10/02/2026
I picked this up recently and when I bought it someone commented, "but it is broken". I don't see broken, I see history. Before we came to the Valley I had a space in a record shop in the farmland of South Jersey. We had a regular come in named Norm. Norm was in his late 80s, a little run down, and always a smart...but we loved Norm. One day he came in and asked me if I would come to his house and take photos of his home for American Pickers because they were coming to South Jersey. When I went in, my heart sank and I couldn't believe the amount of containers everwhere, but it wasn't all a mess. A lot were scrubbed out and stacked all over the counters. Each room you had to walk a little sideways to get through the rooms. Downstairs there were collections everywhere. The dining room had the most ornate beautiful inkwells...100s of them. The living room, antique books and local memorabilia, his room all tin toys and funky antiques, the basement all antique bottles including a Bear Lithia, of course at the time I had no idea where or what that was. But upstairs, his and each of his brothers and sisters rooms were immaculate. He even had her clothes folded on the bed as if she would walk in and wear them that day. He was so proud of his home. I walked in shocked by all the containers, but found a house full of life and memories, down to his tiny FFA jacket hanging in his closet. I took hundreds of pictures. When I was getting ready to leave I asked him did he want me to help him with the kitchen, throw any of the containers away...he said, "Christi, Farmers don't throw things away. We can reuse them." I learned a lot from Norm that day and it was a privilege to be there. American Pickers did call me, and they went to his house and spent the whole day with him. He was over the moon, a king in his castle showing them all of his treasures and memories. They did not end up picking the house for the show, because Norm had an original Army Jeep that was tucked away in his barn. . He said he was sorry it was staying with the property. The Pickers said no problem and it was a great day. Norm was on cloud nine for awhile and passed shortly there after. Antique dealers from all over the region attended his funeral because he was family to all. When I see containers like this, it makes me think of him. This doesn't belong in a landfill. It is still fully functional, and a piece of history. I am not even sure if the lid was original or someone cleverly put on to use. I love finding old pieces like this with life still. Sorry so long, but made me think of Norm and not judging a book or home by its cover.
