Huntington Historical Society

Back in my younger days when I was starting in the antique business, I made a spectacular deal on a trailer load of Shoe "Last's".  The things were ancient and I only paid a nickel a piece for them.  I really thought the big money would come rolling in.  They were all hand-carved out of hardwood, and what I thought would be highly prized heirlooms from an earlier time.

Now a lot of people don't know what a Last is.  Many more have seen them, but mistakenly call them forms.  Basically a Last is a sample foot which cobblers used to use to make shoes, and they still do. Read the rest of this entry »

I was surfing this internet today, and stumbled across an announcement that a commemorative DVD of "The Fighting Sullivans" is scheduled to be released in June. Now, this is a great movie from the 1940's starring Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell and Ward Bond, among others.

This movie was made at a time when Hollywood notables were patriotic Americans who seldom hesitated to express support of their country. Times have certainly changed, a topic which I'll pass on until another day, for the betterment of my blood pressure. Needless to say, they had a bit of class back then. Read the rest of this entry »

I've never had much use for Astronomy. Most likely, it's because I've never taken the time to sort it all out. I've got a cousin who points out giraffe's and all kind of other exotic stuff in space, but damned if I can see them. I can find the Big Dipper, but the rest of it just doesn't look like anything to me.

It reminds me of my younger days, back in 1968, when I was forced to undergo extensive psychological testing at one of the major Universities. They kept showing me inkspots, insisting that they had to remind me of something. Well, they never did. They just looked like inkspots. Read the rest of this entry »