, too.

[Barbara]

I'm pretty sure my heart stopped when I saw those decals. I couldn't focus on the rest of your post after them but it looks like you got some awesome stuff!

[Lisa B.]

That ledger is amazing!! What a wonderful bit of history!! I can't believe all the great stuff you found...I love the decals too! If I had room for the rack I'm sure I'd use it for some sort of display/storage.

[Shara]

I think I love you. Will you marry me? You buy the coolest junk EVER!!!

Love, love, love it ALL!

[Paper Dolls for Boys]

Those stencils, the labels and I can't even speak of the wooden shelves. $160? arrrrghhhhhhhhh

You have a great eye (mine are green with envy).

I have never thought about going to PA before but I am seriously considering a road trip, gas prices be damned.

[HeidiAnn]

Oh, I just love seeing pictures of everyone's fabulous finds. Thank you for sharing them with us. That antique Order Book is very special. And that Scrapbook (your favorite) is gorgeous!

[Karen]

I think the shelf would be perfect for wine. That is wine by the BARREL, which should prove perfect for you, Colleen. We all know about your penchant now, don't we? ;-)

[Lee W.]

love the stencils, flash cards and bingo cards! That shelf would fit in my work area in the basement to hold all of my vintage goodies!!

[Mary]

Love the gorgeous handwriting in that journal.

[Selena]

I've been pretty good at being drool free as I wander down the path of fantastic thrifty blogs but my current fast stops at your blog. You have found the most amazing items. It's been awhile since I have stumbled upon a good vintage yard sale. It's a bit boring of me to say, but I think using the rack for blankets is a stellar idea. Maybe hang some decorative bark cloth on the back side?

[Liane]

You crack me up and you definitely do not swear too much. The Mom/bathroom/boggle post, ahhh, one of the funniest things I've ever read. I'll be back!

[Jen]

WOW, what a lot of great stuff! Wish I had been on that adventure:)