Those of you who attended and enjoyed Dr. Joseph Metz’s fascinating November 2006 program on the subject of knights in the 14^th century, may wish to know about his forthcoming participation in an event at Mac-O-Chee Castle.  On April 29^th, from 9 a.m. until noon, he will be participating in “A Day for Knights.”  There is an admission charge.  Watch your local paper for details. 

            George Carroll has donated a number of ribbons to the museum.  One is for the “Delay Republican Club of Urbana;” one says “1902 Jr. O.U.A.M.;” one says “W.A. Brand Post No. 98 Dept of Ohio G.A.R.;” one reads “IOOF Lodge 46, Urbana;” and another reads: “IOOF Grand Lodge Urbana 1928.  The last one, an elegant fringed ribbon, says simply “OHIO.” 

            Bob and June Kiser have donated two old metal nameplates.  The first one, a builder’s tablet for the Pennsylvania Railroad was attached at one time to the bridge over Mad River west of Urbana.  The second nameplate was for the Perpetual Federal Savings Bank in Urbana. 

Spoons and Such

An Update 

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             A number of items have surfaced since the last newsletter that may be of interest to readers of the Spoons and Such articles. 

            An 1810 account about a young couple in Madison County noted they “began married life with nothing except an old iron cooking pot, two broken knives, two broken forks, two old pewter spoons, plus one two-year-old heifer.” 

The forks shown in the illustration below are a great deal older than the cutlery in the previous paragraph.  They are remnants of four silver forks found when divers off the west coast of Scotland retrieved artifacts from the Spanish Armada ship, the Girona.  Although some are broken and badly bent, they are said to depict the styles typically used by Spanish noblemen during the 16^th century. 

Several spoons worthy of note also have come to light.  The first spoon shown below is a cloisonné bright red, white and blue “Uncle Sam” commemorative spoon.  The second spoon, a “Niagara Falls” spoon, is a sterling silver souvenir spoon that represents the American side of the falls with the cataract pouring down the stem of the spoon.  Spoon number three is a sterling silver tablespoon known as the “greyhound” and spoon number four is a sterling silver “apostle spoon.” 

The “Edwards’ Orange Spoon” advertisement was found in the June, 1891 The Delineator magazine.   

The unusual spoon in the next picture is an old medical spoon called a “forced dose spoon.”  It was used for administering medication to small children and/or the infirm.  Compressing the bulb forced air through a hollow tube in the handle of the spoon and the medicine gently was propelled into the mouth. 

          The tiny toy sword, classified as a knife, that is shown below was the prize in a Cracker Jack box in the 1930’s. It measures only 2½ inches long.

In the next picture, the lethal looking weapon on the left is a branched straight sword; the one on the right is a bird-headed knife.  Both are African in origin.

            The 10” straight razor has a carved wood handle and a tin blade.  It was given as a gift for a tenth wedding anniversary.  Tenth wedding anniversary celebrations were popular in the latter half of the 19^th century when amusing tin gifts such as the razor were presented to the honored couple.

            While the Jackknife clam in the picture below is not a knife per se, it does rank as a most intriguing shell and I couldn’t resist including it.