I love old, or as some call them, vintage dishes. When I got married, at age 17 (yikes) - but that's another blog, I received a lot of dishes as gifts. It shocks me when I see those same patterns in antique stores or flea markets. I guess I don't think of 39 year old dishes as being antique or even vintage. Go figure. I love dishes from the 40s and 50s. I'm a sucker for old refrigerator dishes with lids, anything by Fire King or Anchor Hocking. I can spend hours digging through junk looking for a great find.
I have also inherited a lot of dishes from my aunts - some really great stuff. I use all my dishes. They're not just to look at. JC worries that we will break something but I think the previous owners would want me to use and enjoy them.
I think about the history of those dishes. If they could talk, what would they tell me? Aunt Joyce had lot's of cool glassware. I finished out an entire set of Anchor Hocking pressed glass beginning with the pieces that I inherited. It took me several years and I bought pieces all over the US. When we travel I always keep an eye out for a piece that I may have overlooked. I have Aunt Ethel's dishes too. I have an amazing set of dishes that Uncle Jack bought her when he was stationed in Alaska during World War II. I have the pastel colored metal glasses that koolaid always tasted sooooo cold it. I even have the matching long teaspoons that came with them.
I could go on and on but there are 2 pieces that I really love. Platters. I have a platter that Mom gave me that I believe belonged to her great-grandma (she will correct me if I'm wrong). And I have a platter that belonged to an elderly lady who lived one farm over from JC when he was growing up. Mom's platter is a Favolina China, made in Poland. It's a large, heavy platter that can hold a lot of food. It has blue flowers on it and is in mint condition. I use that one with care. The other smaller platter is a Homer Laughlin and it shows a lot of wear. I always imagine that there was probably a lot of chicken, pork chops and catfish served on it. If only they could talk.
I think many of the families today don't take time to sit down and leisurely eat meals. People want to set a nice table for holidays but the day to day dinner table is slowly being replaced by the pizza boxes and chicken buckets.
As for me I would much rather hear "pass the platter please" instead of pass the bucket.
