Seen Juan? You haven't seen 'em all!

Written by Greg Van Antwerp.

It's easy to ignore all the signs posted on the side of the road. Tag Sale, here; Estate Sale, there. They tend to blend into the overgrowth of leaves and creeping vines during warmer days. Running errands, delivering family members to their destinations - which sign is worth your limited time?

Don't say, "None." I know I can't, but such was my dilemma last weekend. Between nursing a mower with a bad cough and a daughter hoping to touch all four bases in 2 games, I had limited opportunity to reach my goal for a discovery from the past.

For some reason after looking through the classified listings and my on-line sources, I chose a sale location that was as far as I could manage without being late for the game. An estate sale in Redding would have to be the "dig" I was looking for. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have another chance.

Fortunately, and ironically, it turned out to be just what I was looking for. The family running the sale turned out to be Brookfield neighbors (Just a mile down the road) who were emptying a relative's home for a future sale. While I didn't find the type of dig I had hoped for, I did search successfully through this immaculate early-mid century home.

It was in the basement where I found the pictured items. While it may seem small, it was the result of the opportunity to hunt through a large old workbench. Workbenches are great for treasure-hunting because they hide clues from the past. In this case, the razor blade box with Don Juan emblazoned and confident, ready to slice any whisker also held another surprise, 2 more blades advertising Dodge automobiles.

Never opened, these blade must have been sitting in that workbench for nearly 70 years! Some quick research revealed a large sub-culture of collectors who not only cherish these blades, but match them with period razors and look for a quality shave that is not available with modern equipment.

Overall, a great find, but not the only one. See if you can guess what this mysterious gadget is that I found hanging from the pegboard.

Greg Van Antwerp is a Brookfield resident and blogger, who can be found on the weekends in search of a good “dig” or a good story. You can read more about his adventures by visiting his blog.