Meerschaum pipe at $5.95. Dad said he could use a new chambray work shirt at 59 cents, a wool dress cap with ear flaps for $1.39, and some new bib overalls for $1.10. Of course, a complete pump jack outfit with a Sattley 1 1/2 hp gas engine ($49.85) would sure save a lot of work, and a Richardson steel casting rod and South Bend anti-backlash reel would make it easier to catch that big bass he'd been after for months. Ah well; that outfit cost $9.42.
My sister and I devoured the Sears Christmas catalog as kids, and our extensive wish lists were usually pruned drastically, just as those of our fictitious Molly, Johnny and Billy would have been. Somehow at the time, I never thought of Mom and Dad not being able to afford things they wanted, but I'm sure it was so. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Ever since his days as a boy on a farm in western Pennsylvania, Sam Moore has been interested in tractors, trucks and machinery. Now a resident of Salem, Ohio, he collects antique tractors, implements and related items.