Today I'm joining in Tuesday Trivia Tie-In, with Troy at his blog called I Refuse to Recede.
Vacationers from years past have had fun looking through Souvenir Shops wherever they have traveled. They scoured high and low for just the perfect thing to take home with them to remind them of their stays in various resorts or state parks. Souvenir Shops catered to almost everyone's tastes and tried to offer a variety of goods to catch the tourists eye.
One thing I recall seeing as a child were pictures that were decoupaged onto slices of trees. The trees might be from the locale, and most were stamped on the reverse side of the wood to say where it came from or who created it.
This one boasts itself as One of a Kind, and it would be hard to find one similar, as Avers Gift Shop has long been gone. I wonder if Algonac Michigan is still on the map? Should check that out! These tree slices often had Bible verses or cute sayings preserved onto the wood to fit special nooks in the home - Kitchen sayings were popular - "No matter where I serve my guests, they seem to like my kitchen best!" is one I recall - Grandma Agnes had that little ditty hanging on the side of a cupboard in HER kitchen!Another popular item in Souvenir Shops - figurines like this one.
On the bottom front it says "Yellowstone". The bear cub is cute and different. Most of the chalk-ware figures I've seen from Yellowstone were full grown bears looking very ferocious! Who would be frightened of this little guy? And bear cubs are so cute!
These were molded and stained to bring to mind carved wood. They did the job back then, but nowadays the molded plastics manufactured can look SO REALISTIC, you have to look twice to see if it is really carved wood or imitation! The vintage fake carved wood is so collectible because it is Chalk-ware - and we are seldom fooled by Chalk-ware! We love it because of what it is!
