Latest news with #antique
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Antique firetruck honored on 100th birthday
SHENANDOAH — A fire truck built when Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States was honored Saturday on its 100th birthday at the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society museum. A rare 1925 Ahrens Fox piston pumper led a parade of vintage fire trucks through the borough. 'Ahrens Fox was billed as the Rolls Royce of fire trucks,' said Michael Kitsock, the museum's curator. 'The piston pumper is the most collectable of antique fire trucks.' Marked by a large chrome pressure ball on its front, the piston pumper was popular with metropolitan fire departments because of its ability to supply water to tall buildings. 'The Ahrens Fox had a very unique style,' Kitsock said. 'It was a great pumper.' * Mike Kitsock, fire historian, drives the 100-year-old Ahrens Fox pumper in Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO) * A model of 1925 Ahrens Fox pumper in the Schuylkill Historical Fire Company museum, Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 2 Mike Kitsock, fire historian, drives the 100-year-old Ahrens Fox pumper in Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO) Expand Truck's History The Ahrens Fox piston pumper was delivered to the Citizens Hose Company No. 5 of Lock Haven in 1925. It served as a first line pumper for the Lock Haven fire department until 1948, when it was sold to the newly-formed Valley Fire Company, which used it until the early 1960s. Subsequently, it was sold to Brooklyn Hose Company in Lewistown, where it was used as a parts truck for their 1924 Ahrens Fox piston pumper. Abandoned in a field, the old truck was purchased by firefighters from the Rescue Fire Company No. 3 in Shamokin in 1963. During its restoration, Shamokin firefighters traveled to Ahrens Fox in Cincinnati, Ohio, in search of parts. Though Ahrens Fox was out of business, they managed to find parts and return it to running order. It was used in the Shamokin's centennial parade in 1964, and became a fixture in parades throughout the Shamokin area for several decades. Despite their extensive work, the restoration committee was unable to find missing parts for the truck's pump until the1990s, when the pump was restored to working order. In 2023, the 98-year-old truck was donated to the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society. It is on permanent display in the society's museum in the former Columbia Hose and Steam Engine Company No. 1 at 105 S. Jardin St., Shenandoah. Formed in 1999, the society has around 100 antique fire trucks stored in a former warehouse in Mahanoy City. Its collection includes an 1809 Pat Lyons hand pumper, a 1926 Ford Model T fire truck and a 1929 Ahrens Fox pumper once housed at Good Intent Fire Company in Pottsville. Happy 100th Phillip Groody, longtime Ashland Fire Chief, moderated a birthday party for the truck at the fire society museum following the parade. Frank Zangari, Girardville fire chief and president of the Schuylkill County Fire Chief's Association, was the guest speaker at a reception following the parade. Kurt Tadich, fire society president, talked about the significance of the Ahrens Fox. Trustees Ned Beck, Pete Rinaldi and Dave Dawson were presented with awards. The gathered crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' to the old truck before cutting a cake in its honor.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Antiques Roadshow guest left dumbstruck after learning the massive value of 'marvellous' rare collection
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left dumbstruck after learning the value of their 'marvellous' rare collection. An episode of the popular BBC programme saw the public bring various heritage items to Burton Constable Hall and Parkland in Yorkshire for valuation. Expert Judith Miller met with an elderly lady, accompanied by her three grown-up daughters and granddaughter, to assess what her collectables would fetch at auction. In the resurfaced episode, which originally aired in 2017, the woman had brought along her late husband's enormous beloved shoe buckle collection. The woman was left overwhelmed after learning that the collection of 1,500 buckles, which she bought for around £2 each, were worth a massive £200,000. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Speaking to the family, Judith said: 'So, absolutely surrounded by Georgian shoe buckles. How did you get them?' The widow replied: 'Well, my late husband, it was his collection and he collected them for over 50 years.' The antiques expert dubbed the expansive assortment of buckles 'marvellous', before explaining the history of this type of fastening. 'They had buckles in the medieval period but then they went out of fashion and then they came back in the mid-17th century', she explained. 'People like Samuel Pepys wrote about putting buckles on his shoes.' The buckles were mostly from a narrow time period, with Judith explaining: 'A lot of these are from the golden period of shoe buckles from 1750 to 1780.' She explained her husband's interest in them began after his father gifted him a couple of them, adding: 'From then on, he just liked them. 'When we went to antiques fairs, we were always looking for shoe buckles. 'We could go into quite an upmarket antiques shop and we were probably paying £2, ten shillings, something like that, for Georgian shoe buckles.' Judith asked: 'And did it become a little bit of an obsession?' The guest laughed, confessed: 'Yes, just a bit.' One of the lady's daughters spoke fondly about her father's collecting habits, adding: 'I think it's amazing he collected it over so many years. He was so proud of it. 'He researched them, he cleaned them, he catalogued them, he loved showing people, he loved talking about them.' Another of the daughters then quickly chimed in to reveal that they had 'an awful lot' more buckles still back at home. They confessed they had around 1,500 buckles in total - which Judith dubbed 'a little bit of an obsession', to laughs from the guests. A particularly charming pair of cream ware buckles caught the appraiser's attention, who dubbed the colour and ceramic material 'absolutely beautiful and so impractical'. The owner replied: 'Well, this is partially why there aren't that many around. Because obviously they got broken.' While Judith agreed: 'Obviously, as soon as you put them on, they would break. You can't imagine they survived one single wearing.' When it came to the nitty gritty of pricing, the expert valued the more ordinary pairs of shoe buckles at a respectable £100 each. Meanwhile, it was estimated those in cases would fetch an impressive £600 at auction - while a particularly lovely cream pair would go under the hammer for an amazing £1,000. But the most astounding news was still to come, as Judith concluded: 'So, if you look at the collection as a whole, and it's pretty staggering to me, I think we're looking here with your collection, at £200,000.' The elderly owner was left dumbstruck, as her family and bystanders audibly gasped. One of her daughters said, 'Oh God', as all the women quickly became emotional at the eye-watering sum. But that was not what mattered most to the widow, who said: 'We don't really sort of think of that. I mean, they are a collection and we are keeping the collection. 'They will get passed down to my three daughters and possibly even further down the line than that. He just loved them. Absolutely loved them.' Judith finished: 'Well, isn't it lovely you've got this lovely inheritance, you've got your daughters and granddaughter? It's a lovely family story.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
CCTV image released after two antique paintings taken from Cumbrian cocktail bar
CCTV footage has been released as police hope to locate two antique paintings which were taken from a cocktail bar in Penrith. Police investigating the theft of two antique paintings from The Loose Moose, Little Dockray are releasing CCTV footage. The paintings were taken on Monday, March 31 at around 4pm. Police would like the public's help in identifying the people pictured on CCTV, who they would like to speak to as part of this investigation. Information relating to this investigation can be reported online at quoting incident number 77 of 5 April 2025 or by calling 101. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
19 Extremely Rare, Mind-Blowing Photos From The 18th Century That Show Just How Wildly Different Things Used To Be
18th century fire alarm that you'd need to hit with a hammer to alert the village of a fire: 18th century machine that let researchers read up to 8 open books at once: 18th century condom: 18th century diving suit: 1740 wheelchair for Holy Roman Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel: 18th century Scottish mortsafe to stop graverobbers: Related: Women Are Sharing The Surprising Things They Discovered About Men When They Got A Boyfriend, And The Responses Range From Hilarious To Actually Kind Of Heartbreaking 18th century gaming device that came before the pinball machine: mid-1700s well that was glassed over and eventually became part of a home's kitchen: 18th century French chair for reading books: Related: "Something In My Head Said, 'Don't Get Up'": 16 Older Adults Reveal The Wildest Supernatural Encounters From Their Childhood 1700s oil lamp: 1750s wall latern: 18th century mansion's dog grave: 18th century sword-shaped Chinese coins: 18th century case of amputation instruments: 18th century lock that requires four keys to open: 18th century palace hall: 1700s graffiti on a cathedral: 18th century building in Norland, Norway: finally, this 1700s lighthouse Fresnel lens: Also in Internet Finds: People Revealed The Creepiest, Cult-Like Towns In The United States And, Jesus Christ, It's Icky Also in Internet Finds: 27 Extremely Disturbing Wikipedia Pages That Will Haunt Your Dreams Until The End Of Your Days Also in Internet Finds: 101 People Who Woke Up One Morning And Promptly Had The Most Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Day In Human History
