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Antiquing
wih Joel Sater
—
The Shenandoah Valley
stretches about a hundred miles
roughly from Hagerstown,
Maryland in the North to
Roanoke, Virginia, to the South
and a bit Westerly. This is the
home of the 19th century Shen-
andoah potters all of whose
work centered around the influ-
ence of the master potter, John
Bell. John, courisously,
though born in Winchester, Vir-
ginia, did his important life’s
work, not in the Valley, but in
the little town of Waynesboro,
Pennsgglvania about ten miles
northwest of Hagerstown.
In 1767 Captain Peter Vell
settled on farm acreage near
Hagerstown. He evidently did
more than farm, however, be-
cause when he died his estate
showed that nearly everyone in
the Shenandoah Valley owed
him money, but no one knows
why. Regardless of that fact, his
truly important contribution
was to produce a son named
Peter Jr. in 1775. Peter became
a potter.
Three things seem to be
necessary to make pottery, the
right clays, a plenteous fuel
supply and talent. The valley
provi the first two. And
Peter must have been born with
last requisite. Hagerstown was
the poflery center of the region
in the” early 1800’s. Besides
Peter Bell’s pottery, Daniel
Reichard, John Snavely, and
Henry Adams also operated
their own potteries. No marked
pieces by any of these potters is
known to survived. But a list
from Peter’s journal shows that
he made and sold at least 45
different items from smoking
pipes to chamberpots, from 1805
through 1844.
Meanwhile, his son John
moved to Waynesboro to pot on
‘his own. His brothers Solomon
and Samuel settled in Stras-
burg, Virginia. The three
during, their lifetimes, ex-
changed ideas and materials
constantly and “It was thus that’
not only beautiful but unique,”
says A.H. Rice, writing in 1929.
They continued to do this for
seventy-five years until all
three brothers had died in the
1880’s. The sons, John W.,
Upton, Samuel Jr., Richard and
Charles carried on ’til 1908.
Luckily for collectors, much
pottery by the barious Bells was
signed. But much was not. Col-
lectors today fight especially
over the pieces which were both
hand signed and stamped.
Strasburg, Virginia even-
tually became the most import-
ant pottery center of the valley,
producing works bearing the
stamps of Baecher, J. Eberly,
S.H. Sonner, J.H. Sonner, J.
Keister, J.M. Hickerson, W.H.
Lehew, Geo. W. Miller, L.D.
Funkhouser, W.H. Christman,
and W.B. Kenner. Most of these
firms began after 1870 lasting
into the early 1900’s. The Bells
fathered the industry.
To Catherine .Whisler of
Waynesboro, who lectures on
Bell and Shenandoah pottery, I
must give the credit for
educating me about the high
collectibility of this Virginia-
Maryland-Pennsylvania ear-
thenware and stoneware. Her
records show that an 1825 ink-
well by John Bell sold in 1963 for
$300. A glazes, green 8’ water
pitcher by S. Bell & Sons. $48.00.
A yellow, brown, green glazes
washbowl and pitcher set,
$65.00. A pair of 6 *’ boy and girl
figures, $65.00, and the big
rooster which was the weather-
vane on the Bell pottery in
Waynesboro, complete with
bullet holes, brought a whop-
ping $580.00
(Always happy to receive
reader’s stories about antiquing
and collecting. Material sent
becomes the property of this
column and cannot be returned.
For fre list of hundreds of books
on antiques send 9 x 12 self-ad-
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newspaper.)
c-0
Stoneware and
Earthenware.
A good cross section collection
of Bell's 19th Century Pottery from
BELL POTTE
vs @
the Shenandoah Valley.
‘Over 1000 parents of College
Misericggdia students are ex-
pected 0 arrive on the Dallas
campus this weekend as the
college Holds its annual Par-
ents’ Weekend, it was announc-
ed by committee co-chairmen,
Maryhbgth Cavamaugh of
Garden City, N.Y., and Eileen
.Pustizzi of Vineland, N.J. The
two-day affair will consist of a
full schedule of activities de-
~ signed to welcome parents to
the College Misericordia com-
munity.
Beginning Saturday morning
with a picnic on campus, the
parents will have the opportun-
ity to enjoy a variety of enter-
tainment provided by the stu-
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gensel,
~ Lehman, observed their Golden
Wedding anniversary Oct. 13.
They celebrated the occasion
with an open house at their
Seminary
‘Homecoming
set Nov. 7
Wyoming Seminary’s Home-
~ coming-Parents’ Day is set for
Nov. 7 beginning at 9 a.m. John
~ E. Morris III, Class of 1958, is
chairman. Charlotte Davis
Wentz, Class of 1946, is presi-
dent of the Parents’ Associa-
tion. .
fs ny : &
Choice collection of Bell Pottery, mostly signed pieces, showed
good cross section of Bell-Shenandoah 19th century pottery.
parents expected
at Misericordia
dents. Included will be a “Wild
Wild West” variety show and a
dance Saturday evening with
music provided by the George
Reavy Quartet.
Parents can meet with mem-
bers of the college’s faculty and
administration at a coffee hour
and attend a general meeting of
the McAuley Guild-Parents’ As-
sociation, Saturday.
There will be special Masses
for the students and their par-
ents, Sunday. Concluding the
weekend will be Freshman
Investiture ceremonies in which
all Freshmen symbolically be-
come part of the life and tradi-
tion of College Misericordia.
1 Lghman couple
“wed 50 years
home Oct. 11 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The couple were married in
‘Wilkes-Barre. Mrs. Gensel is
the former Florence Nafus,
daughter of the late Mr. and
Mrs. M. J. Nafus of Trucksville.
Mr. Gensel is the son of the late
Mr. and Mrs. Pete Gensel of
Shickshinny Valley.
The Gensels had seven
children, six of which are still
living. They are William, Palm
Bay, Fla.; Edward anf Roland,
Lehman; Mildred Spencer,
Lehman; Helen Stuart, West
Wyoming; Gloria Iney,
Swoyersville. A daughter,
Betty, died in 1945. They also
have 17 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild. :
tei i AM
.
THE DALLAS POST, OCT. 15, 1970
by William Pahlmann
High construction costs and
increased interest rates, which
have depressed the building of
new dwellings, have en-
couraged the remodeling or
making-do with middle-aged
and even older houses. Re-
markable transformations can
be accomplished in such houses
with good planning. These
changes can be made without
being prohibitive in cost.
However, such houses are
- usually plagued with architec-
tural faults which have to be
coped with in interior architec-
ture and decoration. While such
problems occur more frequent-
ly in houses, old apartment buil-
dings are also heir to badly
placed windows, ugly beams
and columns, ceiling beams and
occasionally exposed pipes.
Apartments built in the 20s us-
ually run to small rooms and
uften need to have partitions re-
moved to provide spaciousness.
7” you are remodeling a house or
1 cooperative, a study of the
architectural idiosyncrasies
should be made and solutions
worked out before you begin.
The master bedroom in the
«ccompanying sketch is on the
second floor of an old house in
the country. Nothing could be
done about the sloping walls
which flank the dormer win-
dows, without redesigning the
entire second floor and chang-
ing the roof line. To add to the
problem, the straight windows
at right angle to the dormers
are short and do not match the
window height of the dormer.
Shown at rehearsal of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ are
left to right: James Miller as the huntsman, Berta Johnson as
the evil queen, and Elizabeth Becker as Snow White.
remodel old homes
without prohibitive costs
Since the sloping walls could not
2 changed, I decided to feature
Jem, and to base the window
treatment on the same fabric.
Overcurtains of the differing
windows are made of the wall
fabric, with a simple valance,
and the overcurtaining of the
straight windows was devised to
go from ceiling to floor as with
the dormers. I planned the glass
curtains in a split level arrange-
ment. The top curtain extends
down far enough to cover the
heading on the bottom curtains
on both the straight windows
and the dormers. The top level
remains stationary and the
bottom level of the glass cur-
tains on both sets of windows
traverses. This way the hiatus
between the window head and
‘he ceiling is concealed and the
wo lengths of glass curtains
1erge as one optically when the
urtains are pulled. The narrow
window being similarly treated
unifies the diverse windows.
When choosing fabric or wall-
paper for a sloping wall it is im-
portant to try out colors and
atterns before you buy. Since
you may not be able to obtain
samples you can Scotch tape to
the sloping wall, get several
rolls of shelf paper in the colors
that interest you and tape them
to the sloping wall so you can
really see the effect.
Buy rolls of cheap wall paper
with designs in the scale you
want to try—one large scale and
one small scale—so that you can
really see how that wall will
look. Pick up remnants or mill
ends of fabric to experiment
Seminary Wives’ Club
present fashion show
Faculty Wives’ Club of Wyo-
ming Seminary will begin its
fall and winter activities with a
fashion show in the Pettebone-
Dickson Student Center on the
school campus. The evening
program of exciting fashion
concepts will be held Oct. 27 at 8
p.m.
Mrs. Delmer F. Giberson and
Mrs. Charles Lull Jr. are serv-
ing as co-chairmen for the
showing. Jane Daley, fashion
consultant for Pomeroy’s
Department Store is assisting
the Faculty wives’ Club with ar-
rangements for the event.
The co-chairmen report that
manmade fibers
shortcomings
Fuzzy little balls or lint that
may form on a garment is an
indication that most likely a
manmade fiber, such as nylon,
polyester, or acrylic, has been
used for the garment, explains
Ruth Ann Wilson, extension
clothing specialist at The Penn-
sylvania State University.
Fiber strength is one of the
virtues of manmade fibers. In
some instances, it also is a
shortcoming.
Abrasion that a garment gets
during wear, laundering, or
drycleaning produces a lint on
the surface of the fabric.
the fashions to be shown will in-
clude a wide variety of styles
and lengths and will encompass
clothing for all ages. In addi-
tion, a number of door prizes
will be awarded at the fashion
showing.
Miss Daley will act as com-
* mentator for the event.
Models from the student body
will participate in the program
which will include a preview
glimpse of styles for the up-
coming holiday season.
Proceeds from the event are
earmarked for the annual art
award which is presented each
year to the student who demon-
strates outstanding promise in
art work. The public is cordially
invited to attend.
Susan Moore
feted at shower
Susan Moore, Lehman, was
recently entertained at a lun-
cheon and personal shower by
Pamela Baker, 38 E. Terrace,
Dallas.
Present were Myra Berti,
Miriam Mohr, Beverly Pierce,
Linda Farrar, June Tippett,
Sandy Sherwood, all former
classmates of Miss Moore;
Megan Moore, Mrs. Robert
Moore, Mrs. William Baker Jr.,
the guest of honor and the host-
ess. ;
with in color, scale and style of
design, before you make final
choices. A sloping wall has a
different optical effect than a
straight wall and the only way
to know for sure about designs
‘and colors is to look at them on
the wall.
In furnishing rooms with
sloping walls, make a study of
the headroom available. If you
place a chest against a sloping
wall, you cannot hang a mirror
above it. When situating chairs,
sofa or chaise longue in such a
room, see that they are placed
where a person rising from the
chair or sofa will not bang his
head against the sloping wall.
Study the traffic pattern and do
not place furniture so that it will
inpede entrance or exit doors or
closet doors. Try to position
beds so that they do not face
morning light.
Pictures can rarely be used
satisfactorily in rooms with
sloping walls, so that color and
design must emanate from
fabric or wallpaper. This usual-
ly encourages one to use rather
bold designs, but in choosing
such patterns, try to get a large
enough sample to try out before
you cut into expensive fabric or
hang wallpaper. This will save
headaches later. If you use
small, all-over designs, it is us-
ually better to have the design
over all the walls and some-
times over the ceiling.
A professional designer can
be of invaluable assistance in
helping you to camouflage
architectural defects. His ex-
perience will have been much
wider than yours and his ser-
vices will represent a sound in-
vestment.
Mercy Auxiliary’s
annual party
in Dallas Oct. 21
The Back Mountain Branch of
the Mercy Hospital Auxiliary
will hold its annual dessert-card
party Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. at the
Castle Inn, Harveys Lake High-
way, Dallas.
Mrs. John Konsavage and
Mrs. John Thompson, co-chair-
men of the affair will be assist-
ed by the following committee
members:
Table prizes—Mrs. Thomas
Breslin and Mrs. Philip Jones;
door prizes—Mrs. William Gal-
lagher; tickets Mary Weir;
tables—Mrs. Joseph Yenason;
publicity—Mrs. Paul Mena-
pace.
Refreshments will be served
and door prizes awarded. Tick-
ets can be purchased from any
member of the auxiliary or at
the door. Players are requested
to bring their own cards.
Officers of the auxiliary are
president, Mrs. Ted Popielarz;
vice president, Mrs. Thomas
Breslin; secretary, Mrs. Philip
Ansilio Jr.; treasurer, Mary
Weir; asst. treasurer, Mrs.
Michael Clark.
mother, daughter
exhibit at Wilkes
Marsha Drummond and her
mother, Jeane Drummond, will
exhibit many of their paintings
in a Mother and Daughter gal-
lery showing at the Conyngham
Annex, Wilkes College, Oct. 17-
24.
Marsha’s painting, “Tagging
a Ride at the Crossroads, Ogun-
quit, Maine,” which was recent-
ly purchased by the Lackawan-
na Arts Council, will be included
in the exhibit.
Both mother and daughter
have had careers that parallel
each other’s as fashion artists,
both studying in Pittsburgh and
Ogunquit, Me. They have been
active in numerous shows and
have sold many of their works.
Oct. 26 set
for book club
The October meeting of the
Back Mountain Memorial Book
Club will be held Oct.26 at the
home of Mrs. Charles Frantz,
Chase. Mrs. John R. Murphy,
president, notes that over 50
new names have been added to
the Club’s membership roster
during the summer months, and
she extends a cordial invitation
to old and new members alike to
attend the first fall meeting.
The meeting will begin at 1:30
p.m.
An informal book discussion
will be led by Mrs. Murphy
following a brief business meet-
ing. She encourages club
members to make notes on
books they have read and en-
joyed (or disliked!) over the
summer so that they may share
their opinions with fellow club
members.
Persons interested in obtain-
ing babysitter service provided
by the club at a nominal cost are
urged to contact Mrs. Murphy
at 675-5961. Maps detailing the
location of the Frantz home are
available on request at the Back
Mountain Memorial Library.
PAGE NINE
Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Wright
Wrights observe
40th anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Wright,
RD 2, Tunkhannock, observed
their 40th wedding anniversary
Sept. 6 with a party at their
family home near Vernon.
The couple were married
Sept. 6, 1930, at the Montrose
Methodist Church by the Rev.
Wilbur Dodge.
« Mrs. Wright is the former
Marie Labar, daughter of the
late Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Labar of Evans Falls. Mr.
Wright is the son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Emory Wright of
Vernon.
The Wrights have five
children: Sgt. Arnold Dana
Wright, of Mary Ester, Fla.;
John, RD 1, Noxen; Eldridge,
South Waverly, N.Y.; Mrs.
Robert (Emily) Peacock,
Pitman, N.J., and Dale, who
recently returned from Sayre to
the farm at Vernon, the fifth
generation to reside on the
property. The couple also have
12 grandsons and four grand-
daughters.
Mrs. Wright operates the
Wright’s Rest Home. Mr.
Wright is employed at the Irem
Temple Country Club at Dallas.
Guests at the anniversary
celebration were:
Rena A. Bailey, Alice Hill,
Lewis Hill, Mr. and Mrs.
Eldridge Wright and sons, Tom,
Bob, David and Steve; Mrs.
Albert Race; Ethel Montross;
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Wright and
sons, Eric and Scott; Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Laing and sons,
Jamie and David; Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Smith and son, Evan;
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Gay; Mr.
church women
go to Talbot Hall
The Women of the Prince of
Peace Episcopal Church will
motor to Talbot Hall in Jones-
town, Oct. 21, where they will
tour the Diocesan Institution.
All women of the church are
invited. Those interested should
contact Jane T. Thompson, 696-
1438, and meet at the Prince of
Peace Church at 9 a.m. Oct. 21.
and Mrs. Alpha Dymond; Mr.
and Mrs. Andrew Wilsey;
Mr. and Mrs. Norman
Dymond and family, Patty,
Ellen, Brad, Peggy, Jeannie,
Dave, and Tim; Mr. and Mrs.
David Jones; Mr. and Mrs.
Wayne Brace; Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson Dottee; Mr. and Mrs.
Richard Rosengrant, Beth and
Brian; Mrs. Henry Mowry;
Mrs. Jessie Wagner;
Mr. and Mrs. Elwood
Morgan; Betty Bartlett and
children, Patty, Cindy, Walter,
and Shawn; Mr. and Mrs. Voyle
Traver; Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Gelsleichter; Mr. and Mrs.
Ronald Lewis; Mr. and Mrs.
Elmer Dymond; Mr. and Mrs.
John Fluck Sr.; Mr. and Mrs.
Ernest Race and Ernie;
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Mad-
den; Marie Wright; Mr. and
Mrs. Stanley Cook; Mr. and
Mrs. Waldo Cook; Mrs. Francis
Cook and John; Mrs. Frank
Gudman; Mr. and Mrs.
Franklin Dymond; Mr. and
Mrs. Clarence Corby;
James Kozemchak; Mr. and
Mrs. Draper Schoonover; Mrs.
Ralph Blackwell; Helen Dy-
mond; Edna Dymond; Mr. and
Mrs. Ralph Ashburner; Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Peacock Jr. and
Robbie; Mr. and Mrs. Klaus
Classen and Wendy and
Brenda;
Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Bailey and
Jane, Sandy, Cindy; Mr. and
Mrs. Clarence Shupp; Hazel
and Pamela Crispell; Mr. and
Mrs. Harry Bigelow; Mr. and
Mrs. John Wright, Joann,
Cheryl and Johnnie; Mr. and
Mrs. Ernest Brown; Mr. and
Mrs. Lee Barber;
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Dymond;
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Patton
and family; Mildred Frantz;
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Sickler;
Janet Shalata and Nancy Beryl
Shalata; Vicki Crispell; Helena
Yozwick ;
Verna J. Lamoreaux; Amelia
Thomas; Mary Ann and Tony;
Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer Faux; Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas Piscotty;
Emily Smith; Mr. and Mrs.
Alex Holotanko and Jennifer;
Lillian and children.
An unusual wall treatment made necessary by a steeply sloping
roofline and dormer window.