Features
Swingin’ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swing
If you’re looking to buy a porch swing on a budget, this retro model is available online for $195. (Image courtesy of The Porch Swing Co.)July 2025Cover StorySwingin’ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swingby Corbin CrableThey’ve gone through...
The Heart of the Home Kitchen appliances reveal food prep, storage trends throughout the years
By the 1950s, refrigerators were able to accommodate the needs of the modern family, even keeping them cool when summer’s heat arrived. (Image courtesy of Pinterest)June 2025Cover StoryThe Heart of the Home Kitchen appliances reveal food prep, storage trends...
A nickel’s worth of fun Jukeboxes spin the tunes and create memories
A classic Wurlitzer 1015 model. Created in 1946, it is the biggest selling jukebox in history. (Image courtesy of The Men’s Cave)May 2025Cover Story"A nickel’s worth of fun" Jukeboxes spin the tunes and create memoriesby Corbin CrableThe jukebox remains one of the...
Molded meals Aspics inspired bizarre dishes, but rarely appetite
Apsics remain quite common in European cultures. For instance, this colorful shrimp and veggie aspic makes a delightful Italian lunch entree. (Image courtesy of La Cucina Italiana)April 2025Cover StoryMolded meals Aspics inspired bizarre dishes, but rarely appetiteby...
Do the Hustle! Disco made us boogie-woogie the night away in the ‘70s
The iconic mirror ball, setting the tone and delighting disco dancers for decades. (Image courtesy of dancepoise.com)March 2025Cover StoryDo the Hustle! Disco made us boogie-woogie the night away in the ‘70sby Corbin CrableThose who remember the bygone days of disco...
You’re 75, Charlie Brown! Good grief! Peanuts gang has made readers chuckle since 1950
Peanuts Gang Valentine image (image courtesy of schulz museum)February 2025Cover StoryYou’re 75, Charlie Brown! Good grief! Peanuts gang has made readers chuckle since 1950by Corbin CrableOne beloved American comic strip has allowed readers to see the world through...
Porchfests put a song on the lips of passersby
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash July 2025Everything Old Porchfests put a song on the lips of passersbyby Corbin Crable When I was a young boy, my parents would always drive by an old farmhouse on the way out of town. Without fail, no matter the time of day, on...
Kitchen items worth their weight in memories, moolah
Photo by Daria Rudyk on Unsplash June 2025Everything Old Kitchen items worth their weight in memories, moolahby Corbin Crable Roll up your sleeves and don your aprons, because this month’s issue of Discover Vintage America is headed into the kitchen as we explore...
Jukebox songs that put a song in our hearts
Photo by The Retro Store on Unsplash & jukebox (Image courtesy of rock-ola.com) May 2025Everything Old Jukebox songs that put a song in our heartsby Corbin Crable In this issue of Discover Vintage America, we place the jukebox under a figurative magnifying...
What were we thinking? Bizarre dishes of yesteryear
Image created by adobe fireflyApril 2025Everything Old What were we thinking? Bizarre dishes of yesteryearby Corbin Crable The star of the show in this month’s issue of Discover Vintage America is the aspic – that oft-consumed dish that seemed to be synonymous with...
Dressing the part for disco
(Image created by Adobe Firefly)March 2025Everything Old Dressing the part for discoby Corbin Crable It’s 1977. You and your friends spent the afternoon going to the local cinema and watching the new film “Saturday Night Fever.” Now you’re inspired -- you want to go...
Schulz’s Peanuts has KC connection
(Image courtesy of the Schulz Museum)February 2025Everything Old Schulz’s Peanuts has KC connectionby Corbin Crable You’ve read their antics on the comics page of your local newspaper. They’ve celebrated life’s milestones with you in greeting cards. And they’ve made...
Prices vary for early Russel Wright-designed items
1927 - 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Prices vary for early Russel Wright-designed itemsby Anne GilbertThe big hunt for Russel Wright (1904-76) Fiesta pottery, chrome objects and furniture that began in the late 1970s and ‘80s, has leveled off, as have prices. It all depends...
Would you recognize a Chinoiserie-finish antique?
May 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Would you recognize a Chinoiserie-finish antique?by Anne GilbertJapanning or Chinoiserie Whether you call it Japanning or Chinoiserie, if it was made before the 20th century, call it expensive. Even some examples made in the early 20th...
Once-popular painted porcelain plaques can be pricey and reproductions
April 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Once-popular painted porcelain plaques can be pricey and reproductionsby Anne GilbertPainted Porcelain Plaques Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, 19th-century small or miniature painted porcelain portrait plaques were hot collectibles. When they...
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All dolled up – To play or not to play
June 2025Good Eye All dolled up - To play or not to playby Peggy Whiteneck Children’s toys have been sought by adult collectors, especially items in their original packaging. For me, keeping dolls and other toys in original cardboard and cellophane is kind of a...
Quilt art by the piece
May 2025Good Eye Quilt art by the pieceby Peggy Whiteneck Most of us are familiar with quilted bed coverings, which have a history going back centuries. We’re also familiar with the prices the best of antique quilts can command today. Quilts can be found in many...
Spool Pets – Meet Clara Cow
June 2025Covering Quilts Spool Pets - Meet Clara Cowby Sandra Starley Quilters cannot sew without thread and other sewing notions, and most have collections of sewing supplies. You never know what you may find in that box of vintage lace, rickrack, and bias tape. I...
Flying Geese classic quilting block helps quilts take flight
May 2025Covering Quilts Flying Geese classic quilting block helps quilts take flightby Sandra Starley Egyptian pyramids, Mayan Temples and myriad European churches feature this iconic triangle. This ancient shape was quickly adopted by very early quilt makers as a...
Bow Tie or Neck Tie quilts – when fashion meets quilting
March 2025Covering Quilts Bow Tie or Neck Tie quilts – when fashion meets quiltingby Sandra Starley While many quilt pattern names from the 1800s are cloaked in myth, mystery, and marketing, the Bow Tie pattern is clearly a representational block depicting male...
Elsie Bell’s looking forward to Sidewalk Sale
July 2025 Elsie Bell’s looking forward to Sidewalk Sale To celebrate the beginning of its eighth year in Independence, Elsie Bell’s Antique Mall will have its second Sidewalk Sale of the year from 9 am to 2 pm on Saturday, July 26, in the front parking lot. This...
Wheat Festival is a celebration of community
July 2025 Wheat Festival is a celebration of community The 125TH annual Wheat Festival in Wellington, will feature something for every summer funseeker. Taking place July 8-12 in downtown Wellington, the festival is jam-packed with family-friendly activities,...
Show will feature antique farm vehicles, tools in action
July 2025 Show will feature antique farm vehicles, tools in action For a glimpse of old-fashioned farm power, plan to attend the 72nd annual show of the Tri-State Antique Engine and Threshers Association, July 31-Aug. 2 in Bird City. Attendees will be able to marvel...
Old childrens’ books show how times have changed
June 2025Vintage Discoveries Old childrens’ books show how times have changedby Ken Weyand Recently I found four old childrens’ books my mother had stashed away – curiosities of her early life after she moved with her parents to Kahoka, MO, where my grandfather...
Kansas City’s early-day airports helped make flying history
May 2025Vintage Discoveries Kansas City’s early-day airports helped make flying history by Ken Weyand Operating in an era when airplanes were a novelty, pilots navigated using “dead reckoning, and a good landing was “any landing you could walk away from,” Kansas...
Remembering my ‘Dirt Road Days’
February 2025 Vintage Discoveries Remembering my ‘Dirt Road Days’ by Ken Weyand Years before J.D. Vance penned his “Hillbilly Elegy” about his Appalachian origins, I put together an e-book that recalled my early years on a Northeast Missouri farm. As the blurb on the...
“Tomorrow’s Heirlooms” By Trina Robbins
March 2025Books for Collectors“Tomorrow’s Heirlooms” By Trina Robbins By Corbin Crable Ladies of the 1960s and ‘70s often looked pretty in polyester (and paisley, too). Twenty years of fashion trends for women are covered in Trina Robbins’ “Tomorrow’s...
“Peanuts Gang Collectibles” By Jan Lindenberger
February 2025Books for Collectors “Peanuts Gang Collectibles” By Jan Lindenberger By Corbin Crable Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have delighted readers for 75 years, bringing their own brand of humor and life lessons to comic...
“A Century of Royal Doulton Character and Toby Jugs” By Steve Mullins with David Fastenau and Louise Irvine
December 2024Books for Collectors Century of Royal Doulton Character and Toby Jugs By Corbin Crable Collectors of Royal Doulton ceramics – for more than 200 years, the giant among other luxury home goods brands – “A Century of Royal Doulton Character and...