The Nash Group LLC

09/09/2026

I found this headstone under the work bench in my garage when I bought my house. The previous owner left most everything in the garage and I have found a number of interesting things in there over the years.
I figured it was finally a good time to bring it in to the store so I decided to do a little research on it first.
It only reads Johnson and Johnson so I did't even know their first names. It appears that the person who died in 1921 on the left was Alma Johnson and the person on the right was her husband Joseph Johnson. Alma was born in Kansas and Joseph was born in Sweden. Joseph got remarried to Esther in 1925 after Alma died in 1921. He lived until 1963. All three are burried at Riverview Cemetary in Scandia, Kansas.
Esther lived until she was 101 years old and died in 1995.
I presume that this headstone was engraved shortly after the passing of Alma in 1921. The upper right corner of the headstone is broken off. This could have led to it being replaced or it might have been replace when Joseph died and they wanted to bury him seperately because he had remarried. I really don't know.
I know the names of the former owners of my house who had owned it for a number of decades and they don't show up as children of Alma Joseph or Esther.
So why would it have ended up in their hands after it was replaced if they were not related? Why did it travel so far to end up in Saint Cloud?
Why would someone keep a headstone enscribed with the name of someone they were not related to?
Unless it was not originally theirs, maybe it was from the owner before them. I do not know who owned the house before they did.

Saint Cloud produces granite which is what this is made from, could it have been made here and been damaged and not shipped out and was discarded?
I have more questions than answers.
If you would like to see it in person we will be bringing it in to Metz & Co tomorrow evening.
Haloween Decoration or interesting piece of history, you be the judge?
If someone were interested in doing more digging I would be interested in learning more, I found all this from a quick search on the internet.

09/03/2026

08/26/2026

Today we brought in a genuine working Western Electric rotary phone, I tested it myself. It is kind of fun dialing a rotary, my parents still have a land line so I tested it at their house. I briefly considered getting a land line so I could dial it regularly but I probably wouldn't use it as much as I think I would.
I think of it as similar to a stick shift car. More fun and engaging. If you are one of those people out there that still have a land line or if you just like the looks of them, this phone could be yours.
We also found this "Buzzard" brand display case. Since our desk sold we needed a new center display and this fit the bill nicely.
Come in and check it out at Metz & Co.

08/18/2026

I found a yard stick from a company I didn't previously know existed.
Bumps Furniture and Appliance in St. Cloud
I searched it on Google and all I could find were a couple FB posts referencing it but containing no real information.
The address on the yard stick would indicate that it was across the street from Handymans hardware on the east side of St. Cloud. It appears that having two letters at the beginning of the phone number was phased out by the late 1960's. So I presume this yard stick at least dates to then or before.
When was Bumps started?
When did it close?
Who owned it?
What happened to the building?
Curious of anyone out there has more information about it.

08/01/2026

We recently brought in this Pace bathroom scale. They were made by The Brearley Company. From what I have read, I believe this scale is from the 1960s. It freatures a convient top carrying handle and a mechanical dial.
If you are looking for a true mid century modern piece, this could be the one for you.
It is a different experience when you step on a mechanical scale and hear the parts moving inside compared to the plain digital readout on most bathroom scales these days.

08/01/2026

👀 Texture, details... from fabric to brass, to wood - we've got such a variety of colors, textures and items in our booth at Metz & Co, it's so fun to look around and reimagine uses for these cool items. Open Wednesday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 12pm-5pm.

07/15/2026

Check out this beautiful painting of Rotenburg, Germany. If you look up this town you will see that many paintings have been painted of this same scene. This one is much more abstract and I presume the artist was trying to portray it as it was long ago.
Who painted it? Don't know.
When did they paint it? Couldn't tell you.
I acquired it as part of another artist's estate, though it didn't match that artist's style at all so I know it was not painted by her.

Come check it out in person at Metz & Co.