| Museum presents roadshow
Do you have a family treasure or unusual collectible that you would like more information on or to know the value of? If so, then mark Feb. 24 on your calendar. The Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives presents its sixth annual Antiques Roadshow at the Roberts Creek Elementary School gym from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the past five years, many local participants have supported this museum fundraiser and have been pleasantly surprised to discover valuable collectibles in their possession. Will yours be the next discovery? The appraisers, who generously donate their time and expertise, are Ted Pappas and his associates of West Coast Estate Appraisals and Auctions from Vancouver. Their areas of expertise include stamps and coins, silver and jewellery, works of art, rare books, Native art and artifacts, collectibles and china, Oriental artifacts, military items and much more.
The rest of the story on old radio collection
LONG BEACH - The story behind the old radios in Bill Skaggs' collection can be surprising and even mysterious, but they are always part of the package for this Long Beach collector who's willing to do whatever detective work is needed. The earliest in his collection is a French radio from 1907, one of only three known to exist and the other two are in museums in Europe. He acquired it almost by fluke, when he attended an auction in Kenner, La., advertised as offering "French antiques." "I just went to preview it," he says, and "I recognized the radio." This was in the mid '90s and he'd been collecting for about 10 years so had some experience under his belt. "I was prepared to pay $700-$800 for it. I paid $110. All the other radio collectors didn't come because they thought nothing but French Antiques would be there." Which is partly true, since the radio was from the estate of a family from France.
History in the pits
A lowly trash heap in McKeesport transformed Tim Tokosh into an obsessed urban archaeologist driven to collect rare, antique bottles brimming with 150 years of the region's history. Rain had carved ravines into the piles of dirt and trash, exposing hand-blown glass bottles of strange shapes, hues and brands that inspired Tokosh in 1987 to begin a quest for rare bottles that tell the histories of medicines, liquors, poisons and even famous products such as those made by H.J. Heinz Co. To grow his cache of bottles beyond those of armchair collectors, Tokosh, 40, turned to one of the only places to discover old bottles: long-buried outhouse pits -- or privy holes, as collectors call them. Tokosh, a contractor from Elizabeth Township, has pulled more than 100,000 antique bottles from the depths of 19th century outhouses -- often in the backyards of Pittsburgh homeowners who live in the city's oldest neighborhoods.
Treasures, clocks stand test of time
Co-owners Larry Davenport and his dad, Bill Davenport, have spent the past 30 years offering customers the chance to purchase antique furniture and clocks of all shapes, sizes and sounds. "Personally, I find the 1800s to be a fascinating century," the younger Davenport said. "This was the beginning of the industrial age, and a period where clocks and furniture were quality made." The 1800s are firmly entrenched at the store, which boasts a wooden cuckoo clock (1880), a wooden rocking chair (1850), a grand bookcase (1870), an American grandfather clock (1820) and a sterling silver snuff box (1868). Yet, of all the clocks and antiques that occupy the 4,000-square-foot store, there is one item that the elder Davenport enjoys showing the most. And that is an 1876 family Bible that is 11 inches wide by 12?3/4 inches deep, and is approximately 7 inches thick.
Santa Paula Airport thriving after devastating flood
Two years after floodwaters ravaged the Santa Paula Airport (KSZP), the local flying and non-flying communities are once again enjoying all that this quaint little airport has to offer. Ironically, the airport--long a haven for antique airplanes and those who restore and fly them--got its start because of a flood. Following the flood of 1928, several local pilot-ranchers purchased land along the Santa Clara River. The privately owned, public use airport was officially dedicated in 1930, and except for a few scares over the decades, river and airport had peacefully coexisted--until February 2005. According to Airport Association President, Rowena Mason, In the initial weeks after our runway washed out to sea, the future of the airport remained a huge question mark. But a lot of wonderful people came together and worked extremely hard to get our airport fully operational again.
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