Weber Bitterroot Mandolin
Angels’ share: The amount of alcohol which evaporates from the casks during maturation.
My thoughts came back to this phrase over and over. Angel’s share. An Angel’s share of music coming from my chosen mandolin. An Angel’s share which would go unnoticed but for the resonant room lined with dozens and dozens of high-end mandolins, guitars, banjos.
Continuing our series on the American-made instrument inventory of Acoustic Vibes Music, this week we turn our ears to WEBER FINE INSTRUMENTS of Bend, Oregon. Fortunate was I to want a truss rod adjustment on my Guild D-4 a few months back. Bernie welcomed me into the cool interior of Jeff Looker’s shop. Eventually I discover the mandolin room.
Most stores would call one or maybe two mandolins in the $800 range a high-end inventory. Jeff has a few like this; that is just the start. I had a unique opportunity to play mandolins of increasing quality (and cost) undisturbed. A dozen visits over a year sharpened my appreciation of the better instruments.
Eventually I came back to one mandolin only, a mid-priced offering (list price $3600) that fit like your favorite jeans. A spritely tone, almost etherial sometimes. Giving me happiness to play, the mandolin had energy left over to play with the instruments around me. In time, dozens of instruments were gently resonating along with the mandolin’s song. When I stop, they continue for a time. It is, I think, what heaven sounds like.
When I’m ready for an heirloom-quality instrument, increasingly it looks like I will choose the Weber F-Style Bitterroot mandolin. For looks, sound, playability, resale value, workmanship, materials, you name it. An average musician, which I am, will play better, sound better, and feel better. Well worth the investment. What cost a smile for life?
Barbasol
Unconsciously I became brand-loyal. Reaching for the same spice or salt, shoes and tires, buying habits formed decades ago influence every day. Particularly loyal to my shaving cream, I’ve found anything else, at twice the price, does not compare with Barbasol.
Who has not heard of Barbasol ? In the 1930s, after the Raytheon Tube put a radio in everyman’s home, America would be familiar with Singin’ Sam the Barbasol Man. “Barbasol, Barbasol … No brush, no lather, no rub-in … Wet your razor, then begin.” Actors, sports figures, even NASCAR has advertised for Barbasol.
Shaving is not rocket science. Lather up, scrape face, rinse, done. But in 1919, the process was forever changed by MIT Professor Frank Shields. In Indianapolis, Indiana, Frank started a company to sell the cream he invented. A scientist who understood the big picture, because I still buy only Barbasol. For the price? Sure. Mostly for the quality, though.
Raytheon • Mission: Innovation
From humble beginnings in 1922, The American Appliance Company, in Cambridge, experimented with artificial coolants. Founded by Laurence K. Marshall, Vannevar Bush, and Charles G. Smith, they hope to produce a home refrigerator. It never made it out of the lab. Two years later, though, BINGO!
Marshall, Bush, and Smith develop a new kind of vacuum tube that allows radios to be plugged into wall sockets. The brand name? Raytheon Radios become affordable to the average American! Yea!!!
Year after year, research and development leads to new inventions and processes that touch the lives of every American. Microwaves, communication, defense. This week, American Toolbox salutes a company which does so much to protect the lives of Americans around the world.
Bourgeois Guitars ◊ Lewiston, Maine
Jeff Looker had turned his retirement plan into a destination instrument shop. Hundreds of high-end acoustic guitars. Santa Cruz! Collings! Half a dozen Martin Custom Shop 000’s. A chance visit with this rare grouping kept me repeatedly occupied.
Humbly I ask Dana Bourgeois to forgive my inattention to his guitars. Not until the seventh or eighth visit did I try a Bourgeois. A simple mahogany OM short scale with Sitka spruce top. The package of options Bourgeois calls their Country Boy*. I was holding a Bourgeois Country Boy OM Short Scale.
Wow! Where have you been my whole life, darlin’?
Giddy with anticipation, the OM begins playing as soon as my hand rests upon the fingerboard. My reaction, with no hyperbole nor financial compensation: This is the finest mahogany guitar I have ever played!
“That isn’t me. What kind of trick is this?” Looking down, I’m astonished to see the guitar nearly playing itself, my fingers immediately at home on this newly met field of frets. I lean back, enjoy the music, and listen to a perfect guitar.
Country Boy sports a complete sound. Absolute balance across the spectrum. Not cocky, but confident. The tone mature, captivating. Clearly not a production-line product but a construction lovingly born of faith and imagination.
More description? OK, try this: Punchy midsection. Perfect intonation. Powerful resonance. No mud, conspicuously lacking in the usual trouble area, midrange chords up the neck. The guitar is full & open. Again, it makes me play far better than usual. My fingers move across fretboard as thought listening to someone else.
Even light groups of notes up the neck on the lower strings resonate perfectly with nary a misplaced overtone. Country Boy has soul, a perfect transcendental musical experience.
After two visits with Country Boy, I am a believer. Jeff also stocks the Adirondack top Country Boy OM, but the Sitka is the one which talks to me with gracious warmth, forever my friend.
* When Ricky Skaggs suggested the name “Country Boy” for our mahogany dreadnought, we all fell on the floor. We still wonder where he got such a great idea for a name! Admittedly, depending on which Body Style is used with this traditional combination of spruce and mahogany, you can get pretty far removed from anything remotely “country” in look and sound. Over the years we have considered changing the name but we can’t, it was a gift! – bourgeoisguitars.net
Coca-Cola ecotainer® with Ingeo™
Sticky drink subjects are left to others. Usually. We did cover Monin syrup last summer in conjunction with Italian sodas. But an interesting thing can happen in this content and media driven environment we call life. I can become bored. Bored enough to read the advertising on my Coke cup at the airport, stranded temporarily between flights.
Rather exciting it was to discover the words “MADE IN U.S.A.” on the cup bottom. Reading further, I find that International Paper has developed a compostable paper cup with a plant-based lining, instead of the petroleum-based (plastic) linings one has traditionally found on paper cups.
And Coke wants McDonald’s to serve Coke products in this compostable paper cup with a plant-based lining, made from paper from responsibly managed forests (SFI®).
FAR OUT! – john denver
1] Tastes great 2] Refreshing 3] Certified BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) cup 4] Meets ASTM D6400 for compostability! 5] SFI Sustainable Forestry Initiative paper!
Bedell Guitars ◊ Bend, Oregon
AFTER HEARING ABOUT BEDELL guitars for a few years, occasionally hearing the guitar itself, always played proudly by it’s lucky owner, I finally got myself into one of the rare handful of dealers scattered across several continents. A little stonework brought me within a mile of “Arizona’s Premier Acoustic Music Shop”. Of course we speak of Acoustic Vibes Music.
Favoring a smaller guitar, perhaps a 000 with attractive wood, my eye and hand choose the Bedell Coffee House Parlor- Natural top. PLENTY of volume from this artistic meld of wood and metal. PERFECT fretboard under my fingers. Better balance than I would have guessed, perhaps the result of a 12-fret neck? The sound was deep and full. As melodies flowed from the lower strings, clear frequency response and rich sustain greeted me with every note. Higher tones punched through with life and vigor. With a Bedell like this, I’d be ready for quiet couch time, outdoor picking with the bluegrass circle, or the stage!
Adirondack Spruce with East Indian Rosewood. Ebony fretboard. Koa binding. Everything I want in an artisan-built guitar. Recently added to my short list.
Gerber Pocket Knives
A COMPLETE STRANGER one day saw my need of a decent pocket knife. Camping near Fort Pickens along Pensacola Bay, I was making a hideous mess of my tent guide line. A storm approaching, wind rising, rain pelting. There I knelt, making pitiful slashing gestures with the camping equivalent of a butter knife.
In short, a used but serviceable -and razor sharp- knife was lent, lines repaired, the loaner returned. Almost. “Keep it” greeted me the next day, along with the sun, a humid funk rising from the damp ground.
Never absent a pocket knife for a single day after that, its utility proven time after time. One can cut, pry, poke, slice, shave, nick, flatten, abrade, any number of additional operations with a good knife. Operations! Missed that one. Yes, an emergency tracheotomy is not beyond a sharp pointed knife and improvised breathing tube. If you want an appendectomy on a desert island, better hope someone -like me- has a good knife in their pocket.
When my knife broke, I bought an identical model -staggered at the sum- but happy again to be so equipped. Chance conversation illuminated me on Gerber’s warranty. Forever. I sent it in, and they repaired the original. Now I have two. A spare, in case one is at the cutlery professional, having it’s edge honed.
Amtrol Pressuriser Water Booster Pumps
THAT TIME OF YEAR has again arrived. Improvements to the nest don’t stop with Ronnie Residential. Business owners as well dust off hopes and dreams of grand renovations. This spring’s challenges led to a recent meeting with a six-story parking garage owner.
In an area of Philadelphia cursed with vintage water distribution, this owner can not reliably receive water above the third level. Remembering the mantra “height is limited by elevation of a reservoir” recently recited within Little Chap‘s write-up, we suggest a product which, many times in the past, has made us appear wise beyond our years.
Of course, we recommend a booster pump. For over two decades, I’ve trusted Amtrol water pressure booster products. Every Amtrol Pressuriser is USA-made in their ISO 9001:2008 registered facilities. That’s the first thing that drew me in. Second, Amtrol is easy to get on the phone, and know their stuff. Third? Simple. The product boosts the pressure and works for a long time with almost no maintenance. Some are still running, some have been replaced with an upgraded model -very sharp engineering, Amtrol!
If your shower is skimpy, if your roof deck hose pressure is pathetic, consider an upgrade. Buy once, cry once. A couple thousand bucks or so, and you’ll forget the expense after once or two invigorating showers!
From The Garden • michelle bross
Visiting one of my favorite buildings was a treat made extra special by an exhibit of mosaics. Juried and selected by The Mosaic Society of Philadelphia, their show made the library’s hallway entrance a long, considered walk, stopping for each piece. While every work is a winner, selected for this week’s ATB Art Exposé is From The Garden, by MichelleMosaics.
A collector among collectors, Michelle repeats a mantra I’ve heard among the best of the best – if something looks interesting, keep it. A use will find it’s way to you in time. “I love working with many different materials that have caught my interest, many collected long before I began mosaicing. I may have an idea 
about incorporating a piece immediately, or it may take months for its use to be apparent.”
From The Garden is included in the exhibit, “Fragments, Shards and Pieces: Images in Mosaic” at Bryn Mawr’s Ludington Library in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
photos link to larger images
images taken from michelle’s website & facebook
Boyce Thompson Arboretum ◊ Arizona
A LAST MINUTE INVITE is all the coaxing I need to escape winter’s icy lock upon the East Coast. Within hours, I’m jetting to the land of ripe grapefruit right off the backyard 
tree. America’s favorite Mexican food in abundance! Flora and fauna, combined with excellent “winter” weather, to make this trip perfect.
Many readers followed our trek via The Other Blog while visiting Casa Denogean in Superior, AZ. We had visited Boyce Thompson but, alas, forgot a camera. A trip takes planning, and this time, we had everything! Camera, water, fruit, and time. And the right time of year it was!
Mt Lemon Marigold blooms scent the air. Cleveland sage, jasmine & eucalyptus combine into a heady thrust. My favorite, the creosote bush. Something for everyone! We’ll let the images do the talking . . .
LITTLE CHAP • j. sergovic
Remember Pat Graham? Brickbat Book’s Benches? Showing Pat, decades ago, a small sculpture made from bits of castoff brass culled from discarded plumbing fixtures, he immediately named the piece Little Chap. Pat went further to suggest a whole series of Little Chap figures, made progressively larger. A project still in developmental stage.
The discarded plumbing fixtures were not sinks and toilets from the alley. These 19th century parts came from The Newport in Philadelphia. When indoor plumbing was a new thing, pieces that made up plumbing fixtures were designed to last generations. Sand-cast brass components, finished by a skilled hand. Engineering to allow decades of function with no maintenance.
The Newport was once the tallest building in Philadelphia. At five stories, the most luxurious residence available with indoor plumbing. Five story buildings remain common in older neighborhoods. Water will not flow higher without pumps. Height is limited by elevation of a reservoir. After pumps became widespread, The Newport went to nine stories. A century later, I was replacing someone’s tub drain.
Maintenance plumbing in older buildings gave me an appreciation for quality components of 
the late 1800s. Parts too nice to scrap were collected, shared, and occasionally refashioned into something new. Little Chap was assembled and shaped in a c.1905 garret apartment, on a door serving as a workbench. Year later a mold was made, wax copy produced, and Little Chap was cast in sterling silver. – jim s.
Danner
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. Or does it? How long is forever? For me, it might be a few decades, it might not. Still, I usually buy sturdy multi-generational items.
To celebrate a milestone event my brother wanted to give me something special. He tossed out a few suggestions. Everything seemed “here today, gone tomorrow”. I had been eying a pair of American-made hiking boots. Perfect for the asphalt jungle; better for the Appalachian Trail.
Selected among the best boot available to the committed hiker. Born from the ideals of Charles Danner in the shock of the Depression, a commitment to superior craftsmanship that lives to this day. How sturdy are they? Friends gloat over their Danners, decades old, reminiscing over their trials and trails together. “Buy once, cry once”, they chant. Boots are available for half the price, but you get what you pay for.
The trouble with really comfortable shoes and boots is that they fall apart by the time they become your favorites. Several years ago I turned to recraftable loafers by Alden. When the shoe becomes worn, back to the factory they go, where they take it apart. Alden replaces worn components, puts it together, and ship it back, feeling “like your old shoes” but looking almost new.
Danner does the same thing. Just look for the word “recraftable”. This means you are buying a product designed to be repaired, not discarded. In a business climate of planned obsolescence, you’re seeing a product the manufacturer wants you to keep forever.
wayne henderson ◊ luthier
DRIVING HOME FROM A WINTER visit in Tempe Arizona takes me tantalizingly close to a famed luthier’s workshop. A few phone calls later, favors cashed, promises promised, I’m invited. The Holy Grail of both amateur and professional luthiers across the globe, an unscripted view of life in the shop of one of America’s greatest guitar builders.
When I drop in, Wayne is staining the neck of his latest acoustic, a little later, the body. This particular customer had plenty of time to find beautiful walnut sides and back Wayne would eventually build into a guitar. Typical wait time is ten years.
The visit was memorable. Organized clutter. Not a tape measure to be seen (I was assured they were occasionally consulted). A 23/1000″ saw blade just for cutting fingerboard fret slots. Many tools and jigs have one purpose only. Except the pocket knife. Wayne is a hand’s-on builder, and that blade is used for just about anything. Poking, prying, cutting, slicing, whittling, trimming.
You never know who will stop into the shop. This afternoon brought EmiSunshine, fresh off the Grand Ole Opry stage. She had us aflutter with her skills, the pictured ukulele built by Jayne Henderson. Jayne could not have a better teacher.
Wayne has had an interesting career. Retired after thirty-two years with USPS. Plus the year of accumulated sick time. An easy postal route that left him with plenty of time to build guitars, which he has been building his whole life. After the first one was sold at about 16 years of age, he’s had a continuous backlog. Don’t even ask how long. Methuselah himself is pressing his luck.
He covered all the bases, sticking with USPS and a performance career even though he could easily have gone over to full time guitar building years ago. And he covers all the bases in every guitar he builds, known for their volume, tone, and resonance. A strong, balanced sound is nothing you can fake.
What is Wayne holding up? He admires a sandstone sample I brought back from Anasazi Stone, comparing it’s layers to the pictured walnut end piece on the guitar he just built. Ahh, nature repeating itself.
Mariposa Slate • California
A YOUNG MAN WENT WEST. He found the work scene different from back east. Not so many taverns and restaurants, his typical clients. But Mariam was opening Savoury’s, on Main Street in Mariposa, California. Mariam wanted something different for her hostess station. Her ears perked right up at the mention of custom stone work. And she knew a local secret.
Mariposa Flagstone Co/Yosemite Slate Quarry. They had the goods. And just the right piece, a monster leaning against a tree, waiting for the right pockets to come along and buy it. The rest is history. Dragged it home in the Ford, made a template, dry-cut the stone with a diamond wheel on a Craftsman grinder, and dressed the edging.
Savory’s moved down the block a few years later. The stone was repurposed, as has happened since time immemorial.
jayne henderson • luthier
A young child sat beneath the work bench. She heard her dad humming, heard the scrape of a rasp across wood freshly released from clamps. Smells of maple and walnut and rosewood and glue. Shavings danced in the air, shimmering through beams of sun, dropping into her hideout like snow into a tree fort. When people hear Wayne’s daughter is now a successful luthier, they might picture it all started like this . . .
. . . it is not what happened. The real story? More “21st century” involving exorbitant college debt, an environmental law degree, a way out of debt learning a skill her father could teach her. In time, learning something about herself. She liked working with wood, creating the instrument. Hearing it sing at completion, having people find her efforts had value. Enough value to pay college bills. Enough for everything . . .
Watching Jayne work, it’s quickly apparent there is no “shadow” across her. She’s working side by side with her dad, famous luthier Wayne Henderson. If Jayne gets stuck, or has a question, sure is nice to have dad there to consult! And maybe someone to point out the hard way will make a better instrument?
Jayne specializes in exactly what I want, a smaller guitar (with a short scale, please). She uses premium materials. Her teacher, the finest in America. The shop, perfectly situated for consult with peers or to borrow a tool. The wait time, two years, manageable – everybody gets in line. Just like her dad, she makes every single component of the instrument herself, except the strings and tuners (are they next?).
“It sounds like a Henderson” – Doc Watson, December 14 2011
Yep, I could visit Acoustic Vibe and walk out with a Custom Shop Martin 000 or a beautiful Collings OM3 Short Scale. Would the sound or the price or the guitar be any different? I’d have a high-end guitar like a lot of other people. Or I could order an EJ Henderson and have something special. Love and patience and jokes and banter and memories; years of combined knowledge and skills, all rolled up in an inanimate object that . . . lives. Hey, if I can’t take delivery, after waiting two years, there is no pressure to buy. There’s a line. The next person will be offered the instrument. Am I trying to talk myself into placing an order?
Jayne Henderson links —> Facebook Blog Retail
EmiSunshine plays Jayne’s personal ukulele . . .
Note from AmericanToolbox: We began reading Jayne’s blog, The Luthier’s Apprentice, after her ATB entry was written and edited down to what you see here. We recommend her blog, which reads more like a history/diary. Start with the oldest. Read a few entries every night.
Anasazi Stone Co • Scottsdale AZ
ARIZONA! THE LAND OF milk and honey! Grapefruit big as bowling balls right off the backyard tree in mid-winter! The perfect time to visit friends & in-laws. Doing a few jobs will make one more even more welcome. And get you an invite back!
My friends, on a recent visit, told of a desire for a paved path to the back gate. Sure, paver “stepping stones” are easy. The home centers have shelves full of cast concrete fake stones. But if I was to be involved, the job had to have a certain artistic flair. Only real stone would work.
A few phone calls later landed me the address of the premier Arizona supplier of pavers. They own their own quarries and snap the stone on a secret proprietary press of which pictures are forbidden! I ordered a dozen pieces 16″ x 24″ x 2″. We chose buff/buckskin for the color. A few days later, Anasazi dropped a pallet in my GMC Sierra.
This was a fun job. Thirsty work, sure. Two grapefruit per hour, I figure. The stones weighed about 70 pounds (32 kg) each. Raked the gravel down to desert floor, spaced the stones, leveled them around roots, avoided irrigation lines. Put the gravel back. Jiggled and jostled them a bit more the next day, trying to achieve a natural feng shui to the project.
Anasazi Stone Company. Highly recommended!
Flagstone is a sedimentary rock that is split into layers along bedding planes. Flagstone is usually a form of a sandstone composed of feldspar and quartz and is arenaceous in grain size (0.16mm – 2mm in diameter). The material that binds flagstone is usually composed of silica, calcite, or iron oxide. The rock color usually comes from these cementing materials. Typical flagstone colors are red, blue, and buff, though exotic colors exist.
Flagstone is quarried in places with bedded sedimentary rocks with fissile bedding planes. Examples include Arizona flagstone and Pennsylvania Bluestone. – Anasazi Stone
Acoustic Vibes • Tempe AZ
ANY TEENAGER WHO PLAYED an instrument probably hung out for hours in the local music stores. Staring at a limited selection, they’d imagine how cool it would be to own such a store. The business side is usually far from childhood fantasy. Music stores are risky endeavors but there are occasional success stories.
A perfect example? Jeff Looker, architect. Pondering transitional career options to pad out retirement, he bought a half dozen guitars direct from Santa Cruz Guitar Company, becoming their sole Phoenix distributor. Into his orbit came other brands, notably C. F. Martin & Company. Business acumen developed running an upscale architectural firm definitely had a place operating a top-tier acoustic instrument shop. Acoustic Vibes Music arguably has the finest and largest selection of high-grade acoustic instruments in the country.
Looking for a Martin 000 14-fret acoustic guitar? Local shops don’t carry this model. On my last visit Jeff had two stock copies and four from the famed Martin Custom Shop. Four custom Martin 000 guitars with 
list prices pushing $7,000! Jeff picks the options he would like to see, and nine months later, voilá! One-of-a-kind guitars are delivered to his store!
On my last visit there were 450 guitars in stock, 80% in this upper range or higher. When you want a great-looking, great-sounding guitar, and don’t want to wait ten years for Wayne Henderson to build you one, book a flight to this Destination Guitar Shop. Forget the budget. Buy a guitar you’ll have forever.
Acoustic Vibes Music Inc
Bánh mì • Vietnamese Hoagie
A NEW SHOP OPENED ACROSS the street. Windows boarded up, a Grand Opening sign none-the-less said, “Come on in!”. After several weeks of derelict appearance, with flashing sign still proclaiming “OPEN”, I finally relented to curiosity.
Half the shelves were empty. The floor, cracked. The prepared food selection? Sold out today, sorry. Nothing? They can still make sandwiches. Recognizing the Vietnamese Hoagie from Chinatown shops, I pointed to a #3. Spicy, please.
Even thought this was a Sunday, the baguette had just-from-the-oven crusty flakes. The green stuff, garden fresh. Meat flavorful and satisfying. Mine was pork, sliced. Along with a heaping of fresh cucumber slices, cilantro, pickled carrots, spicy chili sauce, and stuff I couldn’t identify. No use asking the owner. Her English? Practically non-existent. But her shop nails it perfectly with an authentic Vietnamese sandwich.
Be adventurous. Small shops like these are now all over America. Pictures of the sandwiches, accompanied with the name of the meat and a number, adorn their walls. Four bucks or maybe $4.50 in the bigger cities, will get you an excellent Bánh mì • Vietnamese Hoagie.
Orion Leather
SURE, IT’S JUST A BELT. Nothing to get excited about. Is it more? Well, yes. How often do we buy a belt? Good ones last for a dozen years or more. Dress belts, padded and stitched, might lose their mojo from heavy use. But a work belt, all leather, dyed clear through? That should hold up until it stretches too long, you gain/lose too much weight, or you die.
When I decided I’d had enough with a sloppy belt, I cinched the problem with a quick internet search. Found Orion, a USA manufacturer. Double-checked the belt pedigree, and got a quick response: Yes, the belts are all made in USA. We make every single one ourselves in Myrtle Beach, SC. The regular-priced belts are actually made to order. Auction-style listed belts are that much cheaper, is because those are the belts that customers have purchased, and returned to us, usually to exchange for a different size or style. Thanks,
Natalia. I placed bids on four belts and scored two of them, for less than half price! Yes, they look BRAND NEW!
Made In USA 1 1/2″ Havana Bridle Leather Belt With Double Hole Return Size 38 $20.75
Made from heavy native steer hides and drum dyed for deep, consistent colors with waxes and tallows. Hot stuffed with just the right amount of “spew” on the grain and flesh to have that English feel.
Thanks, Orion! You are the “Go-To” company for USA-made leather wear!
Morton Salt
CONTINUITY IS A GOOD thing. Visiting the supermarket, finding the same brands one sees as a kid, ties past with present. Your parents trusted it, you trust it, your kids will (maybe?) trust it. I always reach for the Morton. When it rains, it pours refers to the anti-caking formula Morton uses. Modern climate-controlled homes may have made the motto obsolete. But I always reach for the blue cardboard cylinder when it’s time to fill the shaker or add that all-important ½ teaspoon to the muffin recipe.
In a pinch, when I require salt immediately for ice removal on the front stoop, there is the store brand. Which I’ve used in muffins with no ill-effects. But the blue cardboard container of Morton is always my first choice for chili and muffins. Salt is essential to open up flavors in both savory and sweet dishes. But have Americans been led astray? Taught that excessive salt itself it a good flavor? You can spot these brainwashed Spawn of Advertisements. They salt without first tasting their food. And are usually overweight.
It’s easier than you think to reduce salt. Just cut back. Add other flavors instead. Buy unsalted nuts on your next trip to Trader Joe, pour some in a jar, and add a pinch of salt. After a few tries, you’ll notice a better-tasting snack. And you’ll be on the road to better health.
Hand-Knitted Cashmere Watch Cap
ALL ACROSS AMERICA are American artisans. Working with metal, wood, and the most useful of all, textiles. Inspired by the Serpent. Or was it Eve? Wanting to accessorize with the apple, no doubt.
Amazing, the progress humanity has made in the last 2.6 million years. Global economies have introduced unlimited variety of materials to the practicing. About a years ago we visited the subject of the hand-woven watch cap, featuring Chinook Winds Bison Yarn and Fiber. This popular Montana supplier produced bison yarn knitted for me into a perfect sub-zero watch cap.
This time, Heather, the fabulous Iowan artisan renown for custom woven headgear, reached clear around the globe to return with a perfect cashmere yarn. This particular product is sourced from the western area of Inner Mongolia. A combination of very cold nights and hot days, coupled with living in a pristine, pollution-free, high altitude environment produce amazing cashmere goats with feathery soft down is how MinkYarn explains the quality. Indiana Jones got nothing on Heather!
And from Heather, herself: The cashmere used in your hat is a laceweight which refers to the thickness. Knitting it single stranded would have been much more time-consuming on tiny needles and would have produced a thinner fabric. Instead, I separated each of the two skeins in half and knit the four strands held together as if they were one. This resulted in a thicker, warmer, more durable product. Using a single rib for the brim gives a greater ability to stretch, and using a waffle-type stitch for the crown adds texture and warmth. (Think of the texture on the fabric for thermal wear, or long underwear.)
Quality isn’t cheap. But you’ll get exactly what you want. If you take care of it, you’ll enjoy the product for years and years. Hats by Heather. Special order only.
Oneida Porringer Candleholder
NOTHING SAYS, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” like a candle burning brightly on the mantle. The scented hand-dipped candle bought from an artisan on that lovely trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Or mass-produced Ikea candles, makes no difference. Well, a little, but regardless. Does a candle purify the air? Yes, it does. Air is drawn to the flame, and contaminants within the air are burned. And a burning candle looks nice. A candleholder completes the ambience.
Candleholders with a wide base for stability, room to catch fallen wax, and 
safely receive matches that may smolder still, these are traits one might desire. Just like a porringer. A recent quest for such a pair led us to the Cambridge Colonial line produced by Oneida.
Oneida? The company started in the mid-1800s, and which made at least half of all flatware purchased in the United States by 1980? Yep, same company. These mid-century pewter candleholders cost about ten bucks for the pair, but try to find a USA-made product of new production. Impossible! Garage-sales, online auctions, thrift stores! These are the battlegrounds on which we fight and win back heirlooms of American culture.
Vintage candlestick holders by Oneida – Great value!
McCormick & Company
THE UBIQUITOUS RED-LID containers. Consistent of size, a design shared by no other company. From humble beginnings selling extracts door to door in 1889, Willoughby M. 
McCormick’s efforts became a global presence with 8,000 employees. McCormick even acquired their own plastic bottles producer.
For as long as I can remember, McCormick seasonings have been around the 
kitchen. Sure, there are cheaper seasonings. But there is always a difference. A sacrifice in freshness. A discernible lack of pop.
Never has the investment of a couple of dollars, the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff, been such a value. If you want friends to crave your chili and savor your slaw, turn to the leader. McCormick.
Vintage Peavey T-25 Electric Guitar
YOU ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT the “Deal Of The Century”. The one that got away. The other guy got it. You should have been here yesterday! One cold Sunday, we showed up late to a yard sale. Everything had been picked through. But in answer to our questions, SURPRISE! The owner pulls a dusty plastic guitar case from behind a bush. Inside was what looked like the guitars we played in the ’80s. Except that the foam lining had degraded into sticky sludge. A colossal mess!
Neither of us knew what it was worth. I offered the most we could walk away from, if the electronics were fried. What if the decomposed foam lining could not be removed from the grain of the wood?
Hours of gentle cleaning with acetone, mild soap and water, steel wool, abrasive cloth, toothpicks, and Q-tips returned the gleam to this vintage treasure. New strings vibrated forth a tone one associates with guitars costing five times the price.
An ash body again captivating one’s eye. A maple neck ready for the musician’s caress, its high-crowned 18% nickel-silver frets practically new! Humbucker pickups, with their very high output, again ready to cancel out noise and deliver forth the song of the operator. Indeed, a rescued gem. Now passed on to a young buck, about to start a Mid-West tour . . . . American Toolbox again helps to fulfill The Dream . . .
S. Donald Stookey “Mr. CorningWare”
S. Donald Stookey 1915 – 2014
There does not exist within this great Republic of ours the kitchen absent of CorningWare. The most important invention to modern cooking, Stookey’s ballistic glass became the temperature-resistant material from which have been fashioned billions and billions of cooking, serving, and mixing articles.
Moving into new digs? A quick trip to the corner 5 & Dime will supply all the Pyrex your kitchen will need. And it has never been expensive. Just about as cheap as any glassware, but infinitely more durable!
Nestling bowls are my favorite. Whether creating pasta salad or reheating a Super Size Serving of chicken soup, Corning makes the item that works for both preparing and serving food. And drink! Here’s another favorite, which we wrote about a few months ago. A Pyrex® pitcher in the Eames tradition. Who knew glass could be both functional and stylish?
Missouri Hick’s Bar-B-Q • Cuba Missouri
TUBING IN THE MISSISSIPPI from April to October, involvement in multiple competitive sports like softball and golf, and generally running around the beautiful countryside stirs up a passionate hunger in the local populace. And every Sunday the town heads to Hick’s for the all-you-can-eat ribs. But they always leave some room for cobbler.
I missed this event by a day, but did sample the meats, smoked over wild cherry. Being a purist, I eschew sauces on my meats, and go for the true taste of the smoked product. Missouri Hick’s does not disappoint!
And the cobbler? That may be the hidden story of this BBQ joint. Although the recipe was sealed behind loyal lips, I’d bet there’s a little lard rolled into the biscuit that you find in your bowl under a mound of fresh fruit, itself cooked with butter and sugar. A meal itself!
SPAM (canned meat product)
Gentlemen-rankers out on a spree, Damned from here to Eternity, God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah! – Rudyard Kipling
There Is A Conspicuous Lack Of Gelatinous Goo Encasing My Spam
The can of Spam sat awaiting release into the world of gastronomic excellence. Waiting . . . and waiting . . . awaiting the pan . . . Two years passed before the urge to buy and the urge to fry. But when finally opened, it was, as expected, factory fresh. Ready to eat cold or hot. I like mine grilled, served between white bread.
What was different? The goo that used to slide out of the can with the Spam was absent. Maybe it is a money thing? Hormel realized that goo costs money? Spam will fry up perfectly fine without the extra fat? Unknown, Houston. Do not care enough to call the manufacturer? Maybe Hormel will comment on this blog entry . . . And our interest is ???
Reading the novel From Here To Eternity, I became impressed by Sergeant Maylon Stark’s order that all men be given a hot meal upon request at any hour. This meal would be fried Spam and toasted cheese on bread with hot coffee. A meal I’ve recreated a few times; it certainly does “hit the spot”.
Tell you what. Get the book. Buy a can of Spam (low salt, maybe?). Read. Eat. Experience what James Jones was feeling when, after WW II, he penned one of his most famous works.
Nalgene Water Bottles
HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! The mantra of physical fitness instructors, hikers, and survivalists. Nutritionists, doctors, nurses. But do Americans drink enough water? The CDC says, emphatically, “No! 43% of adults drink less than four cups of water a day.”
Didn’t we learn in school, between six ways to say “Maybe” in French and two days spent on subsets, that we should drink eight 12-ounce glasses of water a day? Has anyone studied a urine color chart to determine their level of hydration? Lately?
What better way to remind yourself to have a sip than to carry water with you! In your pack, car, truck, at your desk. A nice-looking, new, BPH-free water bottle, delivered no charge* from an American manufacturer is a great start! And when you fill up at home or at the YMCA, you’ll be saving plastic bottles from entering the rubbish stream!
Go to Nalgene’s website! Pick out two bottles and get free delivery! 100% satisfaction guaranteed!
Mid-1990s Guild Guitars
TWO DECADES AGO, a man in his mid-30s went into a music store with a friend. They each bought a new Guild D4 dreadnought guitar. The dreadnought, so named by guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Co. in 1916, is a full-bodied guitar with a standard length neck. Perhaps the most commonly purchased model, these days.
Guild made their guitars in Westerly, Rhode Island at that time. The ’96 Guilds had magic in them. Something about the wood and craftsmanship produced instruments of unusual resonance and tone. Crisp and full of body with excellent projection. A clarity which rivals many $2,000 guitars of today.
The young man and his friend each practiced songs with which they grew up. The friend 
persevered while the young man set his guitar in a closet after a year. And it sat. And sat. Eventually the young man found himself in a large house with his pets but no furniture, no children, no wife. A middle 50’s man in divorce. Scraping for money, an ad was placed, the guitar listed for his buying price, and I showed up on his doorstep.
Even coated with grime, strings with little life, a neck out of adjustment, I heard promise in the guitar. There was something. Considering the cost of repairs and the risk I might be wrong, half his asking price was offered, and the guitar found a new home.
Several deep cleanings later with warm water, mild soap, and a damp, well-wrung cloth, with new strings and a straightened truss rod (to correct the neck), true tone burst forth. As it once did in 1996, in a music store in Northern Delaware, for an optimistic young man, this American Gem will inspire a new generation of musicians. And with care and luck, another beyond my years.
Mid-1990 Guild Guitars. Excellent value. Excellent tone.
Más Taco • Red Lodge MT
DRIVING OUT OF YELLOWSTONE over the Bear Tooth Pass Highway, one experiences a truly mortal encounter with their fate. Motoring above cloud cover with little between the pavement and plunge? Possibly the snow slows one down long enough to develop real appetite? Either way, out of the Pass, the first few choices are typical tourist town smack. Keep driving. A little further. To Red Lodge, my friend.
On the north edge of a very walkable business district, conveniently placed upon a corner with plenty of parking, lies the answer to life’s riddle; “How do I compete with the scenery of Bear Tooth Pass?”. Begin with one Taco Carne Asada, designed and built by Mike Muirhead. Then try a small burrito. Or another taco, different flavor?
The chips and salsa are a must. This is not the salsa you gorge upon as a mini-meal; besides, you don’t get enough in their serving. You do get a robust explosion of flavor upon their freshly-cooked chips. A value at twice the price!
My first impression was that the food far exceeded my expectations. The waitress explained the chef was from LA. I spied it in his focused, steely eyes, from the start. The passion for flavor. Seriousness for the product delivered. A professional making this one small taco joint his life.
What makes it so good? I called a few days later, and Jake gave it to me straight. Lots of work! The crew starts their day 5 hours before the 11am opening. EVERYTHING is made fresh, from scratch, daily. Trim the steak, marinate in “secret” ingredients, make the masa (corn meal dough) fresh every day, cook it to order, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!!!! And this is just for my taco! I was tired just imagining the amount of work involved! Maybe I’ll pay the $2.95 per taco, and stick to plumbing?
Make it part of your life. Find the time to make a trip to one of America’s great eateries. The Bear Tooth Pass Highway will make an excellent addition to a perfect day!
The American Road Trip • Part II
OUR WORK DONE, THE 6′ X 12′ U-Haul trailer safely delivered, unloaded, and returned, the American Road Trip continues northward, a streak of joyous abandon. No timetable, almost. Pick a road, any road. The plan? End up in Montana to visit a dying friend. A thousand miles of choices. I decided on less traveled US-89 for scenic beauty and history. Sometimes called the National Park Highway, U.S. 89 links seven national parks across the Mountain West.
I roll into Gardiner MT in a few days to Pete’s small ’30s bungalow tucked against Yellowstone. Found my friend almost blind and eating discount TV dinners but still defiant. No radio or TV, house not cleaned since his stroke 4 years ago. Naturally, I stayed in the extra room. What’s a little dirt among bachelors?
We consume mass quantities, like old times. A ’40s Victrola and a stack of wax from the ’20s thru ’50s made our reunion a party. No wimmin, and he was couch-bound, so I danced with the dog between cranking the Victrola or strumming the guitar. The 1930’s home was rocking to 1930’s music from a period Victrola. The memory will forever bring a tear to my eye.
Leave two days later over the Bear Tooth Highway at 7am; snow and clouds encountered but the view was tremendous. Tremendous! Bear Tooth Highway closes for the year on October 15th at the latest. Bet they close early this year.
The American Road Trip • Part I
AMERICA IS NOT LACKING highway to drive. Anyone want to throw a bag of clothes and the dog in a car? You can motor any direction for a few days. One of my favorite trips takes one through Missouri along I-44, to O.K.C., and west as far as you want to go.
Recently I helped a friend relocate, and made the trip twice in one 
week. The second trip, pulling 4200 pounds, was at 55 mph. Truly the speed of exploration. Empty highway, rain clouds on the horizon, windows down, what could be better for relaxation and reflection?
Along my leisurely way, following the sage advice of billboards, I sampled some of the local fare. And managed to gather information for a new blog, AmericanLunchbox, soon to go online. Barbecue from two states on two consecutive meals! Yummmmm!!!! Ain’t America great?
Big SHOUT OUT to Gray County Westbound Safety Rest Area, in Texas!
EMERGE • darlys ewoldt
Emerge came into this writer’s possession directly from the artist during the Philadelphia Craft Show in the autumn of 1998. The acquisition was made as a motivational device, reminding me of a sculpture I doodled in the 1980s but never executed. While I may be forgiven my lack of progress only because it involved a car-sized piece of granite, serious stone-cutting tools, a studio, and a year unencumbered by responsibilities, I would be remiss if I did not document this fine sculpture and publish it’s journey.
From Chicago via Ms. Ewoldt, Emerge stayed in the Philadelphia region for 16 years. Very recently the sculpture has been gifted to a dear friend, to be featured in a private gallery in the Scottsdale area.
J-B WELD Epoxy Putty Kit
AFTER REMOVING THE 1920’s mortise lock, a gaping rectangular hole was evident in the door. The new Schlage locks, ordered and ready for install, would not install until this void could be addressed. Why? Because the extra drilling for modern locks would have turned the French door into a Swiss Cheese door. A lock installed in a compromised door helps no one but the unlawful. Never figured on the space left by the removed lock, but it was a temporary setback.
A bit of handyman-style investigative work came up with The Dutchman Patch. I cut a piece of wood to fit the space formerly occupied by the mortise lock, and glued it in with Liquid Nails.
Next, a prodigious amount of wood putty was mixed. Not your average putty in a can, but an epoxy-based two-part invention from J-B WELD. Exceptional stuff! It cured in a few hours, and I was ready for sanding! A little touching up, and the door now looks like it always had modern locks on it!
Q-tips Cotton Swabs
THE UBIQUITOUS Q-TIP. There is nothing quite like an American-made cotton swab. Assume, for a minute, you never use Q-tips for their most common function, strictly following the medical community’s instruction (who really listens to their doctor, right?). There are still a zillion uses.
Showing me an electronic keyboard for sale, I remarked to the musician, “It looks brand new”. It was, actually, two years old. The seller had detailed all the nooks, edging, and crannies with Q-tips moistened with rubbing alcohol. So began my instruction into detail cleaning.
A family friend operated an auto-detailing business. The cars came out the door factory-new. What was the trick? After general cleaning, washing, and waxing, a couple more hours, armed with a box of Q-Tips and a cup of cleaning solution, laboriously getting into every crack among the interior and exterior trim.
And most recently, applying wood glue to a horizontal upside-down joint, where we do not want any drippies! My near-vintage Guild acoustic guitar repair came out famously!
Return those flimsy imported drugstore-branded cotton swabs immediately and demand quality! Insist on genuine Q-Tips!
The cotton swab was invented in the 1920s by Leo Gerstenzang after he attached wads of cotton to toothpicks. His product, which he named “Baby Gays”, went on to become the most widely sold brand name, “Q-tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.
Midwest Products • Hobbyist Materials
THE OFFER WAS TOO GOOD to be true. A Made In The USA acoustic guitar, dreadnought-sized, was for sale. In exchange for a reasonably slim stack of crisp Yankee dollars one could own a genuine Guild D4, a treasure from the heartland of American Folklore. Yet something seemed amiss . . .
Ahh, it becomes apparent. It is the six-inch crack in the solid mahogany side of the guitar. An impact crack, fortunately, rather than that caused by heat or humidity. The wood can be buttoned up. We have the patience . . . the technology. The knowledge? Not yet. But a visit to Jake the Snake cleared all that up.
A little super glue to tack the edges together, then thin wood glued across the crack from the interior. How thin? 1/32″ of an inch, it turns out. Beatty Lumber Company will not get my business on this one.
Up the street, though, is an old-time hobby shop. I know, because I’ve passed it several times a week for the past 30 years. And it turns out . . . 1/32″ basswood is a stock item. They also had the right glue, Titebond.
Armed with a sheet of veneer hardwood from Northern Michigan’s forests, and domestic glue I’ve trusted in the past, I set about successfully repairing my USA-made Guild in just a couple of hours. The Circle Is Unbroken . . .
USA Pans 6-Well Donut Pan
EVERY AUGUST, THE MOST difficult decision of the year comes up. What to get Mom for her birthday. After a while, it seems most people have everything they want; when something is needed, they buy it. So the chance to find something Mom wanted but had not purchased was an exciting event!
What did Mom want? A donut pan. Never heard of it, but this new invention, the internet, cleared that right up for me. In the true spirit of everything Homer Simpson stands for, one can buy a specially constructed pan to allow baking of donuts at home!
The Asian manufacturers evidently have not caught on to the American craze of home-baked donuts; the most prevalent search hits pointed to a local company. Over 50 years of experience with materials and commercial end users have made USA PAN the go-to manufacturer of quality bakeware. They had the donut pan. It is made in the USA of heavy gauge aluminized steel The price was right. SOLD!
Made in the USA by American Pans in Pittsburgh, PA, the Largest Worldwide Manufacturer of Commercial Bakeware.
Green Heron Tools • HERShovel
WATER SLIDES AND BUGGY RIDES are OK for some tourists. 30% milk-fat ice cream & funnel cake. But around these parts, it’s farming. Crops & animals. It was no surprise recently, while visiting an exhibition at the Penn State Landisville Experimental Farm, to find myself in front of a display of shovels. Ahh, tools! Love every durn one of them. And these, especially!
As it turns out, I have seen these particular shovels before, having bought one at a home show a few years ago. My Mom loves it, and even Dad chooses it over a conventional shovel (strong enough for a man, made for a woman?).
Conceived by two Pennsylvania residents. Made in Pennsylvania (in America). Designed expressly for bodies which are not engineered for digging. Fortunate to find, manning the booth, one of two woman behind the company, I was able to get a clear understanding of what went into their shovels.
As for design of the shovel — we had a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, which enabled us to convene a design team that included, in addition to ourselves, an agricultural engineer, an industrial engineer with a specialty in ergonomics, and an occupational therapist. – Liz Brensinger , Master of Public Health
Channellock Pliers Model 430
Putting the squeeze on
WAY BACK, WHEN MY job seemed to be lugging an eighty pound (36 KG) box of tools behind a guy who smoked often and explained little, I began to notice a pattern. Almost every plumbing job required the use of one particular set of pliers, which Boss called the 430’s. These side-jaw pliers were of a size that fit nicely around the trap nut on a kitchen sink drain, with many uses in addition. One could squeeze, bend, pry, hammer, support, scoop, and more with these pliers. Multiple jaw widths were possible with these tongue-and-groove, slip-joint pliers.
After I finally began buying Craftsman tools for the lifetime warranty, I asked, “Why doesn’t Craftsman make a similar product?”. Simple. A tradesman could buy one set of each size, 
and never have to buy another. As it is, the original Channellock, patented in 1934, will last the typical plumber for several years before replacement is necessary. And the 5th generation of the DeArment family, still running the private company founded 1886 in Evansburg, Pennsylvania by George B. DeArment, has a great warranty, if there should be something amiss.
Channellock Pliers Model 430 • The Perfect Gift
James Garner • 1928 ~ 2014
LOTS OF PEOPLE MY age grew up when Friday night meant Rockford on the television. All the kids would lay on the floor, with the adults upon the chairs and couches. Together, we would watch Jim get himself into a mess, and then connive and wriggle himself back out of it. And solve the case to boot, although payment for services rendered was often absent.
James Garner was more than Jim Rockford. His biggest accomplishment may have been his marriage, leaving Lois Fleishman Clarke Garner a widow less than a month before their 58th wedding anniversary . His driving skills with Formula One race cars in Grand Prix, a 1966 film, could have led to a successful racing career. Jim did his own stunts, which is particularly rough on one’s body.
I’ll remember Jim Garner as a guy who didn’t give up.
James Garner and Steve McQueen with director John Sturges on the set of The Great Escape, 1963
Telescope Casual Furniture • Beach Chair
The last place on earth one ever wants to buy a beach chair is at the beach. When you have a business open four months a year, markup has to cover the lean months. Naturally, being the prepared, forward-thinking individual I am, a week at a beach resort would find me in want of nothing other than food and drink.
However, a few years back, catastrophe struck. The comfortable but old chair I’d used for a decade popped its rivets, tore it’s seams, and was condemned to the rubbish barrel. To keep peace in a crowded, loud, sandy environment, I agreed to purchase a replacement.
Miles from any decent department store, we ventured into a local Everything Store to see if I’d need a payday loan to fund a replacement chair. Not surprisingly, options were limited. Plenty of cheap, flimsy imported garbage. A limited selection of sturdy but expensive domestic production. Time is money and the decision was easy. Hoy’s 5 & 10¢ would be able to pay their taxes through the winter.
For an extra $35, I could buy a sturdy, USA-made product. For the price of a couple of pizzas, I’d support a family business near the New York – Vermont border. A tradition of excellent manufacturing stretching back generations, offering employment in design, fabrication, marketing, and shipping. As well as the Five & Dime (established 1935) getting their cut.
Looking back, the purchase was an excellent decision. Six seasons have been kind to the chair, and my purchase price was about half the current list price. Buy once, cry once.
Alden Cordovan Loafers
Planned Obsolescence. The manufacturer’s credo. Just about the time a pair of shoes begin to feel perfect, they fall apart. Without need, there is no demand. The decision-making process to buy will not exist.
A sales position beckoned after an injury forced me to take a break from rigorous tradesman labors. The product formerly installed would now, through new skills taught by Sales Training Managers, be sold (by me) for others to install. I breezed through instruction, and two weeks later hit the pavement running. And running. And running. Until my dress shoes fell apart. The old adage, “Wanna be a success, start your day with a decent breakfast and a good shine on your shoes” was not quite working, with the upper detached from the sole. The other salesmen started calling me Flappy.
Decades of living finally produced one new thought. Shoes start to fall apart just when they begin to feel really comfortable. So began the decision-making process with me. I was to become a buyer of premium-quality shoes. The salesmen saw me coming!
I choose Alden of New England, shoes made since 1884 in Massachusetts. They are recraftable, a construction that is designed to allow rebuilding. Which I’ve done once so far; the shoes came back looking, literally, brand new. Most importantly, Alden is an American company that stands behind their work. When a bit of stitching came loose, I posted the shoes back to Alden with a note, and they came back repaired and shined up, no charge.
You get what you pay for. Premium shoes feel better on your feet, and, with care, will last for decades. Run the numbers and you’ll see, it is less expensive to buy quality.
Alden is now the only original New England shoe and bootmaker remaining of the hundreds who began so long ago. Still a family owned business, still carrying forward a tradition of quality genuine-welted shoemaking that is exceptional in every way.
Le Sirop de MONIN
TREKKING THROUGH THE WILDS of colonial Philadelphia on a sweltering summer morning, one comes to appreciate the offering of a cool Italian soda in a chic café. Americans are inured to pleasures a quality soda-pop over ice in a clean glass may produce, but there was a time when the drinking of sugary carbonated beverages was not taken for granted. Planning and location dictated when one could “grab a Coke”, as a soda bar at the Pharmacy was the de facto sole supplier of these addictive, rejuvenating beverages.
When I tumbled through the doors of Old City Coffee one particularly hot July morning, I thought first of an iced coffee. An ultra-hip hipster, arranging bottles of flavored syrup behind the counter, had another idea. “How about an Italian soda?”, he suggested, nodding to a leaving customer. I’d never tried one, assuming factory-bottled sodas to be superior. But the look of delight on an exiting customer’s face as she tasted her fruity concoction seemed endorsement enough.
“I’ll take one of those”, I asked, pointing to Miss Red Fizzy Drink. The Hip Barristo poured a finger of raspberry syrup into a cup, added a bottle of Pellegrini, ice, and capped it. “Here you go. Two-fifteen, please”. And what did I get for two bucks?
A refreshing fruity soda made with quality seltzer water, pure cane sugar, and natural raspberry flavor. Most stimulating, I assure you! A little syrup research reveal’s a company history dating to 1912 in Bourges, France. Within years, the Monin family is shipping around the world. 1996, Tampa Florida, sees construction of a plant to supply all of the Americas. This French company producing a quality soda syrup in the USA earns an American Toolbox Five Thumbs Up recognition!
Julz Burnout Wrap • prAna
AMERICAN TOOLBOX USUALLY LEAVES women’s clothing reviews to others. Let’s face it, we’ve never reviewed woman’s clothes nor intended to. But while watching a yoga attendee gleefully unwrap and model her latest purchase at the local Stretch’s Studio, I noted two items: the material was very nice, and among the labeling materials was the tag. MADE IN USA / FABRIQUÉ AUX É.U.
Not all of PRANA’s products are made here, so if you’re particular, check the label. Sometimes the material is domestic but not the assembly. The yoga wrap I saw was USA-made with partially recycled polyester fabric blended with organic cotton. The yogee gushed to her friends over the silky smoothness against her skin. Made me want to try one. Almost.
The Julz Burnout wrap from prAna offers a great cover-up before or after yoga practice.
Craftsman Vintage Slim Tape
2300 BL
OCK OF NAUDAIN STREET, PHILADELPHIA: In the wee hours of May 1st, 2014, a complaint of carbon monoxide went out to the Philadelphia Fire Department. Within an hour, the block was evacuated. Then came the explosion and 3-alarm fire.
No one died, but homes were completely destroyed. Several people lost EVERYTHING except the clothes on their backs. Pajamas & slippers, actually. Within my news-vacuum, two weeks passed before I got the news: Friends of long acquaintance had lost their home. Photos, clothes, dishes, Christmas ornaments. Mementos, furniture, computers, tools.
Wait, did I hear the word “Tools”? Yep, it appears that, after an initial well-received gift of an old black-and-white photo, a jazz CD, a favorite cookbook, and a couple of crystal tumblers, there were still items of great import we could give to our friends.
For this couple starting over, I chose the canvas version of a tool pouch previewed earlier on American Toolbox, along with a mint-condition vintage Sears Craftsman Slim Tape – 8′. Perfect for checking the size of an armchair or bookcase, and slim enough to disappear in a pocket.
Quality tools: the gift that keeps on giving.
Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches
WAY BACK WHEN THE WORLD WAS a simpler place, my plumbing practice concentrated on specialized services to restaurants. Fortuitous events led a customer to give me a commercial Garland oven with 4-top range. From this point on, I was hooked on commercial equipment for the superior construction and control one had over their work.
The Garland is gone, was traded to The Master Of Disaster for wages owed. I did, however, acquire a countertop 2-burner APW WYOTT a few years later, sporting a healthy 30,000 BTUs per burner. ***your typical residential cooktop might product 12,500 BTUs on a good day***
The quest for matches in a smoke-free household often impeded timely lighting of the range, usually when marinated chicken was past due in a cast iron skillet. I finally tracked down the wooden matches 
ubiquitous throughout childhood, when gas ranges did not have standing pilots. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Still Made In The USA Since 1881 they are!
Naturally, we’re talking about Diamond matches. I chose Strike Anywhere Extra Long to fire up the APW Wyott GPH-2H. This exclusively outdoor minimal-cleanup gas cook top can now safely be lit without sacrificing the hair on one’s fingers! While current production Wyott countertop ranges, like the GHP-2i, feature electronic ignition, Diamond matches will find a use in any household. They store for decades.
APW Wyott GHP-2i dual open burner countertop range features heavy-duty cast iron grates that quickly conduct heat and distribute it evenly to your pans or pots.
Apsco Fishing Reel Pencil Sharpener
A slight handsome lad shuffles to the front of the classroom to a wall-mounted pencil sharpener beside the blackboard. Pencil inserted, he slowly engages the planetary sharpener, called thus because the mechanism revolves around a stationary pencil. While he does not yet understand the principle within the mechanism which rotates a set of helical cylindrical cutters set at a diverging angle to each other, he does appreciate this opportunity to covertly observe Lori in the front row. If only she knew . . .
Another American Pencil Sharpener Company product is embedded in the memory of a 5th grader, along with the smell of chalk dust, cedar shavings, and graphite. Nothing smells like a pencil, and recalls to me the timeless experience of grade school. The magic of childhood forever with us. But what of APSCO, of Chicago, Illinois? Ahh, stay tuned for Part II of this fascinating story . . .
The Fishing Reel APSCO imaged at the top of this article ended up in the same Dumpster® as the Revere Ware. Yet another 
piece of Americana inadvertently tossed on the rubbish heap! Fortunately, the intrepid author was there for rescue, triage, research, and restoration. ***Cue heart-pounding triumphant music*** Uncle Curt, up there with Saint Peter threading another worm, smiles through a wreath of pipe smoke . . .
Pennsylvania Blue Marble
Bizarre marine arthropods of the Cambrian Explosion roamed a vast sea which covered what is now Valley Forge National Park. Relax, we refer to events of 450 million years ago. Under this sea there formed a weakly metamorphosed calcite marble. Fa
st forward, to the early days of The Republic. This Pennsylvania Blue Marble became an important regional building stone in the first half of the nineteenth century.
One has but to tour older Philadelphia row home neighborhoods to see its extensive use as steps, window sills, lentils, and trim. Alas, structural decomposition, changing design tastes, and improved transportation systems increased availability of better quality white marbles from New England and Georgia. What becomes of the Pennsylvania marble as buildings are pulled down?
People like me collected steps and sills in nicer condition for garden use. Wear patterns tell the story of healthy, prosperous neighborhoods. Tool marks upon the ends aid
one in establishing production date, as methods of stone dressing evolved. The 350 pound steps were welcomed by friends and neighbors, as well. A unique pillar for the garden bird bath or flower-pot. And the sills make great bordering stones! Pictured is a local effort. These stones were pulled from houses under demolition within Philadelphia’s Fairmount section.
Mid-Century Revere Ware 10″ skillet
AHH, THE CRACKLE OF BACON. Butter, hitting the right temperature to snap and foam! Then in go the eggs! The basics of an American Breakfast.
As a three-year old, sitting on the floor for hours in a kitchen identical to Julia Child’s The French Chef set, these were the sounds I heard. And revisiting her shows years later, I began to appreciate the nuances of temperature, time, and cooking surface.
When my best teflon pan gave up the ghost, I researched All-Clad selections, convinced technology had trumped tradition. Investigations cast doubt, however, upon my preconceptions! The buying decision was even more tempered with caution and eventually placed on hiatus.
Along came a fortunate Dumpster® find, as a friend’s childhood abode was being cleared out for the next owner. I had scored a nice stack of 1950’s-era Revere Ware, as detailed here in a previous blog entry.
The pile was stored in an apple crate. A piece found use as a water bowl for our cat, some smaller pots went to neighbors, but the skillet? The skillet I retained, beheld by the rich history of its patina and a promise of potential magic. I saw value, but was unsure how to harness its powers.
Only after repeated frustrations with our remaining daily-use skillet did I retrieve the old 10″ Revere Ware skillet from the crate, wash it thoroughly, and give it a try. Wow, first use with a grilled cheese, and the butter burned. O.K., it heats up really fast, but it was even. All of the stove’s potential made it to the cook surface. Then I tried eggs, and again burned the butter. Third time’s the charm. I’ve found a perfect pan. Nothing sticks to the decade’s old stainless interior, and the copper bottom spreads heat as well as it did in 1955, when purchased.
This pan should be a basic tool of anyone learning to cook, as well as a must-have for the experienced chef. About $5 at a garage sale near you, or $25 through online auctions.
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