Category: Family Fun

Treasure Hunt 22/12/01

Dear Donna,

I Enjoy reading your articles in The Hippo. Can you give me some advice?

I just started collecting old bottles. I’m wondering how to get rid of the white cloudiness inside and outside.

Hope you can help.

Thanks.

Eric

Dear Eric,

Thank you for reading The Hippo and my column.

I learned a lot myself trying to answer your question. This is what I found.

First, bottle collecting is fun and sometimes can be very financially rewarding, with education.

Cleaning bottles to remove lime buildup and dirt can be a hard, time-consuming job. Well worth it, though, for a clean result.

Here are a few things to try at home:

Soaking them overnight in just a mild soap.

Adding a vinegar mix to the inside.

Using rice as a mild abrasive inside.

Finally — but be careful and follow instructions — using CRL liquid. It’s made to remove lime, calcium and rust.

Never use steel wool or anything abrasive, to avoid scratches to the glass.

Eric, I really enjoyed answering your question. I hope this helped and good luck with bottle collecting and cleaning.

Donna

Treasure Hunt 22/11/24

Hello, Donna,

Can you help me by telling me what this is? My wife says a wax stamp for envelopes. It’s 2 1/2 inches long and has a design only on one end.

Thanks for any information.

Eric

Dear Eric,

Thanks for the photos and question.

What I believe you have is a potter’s chop, which is basically a potter’s mark or stamp. It would be imprinted into the clay to identify who made it.

The value is the tough question. It really depends on whether the artist is well-known, the age, style of work, etc. Some can be extremely high in price on the market, but you really have to know who it is.

I did talk to a couple other people about yours and got a starting value of at least $50. Remember though, Eric, it could be much higher. It really would be like a needle in a haystack to find out, possibly trying an appraisal auction place like Skinner in Bolton, Massachusetts. That too is only a possibility. The other thing is it could just be a stamp design.

I hope this was helpful, Eric, and I will keep looking into it as well. Thanks for sharing an interesting piece.

Donna

Kiddie Pool 22/11/24

Family fun for the weekend

Getting crafty

• Head to Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) on Saturday, Nov. 26, (which is also Small Business Saturday, when Bookery is planning live music and more) for a wolfy storytime and craft at 11:30 a.m. The featured book is Little Good Wolf by Susan Stevens Crummel and illustrated by Janet Stevens. It follows the son of the Big Bad Wolf, and how he is too good to be evil the way all the adults in his life want him to be. After the story, kids will learn how to make a paper bag wolf puppet. The event is free, but register at the Bookery website.

• The Addiction Recovery Coalition of New Hampshire (180 Elm St., Suite E, Milford) is starting a kids’ holiday craft series startingon Sunday, Nov. 27, at 1 p.m. The four-week series will have a new craft each session for kids, as well as cookies and juice. Parents can stay with the kids, get their own craft, or drop kids off. Price is $10 for the first child, an additional $5 for each child after. Register at the Evebrite page, or visit arcnh.org.

Library fun

• The Plaistow Public Library (85 Main St.) is hosting an outdoor activity called tinkergarten’s frozen treasures on Monday, Nov. 28, at 10 a.m. The event will have kids 18 months to 8 years old, as well as their parents, exploring outside to discover frozen nature treasures. To learn more about the event or to sign up, visit plaistowlibrary.com.

• Read to a dog at the Pelham Public Library (24 Village Green) on Tuesday, Nov. 29, from 5 to 6 p.m. Blondie is a trained therapy dog who will stay with children while they read. For information about the benefits behind kids reading to a therapy dog, see the Nov. 3 issue of The Hippo, under the story called “Meet Mischka” (find the e-edition at hippopress.com). To register for this event, call the library at 635-7581 or email services@pelhamweb.com.

YMCA playtime

• Join the YMCA of Greater Londonderry (206 Rockingham Road) for a “Lounge Day” version of kids’ night at the Y for ages 4 to 12 on Friday, Nov. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Y’s trained child care staff will take care of kids while parents have time to themselves to do holiday shopping or other errands. Kids will have fun activities, like art and STEM projects or active playtime, and a pizza will be served. Spots are $45 per child, $40 for each additional sibling. Visit bit.ly/ygl-kids-nights to sign up. Register by Nov. 22.

Kiddie Pool 22/11/17

Family fun for the weekend

Pancakes, hamsters & more book fun

• Early childhood education author Nancy Lessard Downing will be at The Toadstool Bookshop (375 Amherst St. in Nashua; toadbooks.com, 673-1734 ) to discuss and read some of her books on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m. Downing will discuss her book series Learning Fun, which teaches parents how to introduce shapes, colors, the alphabet and basic sign language, and read her book Whitey Comes Home For Christmas, based on a true story of a Grand Pyrenees dog from New England who went on an adventure across his community.

• Fans of Lady Pancake, Sir French Toast and their nemesis turned friend Baron Von Waffle will want to check out the Mega Storytime Event featuring children’s authors Josh Funk and Kari Allen on on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m. atGibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com, 224-0562). Funk will present his newest adventure of the refrigerator pals in The Great Caper Caper, which involves “a Las Veggies heist” according to the website. Allen will bring her latest book, Maddie and Mabel Take the Lead, the second book featuring the adventures of “best sisters” Maddie and Mabel.

• The Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester) is hosting a rodent-themed storytime and craft on Saturday, Nov. 19, starting at 11:30 a.m. featuring the book Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates, a book by Cheryl B. Klein about two hamsters with very different personalities crammed into one cage together. After the story, kids will learn to make their own paper hamsters. The event is free, but Bookery requests people sign up for the event via Eventbrite (see the website for a link).

Turkey season

• Join the Merrimack Parks and Recreation department on Saturday, Nov. 19, for the 6th annual turkey scavenger hunt atWasserman Park (116 Naticook Road) at 10 a.m. Turkey cutouts will be hidden throughout Merrimack and clues will be provided at the start of the hunt. The first three participants who find the most cutouts and unscramble the puzzle on them will win a 17-pound turkey. Registration is free and can be completed at merrimackparksandrec.org.

• The Manchester City Library (405 Pine St. in Manchester; manchester.lib.nh.us) is hosting a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Family Party on Tuesday, Nov. 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. The drop-in event will have a Peanuts-themed trivia game, as well as activities, snacks and crafts based around the animated film. The trivia game will be at 4:15 p.m. and again at 6:15 p.m. This event does not require registration.

Museum fun

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org, 669-4820) is hosting a limited time exhibit featuring the creations of model maker Dick Zoerb from Nashua. The exhibit, which runs through Sunday, Nov. 27, has several different aircrafts, world-famous monuments and more all made to scale by Zoerb. Admission cost $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 12, seniors, veterans and active military, and children under age 6 are free. The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

• Join the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) on Wednesday, Nov. 23, for a special turkey tie-dye craft from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and 2:30 to 3 p.m. as part of the Wacky Art Wednesday events. The craft is included with admission to the museum. Admission costs $12.50 for adults and children older than one year old, $10.50 for adults ages 65 and older. Admission is free for children under a year old and for members. Visit childrens-museum.org to purchase tickets in advance.

Get outdoors!

• The New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; 668-2045, nhaudubon.org) will hold a birding walk Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The informal birding walk explores the trails with local birder Joe Mahoney, according to the website, and all ages and skill levels of birders are welcome. Registration (which is required in advance) costs $10.

• On Monday, Nov. 21, Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; beaverbrook.org, 465-7787) will hold a free Forest Tales hour of outside storytime with kids (and their adults, but not their pets) at 10 a.m. No registration is required for the event, which meets at Maple Hill Farm, according to the website. Lindsay Shaklee, a Beaver Brook educator and master storyteller, will spin the yarns.

If you can’t make it to Monday’s event but want to check out the trails and nature of Beaver Brook, check out the “Trail Maps and Guides” section of their website for a look at the different trails including accessible trails.

Treasure Hunt 22/11/17

Hi there, Donna.

My name is Jessica, and I happened to catch your section in the Hippo.

My father-in-law, who is in his mid 70s, gave me some of these treasures. From what I understand, some belonged to his mother, grandmother, along with his great-grandmother.

Some of the cases alone are fantastic.

I’m not sure if these things are of any monetary value, but they are treasures, no matter. I hope you enjoy looking at them and I would be interested in any input or feedback you may have on them.

Jess

Dear Jess,

Nice lot of Victorian jewelry. Your father-in-law passed you some nice family pieces.

Jess, most of the items in the photos you sent are not gold (the pins, earrings and watch fob). The two rings in the jeweler’s boxes I would say are either 10kt or 14kt. They would be marked inside the bands.

Even though the pins would be gold filled (gold over metal) they still have value for being from the Victorian era (mid to late 1800s). They also look to be in good condition and that helps for values.

The Puss in Boots watch fob (holder) is also gold filled.

Jess, as far as values go, I would think all the pins are in the $40+ range each. Earring set $25. Two gold rings would depend on stones and gold level. So you should bring them to a jeweler to get an accurate value.

The watch fob would be in the $70 range.

I hope this was helpful, Jess, and thanks for sharing your treasures.

Note: Even the Victorian jewelry store boxes have value to jewelry collectors as well.

Treasure Hunt 22/11/10

Dear Donna,

Does McCoy pottery still have a collectors’ market? I have this yellow marked McCoy bowl. Just wondering if you could provide any information.

Thanks, Donna.

Bea

Dear Bea,

To answer your question, I say yes, McCoy pottery is still very collectible, depending on the piece, pattern, colors, style and, as always, condition.

Your bowl is a beehive pattern and was part of a nesting set (graduating sizes). There could have been at least four different colors in the set. It was very popular during the 1940s.

McCoy pottery has a very long history beginning in the late 1800s and continuing through the 1990s. Good reading material!

Bea, the value on your bowl, in good condition with no damage, would be in the $50 range to a collector. That’s with no cracks, crazing or chips. So as I said, yes, there is a collectors’ market for McCoy pottery.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Donna

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!