"ONE MAN'S JUNK..."

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field...”  (from Matthew 13:44)

“One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

I’m sure you’ve all heart that one.

No matter how much my sister and I explain how much stuff...”junk”...my parents managed to accumulate over several decades, there really are no words to describe it.  If anybody my father knew was getting rid of virtually ANYTHING, my father would take it!  In just the RAFTERS of the basement of the house in Canton is enough stuff to fill a large dumpster!  We haven’t even gotten to most of THAT stuff!  My parents have each been dead for over 6 years.  After that amount of time, at least one-third of their “stuff” still remains.  Less than 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, my sister and I put together 7 large green trash bags of junk from stuff that was my father’s.  That stuff  WAS all just junk and was thrown away.  I’d say in the past 5 years, we’ve thrown away at least 200 large green trash bags full of my parents’ junk.  We’ve also sold a lot of stuff, and given away some things.

You never know what you’re going to find.  Earlier this month there in Canton on a shelf we found a wooden case.  I’m very poor at estimating dimensions, but just from memory, I’d say it was 2 feet by 2 feet by 4 inches.  I opened up the wooden case.  Inside was a series of motivational training records (probably 33 and a third R.P.M.) for Kaiser-Frazier salesmen and dealers.  I know.  Most of you don’t even know what a Kaiser-Frazier dealer is.  Kaiser and Frazier and later Henry J were automobiles manufactured by the Kaiser-Frazier Corporation (later the Kaiser Willys Corporation) in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  They were not big sellers.  The last of their new cars in the U.S.A. were sold in 1955.  I go to a lot of classic car shows and I think I’ve MAYBE seen 1 Kaiser and 1 Henry J (ever) at a classic car show.  I went on-line and did not have any success at locating a Kaiser-Frazier Owners Club.  (There are clubs for most makes that are easily found...DeSoto, Edsel, Hudson...all have clubs.)  I told my sister NOT to throw the case out.  To an automotive history “nut” or a “Kaiser-Frazier nut” that case is a rare find.  The exterior is in fair condition but the inside (records and slogans) is in very good condition.  The problem is- how do you find that “Kaiser-Frazier nut” or “automotive history nut” who’d make an offer on it?  

About a year ago, we found a small black-and-white photo display booklet for Graham-Paige automobiles from the 1920s.  I did find a Graham-Paige club on-line.  Ultimately, a guy from just outside Montreal, Quebec bought that booklet from us for $50. U.S.

Following the famous “6 degrees of separation” theory, there’s SOMEBODY reading this that’s “6 degrees” or less from a person who’d make an offer on that Kaiser-Frazier training case.  Think about it.  Mention it around.  I’m serious. Thanks.  

Incidentally, I have no idea how much that’s worth to a serious collector.  I’d guess $100-$300 but who knows?

Oh, how did my Dad get that?  An acquaintance of his was Ash Cox of Quincy, Mass. who ran “C.A. Cox Motor Sales”.  For many years they were an American Motors dealership, but in the ‘40s and ‘50s they sold new Kaiser-Frazier cars.  I’d guess Dad got that from Ash Cox.  I doubt Ash Cox is still alive.  He’d be at least 100 years old!

I think it should be obvious from the headings on this blog, but I can be reached at RevRBaril@aol.com