Well, my brother Troy has always been a picker. He's been fascinated with old stuff since he was old enough to dig it up out of the yard. A favorite summer pastime of ours was digging in our garden after a rainstorm had washed up some fresh treasures. A chicken house once stood over the garden and we found all kinds of cool things, like rusty nails, hinges, glass, a few marbles, even some old toys.
As an adult, Troy has taken his pickin' to new heights. He's a bulldozer operator and his job is often to tear down abandoned houses, outbuildings and barns. Talk about a dream-come-true for a born picker! He's brought Mom some cool antiques over the years -- spend a day at the farm and she'll show you some of his finds.
Troy's Pick of the Summer
A couple weeks ago, Troy called me and was excited about his latest discoveries. He was about to bulldoze a house near Adel, Iowa. The owner died a year or two ago. He and his children apparently didn't get along well and nearly all his possessions were still in the home, scheduled to be bulldozed with the building.
Troy hated to see cool old junk be destroyed so he asked the man's children if he could have some of it. They said to take anything he wanted. He texted me a photo of himself wearing a red leather jacket, which can only be described as a Michael Jackson jacket. He said the label said: Playboy. I knew then that it was going to be a good haul for Troy.
Picker Troy Calls Ebay King Shawn
Troy proposed a deal with my husband Shawn -- the Ebay king. Whatever Shawn could sell on Ebay, Troy would split the profits with him 50/50. Well Shawn is as much a picker and lover of junk as Troy, so you can bet he was willing to help research and potentially sell it.
This past weekend at the farm, Troy brought over some of his picks:
Shawn checking out a 1940s- or 1950s-era View-Master
It came with a plastic container with dozens of viewing disks.
(This is the coolest thing! A player punches out one of 50 individual holes that holds a piece of paper with a stunt on it that the others have to guess. If he fails he is "Dippy" and must entertain the party as requested.)
This charade instructed the player to: Imitate a hair dresser. My sister-in-law Keri punched one out that said: Imitate a policeman. You can carefully roll the paper up and replace it in the hole.
This were cool, too. "Souvenir Views" -- 20-cent postcard books that you could buy at famous attractions and send to your friends or family.
1930s Homes of Movie Stars postcard book
Picturesque photos of movie stars like Shirley Temple, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, Bing Crosby, Loretta Young, Robert Taylor, Will Rogers, Clark Gable, etc.
Motorist or Aviator Goggles
Troy, the American Picker, with his sisters at his wedding in 2009
Shawn hasn't researched the items yet. They might not be worth a thing. But we think they're pretty cool and have had fun looking at the old View-Master slides and postcards. I'll keep you posted on any updates. In the meantime, happy picking!
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