March 30, 2001
Greetings Accumulators!
We are having a monsoon in New York today, with drenching rains and high
winds. To those of you experiencing drought, I wish we could send you some
water! My apologies for neglecting to mention all of my colleagues at the
Sally Jessy Raphael taping this week. I left out Rich Zelachowski, not
because I forgot him (who could forget the fabulous Rich Z?), but because I
didn't realize he'd be in the studio with us. He did a couple of excellent
location pieces for the show. No air date yet - you can be sure I'll let
you know when it is. On to the good stuff!
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ELDERLY HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
No one can accuse Chuck Sozio of Melrose, Mass. of not honoring his elders.
His 77-year-old Frigidaire refrigerator just took first prize in the
Frigidaire Company's exhaustive search for the oldest operating unit in
North America. Sozio, an appliance retailer, received the 1924 refrigerator
as a gift in 1962. The contest was launched to commemorate the 85th
anniversary of Frigidaire's 1915 invention of the self-contained
refrigeration unit, an invention that was, without doubt, one of the most
important of the 20th century. The most interesting thing about the winning
refirgerator is this: In its 77 years of life, it has required repairs only
once! Sozio will receive, as his prize, a complete set of new appliances,
including a refrigerator. How cool!
NO MO' BOZO DEPARTMENT
Bozo's Circus, the longest running children's TV program ever, will be
honking its big red nose "good-bye" for the last time this August. The
show, seen nationally for 40 years via cable, as well as on Chicago's
WGN-TV, is being cancelled by mutual agreement, according to the
character's creator, Larry Harmon. Harmon also cited plans to launch an
"updated concept on a much bigger scale". Prepare yourselves for a very
large and possibly frightening clown sometime soon. Now, here's where
collecting comes into this story: At its peak, the Bozo Show had a 10-year
waiting list for studio tickets. In fact, Oprah Winfrey did a show about
the hardest things to get in America, and Bozo tickets were Number One on
the list. Can you just picture newlyweds ordering tickets so that someday
their kids could be in the audience?
PUBLIC EMINEMENY
Woolworth's may have gone under in the US, but the company is still
operating stores in the UK and they are refusing to carry the new Eminem
doll. The figure comes tattooed and carrying a chainsaw, so, according to
Reuters, it wouldn't be consistent with the chain's family image. Unlike
Eminem's family image, with which it would be perfectly consistent.
HERE'S ANOTHER NEWSLETTER FOR YOU TO TRY:
Since we're all involved, to some extent, in the world of e-commerce, it
behooves us to subscribe to the Auctionbytes newsletter, a missive designed
to help you succeed at eBay et al. Try it - you'll like it. Here's the
LINK
Dear Accumulators, I hope the weather's better where you are than it is
here. I really would appreciate a sunny day some time soon. If your weather
is better, get out there and dig around in those piles of stuff - there's a
treasure waiting for you to find it. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy
hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2001 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #144
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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