By Staff
Yard sales according to my husband are places to spend money on useless stuff. Not true!
Yard sales have become a way of life in these economic times. Yes, sometimes you can find a real treasure for very little money but usually you find items that are just plain useful around your house. I have known people who even Christmas shop at yard sales.
But yard sales are also social events. Many neighbors come over to see if your stuff is good enough to fit into their house, or just to see what kind of stuff you have for sale. It is also a good time to get out of the house and talk to people. Sitting at the edge of your garage or under a shade tree and watching people come and go can be a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and if you make a little spending money all the better or if you find a real treasure, great!
Recently at the US 12 yard sale in front of the Museum, it was a chance to talk to people from other areas as many out of towners came by.
The Museum always collects some very interesting items and we never know what the boxes hold that are contributed. It is just as much fun to unpack and set out the items, it's like Christmas morning for adults who want to be kids again.
As the boxes were unpacked, items (and thank you everyone for your contributions) were checked to see if anything should be in the Museum. An eye was kept on the items and if they didn't sell some ended up in the museum collection.
This year three items have been placed in the Museum collection. The first was a Navy pea coat. It will be placed on the balcony with the military uniform collection.
We assume it came from an Edwardsburg resident. No name in the coat.
The second was a very old book and the third was a Pog case with Pogs. Now this one caused many a raised eyebrow from the Museum group. What in the world is a Pog?
Like many of the toys from the 90s, which doesn't seem all that long ago to be in a museum, they have disappeared from the toy shelves. Pogs have gone to the same place as the Furbys, the obnoxious little stuffed animal that talked, the Pokemon, the Tomagotchi, Power Rangers, Polly Pockets, and the Z Bots.
In 1920, Pogs originated in Hawaii on the island of Maui. Dairy workers played the game with milk caps during work breaks. Seventy years later a school teacher introduced the game to children and it caught on.
Pogs, named for a popular Hawaiian drink from Passion fruit, oranges and Guava juices is played with disc objects which have a face side with pictures.
The Pog is a round cardboard cap with a staple in the center to hold the tab firm. They caused a "Milkcap Mania" on the mainland of the United States.
How do you play with them, you ask? Each player takes an equal number of Pogs and stacks them upright face down and one players uses a slammer which is thrown down on top of the stack and any cap that lands right side up is yours to keep. The slammer by the way, is a thicker version of the milkcap and is usefully made of a hard material, plastic or metal. After everyone has had a turn the one with the most Pogs is the winner.
Pogs were collected and exchanged very quickly and were very inexpensive. They were printed with cartoon characters, advertisements, and most anything. Even plastic cases were made for them that looked like money rolls. Children traded them back and forth and many schools banned the game of Pog because they thought the game was connected with gambling and the throwing of the slammer could be too dangerous.
Since this has become an extinct game, the yard sale Pogs will be placed in the toy collection of the Museum. If you would really like to own your own Pogs, they are available on ebay.
One man's trash is another man's (or woman's) treasure. Remember what I said last week. Don't throw Granny in the trash!
She is a third generation Edwardsburg resident.