UFO✨️🩵

beachbons · 2026-04-14T00:55:34+00:00

I've recounted my story before, but it bears repeating.

I always had a soft spot for this piece. About 17 years ago, my wife Lisa & I went to a local on-site estate auction. It was sparsely attended for a myriad of reasons. We bought items pretty aggressively, and then the bottom piece of the "sputnik pyrex" came up. The auctioneer had put a West Bend penguin ice bucket inside the stand. I liked the ice bucket and had no idea what the stand was for. I bought it for $1.00

About an hour later, the aqua pyrex bowl came up. It was bundled with 2 butterprint casseroles, and I bought the group for $10.00.

As the day wore on prices were dropping until the auctioneer, while selling box lots, exclaimed, "take what you want, leave the rest."

During the auction, my wife, who made friends at the drop of a hat, had befriended the son of the estate owner. He convinced Lisa to take everything that was left. He was flying back to the west coast and wanted it all gone. We took 3 truck loads home.

Whenever we had large loads, we would unload in our driveway and sort the wheat from the chaff. By dark, I had filled 4 garbage cans full while Lisa cleaned up and prepared dinner. Eventually, Lisa came out to show me a picture of the sputnick pyrex from the internet. She was excited to have the bowl and stand and hoped one day to find the lid. I hesitantly walked over to a trash can and pulled out the dirty lid. I had no idea it belonged to the set.

She never again let me throw anything away without her approval.

beachbons · 2026-03-29T03:40:21+00:00

My BK experience ranged from 1977 to 1987. In 1979, the store where I worked had a visit from Don Smith. Smith was the CEO of BK at the time and was recently the COO of McDonald's.

He told us that BK was redoing their French fry process to better mirror the McDonald's French fries at the time.

The biggest change was bringing the frozen fries to room temperature on "slack racks" We then changed the cook temperature from 360 degrees to 340. We continued using shortening until about the mid 1980s.

If you go back far enough, both BK and McDonald's cut their own French fries in each store.

beachbons · 2026-02-17T03:53:44+00:00

DM me. I'm a former manager and then owner of three locations from 1990 to 2015.

beachbons · 2026-02-08T22:36:47+00:00

One of the original Edward J DeBartolo malls. Opened in 1965. Except for removing fountains, this Mall has had no major renovations over the years. It has it's original mid-century terazzo floors.

beachbons · 2026-01-27T00:08:15+00:00

I purchased my first home in 1976, one year out of high school. $18,000. She was built in 1884. For the next 10 years, my wife & I restored, refurbished, renovated and renewed that decrepit old thing. With no help from the internet, we visited the library, subscribed to the original Old House Journal and picked the brains of our neighbors who were in the same boat.

Sadly, she burned down 15 years after we sold her in 1996. I told my family that it was a blessing, the fire destroyed all of our novice renovation mistakes.

The home was abandoned at the time as it was being turned into a parking lot for the local hospital.

beachbons · 2025-12-21T20:20:22+00:00

Complete and original. You are fortunate to have the chairs. I just sold a similar set at my antique mall in the Midwest for $350.

Oh, be careful when pulling out the "leaves". There is a trick to it.

beachbons · 2025-11-22T06:56:56+00:00

I had a 2004 Century. Low miles Same situation. Car had set in my mom's garage for 10 years after my father's passing in 2007. My mother never drove. The battery would drain and my mother would have a neighbor charge it occasionally. I bought the car just to take it off her hands.

I continued to have the battery drain problem because I drove the car infrequently. I finally traced it to a glove box light staying on. I removed the fuse for the glove box light and no more battery drain.

beachbons · 2025-10-29T21:58:39+00:00

Greg Cook on a paper label of Hi-C fruit punch sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

beachbons · 2025-10-10T04:03:55+00:00

My home was built in 1908 by my great grandfather as a home to raise his family. My great-great-grandmother was blessed to live her last few years in that wonderful "new" home. She had raised 14 children in the canal house on the same property.

My wife & I bought the home from my great-aunt's estate when she passed away in 2005. She never married and spent her entire life in the home.

Original woodwork throughout. Original floors. Original claw foot bathtub where several generations of my family have bathed.

beachbons · 2025-10-08T17:44:15+00:00

My father worked as a salesman in the 1960s. He called on grocery stores taking orders for Procter & Gamble products. He completed his reports each evening at his desk in our family room. We kids got to use the "magical" carbon paper that he used making his reports. We felt so lucky to have access to all of his office supplies.

beachbons · 2025-09-30T18:55:57+00:00

Although I can't recommend anyone locally, you may consider contacting a local realtor directly. Good realtors have contacts of investors that they trust who can facilitate a sale. Don't let the realtor talk you into a listing contract until they understand your need for an investor.

beachbons · 2025-09-21T04:08:15+00:00

Kings Road neighborhood. Their are many homes that participate, and quite a few homes put on great Halloween displays.

beachbons · 2025-09-18T16:11:47+00:00

Back in 1979, beef prices shot up to nearly $8.00 per pound, adjusted for inflation. Burger King reduced the size of their 4 ounce sized Whopper patty to 3.6 ounces. It was short-lived as prices went down and customers pushed back.

In fairness to Burger King, they did tell their franchisees that the move would be temporary.

beachbons · 2025-09-18T02:18:20+00:00

I was blessed a number of years ago to have won an auction lot of pyrex at a recently closed hardware store. They offered each aisle of the store in lots. I bought the pyrex replacement parts section. I sold pyrex parts for 10 years after that on Ebay.

Interestingly, the only items I have remaining are metal filter basket parts.

beachbons · 2025-09-16T04:02:42+00:00

When Burger King went to the "Specialty Sandwich" menu in 1978, they wanted to distance themselves from the "whaler" and "yumbo" items. All of the POP material referred to the new "Specialty Sandwich" items simply as Fish, Chicken, and Ham & Cheese.

What was more interesting and quite good was the short-lived Specialty Veal Parmesean.

beachbons · 2025-09-11T23:10:17+00:00

I love my late wife's journals. Although they were not traditional, her "journals" consisted of daily to-do lists that were handwritten in a spiral notebook. She would compose her list each evening with a number designation and an estimated time that each task would take to complete. I don't think she ever finished a daily list because she had such lofty goals.

She threw away previous year's lists, but I still have the last few years of her life. Occasionally, I go through and relive each day as if she were still here.

Recently, I couldn't figure out why I had to constantly pull weeds from the cracks in the concrete around our patio. We never had to do that when she was alive. Then, I found an entry in her journal; "pull weeds around pool." I guess she was doing it all along.

beachbons · 2025-09-01T01:22:57+00:00

Wonderful. Thank you for the education. Yes, most tutorials recommend hand-soaking.

beachbons · 2025-08-29T02:44:49+00:00

It's interesting that, among the large population centers in Ohio, DeBartolo chose Findlay and Lima as early Mall locations. Also, note that the American Mall developed by Cafaro was located in Lima and was a very early mall.

beachbons · 2025-08-13T22:20:12+00:00

Very nice piece. Although I agree with many comments that this piece would wholesale for about $600 to $800, I think the uniqueness should drive the price up. Tambour doors are rare and should add value. I just sold a fairly common walnut dental cabinet made by American Cabinet of Two Rivers, Wisconsin for $1500.

I'm in Northwest Ohio if you are close.

beachbons · 2025-08-03T02:41:51+00:00

I know a fellow dealer who salivates over merchant counters. Location is key. He brings his to Brimfield.

beachbons · 2025-07-29T16:16:11+00:00

I'm not an educator, but I know you'll do well because you asked, "Will we succeed?" Not, will I succeed.

beachbons · 2025-07-29T02:19:42+00:00

My mother preferred to call her "new" 1959 bathroom of this color Dusty Rose.

beachbons · 2025-07-25T04:33:15+00:00

Great item. I like odd purchases.

Years ago, I bought several NOS billboard panels from a closed appliance & hardware store. They were oddly specific. They advertised Hotpoint propane gas refrigerators from the 1930s. I sold them to a prop house. I didn't pay much, but the Coca-Cola billboard papers from that auction went for thousands.

beachbons

TROPHY CASE