kcm
Gold Member
The wife and I were at a local weekly auction nearly 20 years ago. At the auction that week (and for about 4 weeks total) were lots of items from the 40's and 50's that were brand spanking new - most still with price tags. Lots of fancy gowns and dresses, fur coats, jewelry, toys, games, tools, etc, etc, etc. Just about anything one could want, and it was all brand new/never used.
Well, we bought a few things, but most went above what we wanted to pay. But one item we won was a lawn sprinkler. It was a Melnor sprinkler, much like this one except it was 100% metal:
Vintage Melnor Turret Sprinkler Lawn Garden Water VG CLEAN CONDITION | eBay
It was still in its original box and the box had never been opened. The only thing was that someone had done a little math on the box in pencil many years before. The pencil marks were faint and almost gone.
Neither of us had any interest or use for this sprinkler, but not long before that my Mom & Dad had mentioned how they couldn't find a decent sprinkler anymore, and how they wished they could find one like this again. So, we sent it to them for Christmas. Our cost? $1.00. When they got the gift, they wondered what they should do with it. I told them to do whatever they wanted - it was now "theirs"!!
Well, my dad passed a couple years ago and Mom died last month. While going through their stuff, we found that sprinkler. It was unused, still in its original, unopened box. Apparently my folks thought they should hold onto it rather than having one heck of an awesome all-metal sprinkler like they had been looking for!
Now here's the confounding thing for us - we live in a wetlands area. We have ZERO use for a sprinkler, as the water table is never more than a few feet below our feet, and (VERY) often up to the surface. So confound it!! Do we keep it in the box? Use it to water a waterlogged yard?? ...This has got to be the MOST MISERABLE $1 we've ever spent in our lives!!
Well, we bought a few things, but most went above what we wanted to pay. But one item we won was a lawn sprinkler. It was a Melnor sprinkler, much like this one except it was 100% metal:
Vintage Melnor Turret Sprinkler Lawn Garden Water VG CLEAN CONDITION | eBay
It was still in its original box and the box had never been opened. The only thing was that someone had done a little math on the box in pencil many years before. The pencil marks were faint and almost gone.
Neither of us had any interest or use for this sprinkler, but not long before that my Mom & Dad had mentioned how they couldn't find a decent sprinkler anymore, and how they wished they could find one like this again. So, we sent it to them for Christmas. Our cost? $1.00. When they got the gift, they wondered what they should do with it. I told them to do whatever they wanted - it was now "theirs"!!
Well, my dad passed a couple years ago and Mom died last month. While going through their stuff, we found that sprinkler. It was unused, still in its original, unopened box. Apparently my folks thought they should hold onto it rather than having one heck of an awesome all-metal sprinkler like they had been looking for!
Now here's the confounding thing for us - we live in a wetlands area. We have ZERO use for a sprinkler, as the water table is never more than a few feet below our feet, and (VERY) often up to the surface. So confound it!! Do we keep it in the box? Use it to water a waterlogged yard?? ...This has got to be the MOST MISERABLE $1 we've ever spent in our lives!!
