Julie Vintage Archives

Julie Vintage Archives

Welcome To The Vintage Archives

“So happy to have you here.”

(Every now and then my southern belle roots tend to creep out).

Now where are my manors?  Do come in and sit a spell.  Enjoy yourself but please do not touch anything.  These are priceless vintage and antiques passed down to me from my ancestors (and the local thrift and antique malls) but we’ll just keep that to ourselves.

What was that dear?   Oh, you like my dress?

Why this little o’ thing?

This is just a priceless vintage couture gown that I inherited from my grandmother, Nellie Mae, that she wore to her coming out cotillion.  (O.k.  I bought it for $5.00 at my favorite thrift store.  It reminded me of something that Tippi Hedren would have worn in the 60’s.  Happy Now?)

Eclair anyone?

I love, love all the old stuff!

Hand crocheted collars to the left, my grandmother’s typewriter to the right.  I love history and history is written all over the place here.

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Well, now that we have gotten to know each other betta I do hope you will stay awhile and enjoy yourself and by all means do come back and see us sometimes.  It was so nice to meet yew.

Yours truly,

Julie Lancaster-Whann

(But you all can call me Jewleh.)

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Julie Vintage Archives Start Here

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Remembering Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock

Me, having dug out my old Nancy Drew and Dana Girls Mystery books from my youth.

August 9th, is ‘Book Appreciation Day’ and I wanted to focus on my favorite all time books growing up, the Nancy Drew series of books, written under the name of Carolyn Keene.  I do have to say that Nancy Drew saved my life. If you have read any of my blogs then you will know that I grew up moving around a lot.  I was the new kid in school 9 times in 12 years from grades 1 – 12.  I didn’t make many friends and the ones I did, I would leave behind to move onto the next place.  I didn’t grow up with stability, something that I desperately needed as a child.  Nancy Drew gave me that stability that I needed to function.  Reading those books, I was able to escape from my life of loneliness to a life of adventure and excitement and friendship.  Nancy Drew became my best friend and her adventures became mine.  I was able to escape into her world and that helped me to survive mine.

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Me about age 12 or 13 during my big Nancy Drew days.  We were living in Roanoke, Virginia at the

time.
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Nancy Drew collection. 
There is just something about those vintage yellow books that are so special.
I have 1 – 59 of the yellow hardback and 60 – 79 of the paperback books.
I don’t want to diss my upbringing totally as it has helped me to survive as an adult as well.  In my husband’s 20 year military career we moved around quite a bit and because I was so used to moving I adapted much quicker and easier than your average person.  I am never lonely because I learned how to entertain myself.   I am fiercely independent and can speak truth to power.  I also adapt to change more easily.  Gordon and I can move to a new state/town/country etc. and adjust as easily as if we never left our own neighborhood.  So my upbringing has helped me in many areas.  I’m a survivor.   But, Nancy Drew does hold a special place in my heart because she was special.  Her friends Bess and George were special and even her boyfriend Ned was special as well.  Nancy was someone to be admired for her bravery, her smarts, and her values.  I know that she was a fictional character, but she was a fictional character to be admired and emulated.  Although Nancy had a boyfriend she was too busy living life to obsess over him.  Ned was always trailing after her.  Nancy never let some boy get in the way of her doing what she wanted to.  She did what was best for her and her life and not what was best for some boyfriend and his life.  For that I admired her tremendously.  That is a good lesson for all of us.  Live YOUR life for YOU!!
Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew also taught me valuable skills.  Back in 1978 when my family and I were on a cross-country trip out west our Winnebago broke down on the side of the highway.  My step-father was too proud to use the CB radio that was right in front of him so I grabbed the flashlight and headed to the back of the camper.  It was at night so I started sending my SOS signals out the back window.  Soon a car stopped to help us.  My step-father asked the man how he knew we were in trouble and he said that he saw the SOS signals and stopped.  The man was able to help us get the camper started and get to the next town where we found a mechanic to fix it.  Julie saves the day thanks to something that I learned in my Nancy Drew books. Did I ever get a ‘thank you’ for that?  I don’t think so!

My Nancy Drew Paperback Books

There were many Nancy Drew’s to come and go over the decades.  The first was in 1938, her name was Bonita Granville.  She starred in ‘Nancy Drew Reporter’ and ‘Nancy Drew Detective’.   I came across an old Nancy Drew movie on t.v. a few years ago staring Bonita Granville and I just had to watch it.  I couldn’t get over the ‘over acting’.  Acting has apparently advanced since the 1930’s.  I also noticed that her boyfriend was not named Ned, but was named Ted Nickerson played by Frankie Thomas.

Bonita Granville was the first Nancy Drew.
My favorite Nancy Drew, Pamela Sue Martin.
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In 1977  Pamela Sue Martin teamed up with Parker Stevenson and Sean Cassidy to star in The Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries.  I adored her in The Poseidon Adventure from 1972 so I was excited about the series.  Unfortunately the show only lasted until 1978.
Another actress to grace the Nancy Drew role was Maggie Lawson of Psych fame.  She starred in the 2002 t.v. movie, Nancy Drew.
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Emma Roberts also played Nancy Drew in the 2007 movie entitled ‘Nancy Drew’.  I did see it.  I thought it was a cute movie for the average “tween” but I was a bit disappointed in it. I had hoped that they would be able to “revive” the Nancy Drew franchise for this current generation but it just didn’t seem to take.
Emma Roberts was really cute in it but the whole premise just seemed to fall flat. Maybe Nancy Drew is just better off in our own heads.  Written down in books.  Our own ideals and our own fantasies.  She is what we want her to be and not what some director makes her out to be.

These are just a few of the actress’s that have played Nancy Drew over the decades.  Nancy, Bess and George will always be special to me and a big part of my growing up.  That is how I shall always remember her.  So every now and then I like to dig out the books and have another look at them, read one or two before I pack them back up and send them to the attic.  Hopefully someday my daughter will show some interest in them and decide to read them as well.  But until then it’s just me, Remembering Nancy Drew.

More Nancy Drew
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Nancy Drew Files

Nancy Drew Ghost Stories

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys

Nancy Drew Puzzles
My mother’s Nancy Drew books are pictured below.  Inside each book is written, Copyright 1930, Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.  But it also lists the books that had been written at the time, numbering 29 in total. Although my mother only owned these 5 books listed.

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Hidden Staircase

The Bungalow Mystery

Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm

Written inside each book it says, ‘Made in The United States of America’.

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My mother’s Nancy Drew books.  I LOVE the old graphics!

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Gordon’s Hardy Boys Books were written by Franklin W. Dixon.  Gordon only had three of them.  Franklin W. Dixon was also a pen name for several Hardy Boys authors.

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The Mystery of the Chinese Junk

The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge

The Clue of the Hissing Serpent

I think they were all gifts to him that he never read. Two of them have written inscriptions.

“1974 Easter  To:  Gordon Whann from Auntie Hester from Sharpton MD.  Had nice visit with you and your family – See you again soon.  Love, Hester”

The next one said, “To Gordon Whann from John Bunch, Charlotte, 1977”

Whenever you give the gift of a book to someone always be sure to sign it.  It means so much more many years later to find something so nice and personal as that.

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Dana Girls

Photo below my Dana Girls books

 

I do have a few Dana Girls books, actually 15 of them, but I never really got into them.  I think it was because they were two sisters solving mysteries.  I just couldn’t relate to having a sister.  I grew up with 3 brothers.  Nancy Drew was more my speed.  Nancy was an only child.  So was I up until age 8 when my brother Johnny was born.  So I know what’s it’s like to be an only child and the oldest child of the family as well.  But having a sister is very alien to me.  Maybe that’s why I never learned to share.  🙂

The Dana Girls were also written under the name of Carolyn Keene.

When I was looking inside one of my mother’s Nancy Drew books there is a listing of the old Dana Girls books and none of the titles match the ones that I own.  So either they rewrote those old books and updated them or else they changed the titles.  I own 15 of the first 16 Dana Girls books with titles such as:

1.Mystery of the Stone Tiger

2.The Riddle of the Frozen Fountain

3.The Secret of the Silver Dolphin

4.Mystery of the Wax Queen

5.The Secret of the Minstrel’s Guitar

6.The Phantom Surfer

7.The Secret of the Swiss Chalet

8.The Haunted Lagoon

9.Mystery of the Bamboo Bird

10. The Sierra Gold Mystery

11.The Secret of Lost Lake

12.The Winking Ruby Mystery

13.The Ghost in the Gallery

14.The Curious Coronation

15.(Don’t have this one)

16.Mountain Peak Mystery

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The Dana Girls Mystery Stories titles from 1930 are listed as:

1By the Light of the Study lamp

2.The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage

3.In the Shadow of the Tower

4. A Three-Cornered Mystery

5. The Secret at the Hermitage

6.The Circle of Footprints

7.The Mystery of the Locked Room

8.The Clue in the Cobweb

9.The Secret at the Gatehouse

10.The Mysterious Fireplace

11. The Clue of the Rusty Key

12.The Portrait in the Sand

13.The Secret in the Old Well

14.The Clue in the Ivy

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Carolyn Keene

Carolyn Keene was a pen name used by several authors.  I can remember as a child people telling me that Carolyn Keene was really a man and not a woman.  Actually Carolyn Keene was several women and a few men.  The name Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym.  Various authors such as Harriet Stratemeyer, Mildred Wirt Benson, Walter Karig, Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Margret Scherf, Charles Strong, Wilhelmina Rancan, Priscilla Doll, Alma Sasse, and George Waller Jr.  They were ALL Carolyn Keene.

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Mildred Wirt Benson, just one of the authors that wrote under Carolyn Keene.
 

 

 

 

 

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June 16, 2012

Father’s Day is June 17th.

Franklin E. Haskin

When I think of Father’s Day I always think of my Grandfather.  Other than my husband he was the nicest and kindest man I’ve ever known.  He died when I was 14 years old from his second heart attack.  He was almost 57.  He and my Grandmother even helped raise me when I was young so my Grandparents were also my parents.  Even though they are both gone now I still think of them often and I even have some keepsakes of theirs that I can set out and look at and think of them.

I tend to associate material possessions with memories and people that I love.  That’s probably why I am something of a hoarder.  🙂

So this Father’s Day I did.  In a way I guess this is my “shrine” to my Grandfather, Franklin Elwood Haskin.

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Here is a photo of him as a young man.  The frame I found at a thrift store for just a few dollars.  It was made in Italy and it has such good ornate quality to it.  It’s PERFECT for my Grandfather’s photo.

Automobile Drinking Glass with Matching Coasters

I grew up seeing these antique automobile drinking glasses in my Grandparents home.  So when I saw these at an antique mall I just had to get them.  My Grandfather would drink his ice tea out of them.  Now I can drink mine, and think of him.  I found the matching coasters with them.

I found this old wooden box at a thrift store in Maryland.  I use it to house some keepsakes of my family.  Here I’ve got a newspaper clipping of my Grandfather when he became Postmaster in Rome, Georgia.  My Grandmother is also in the photo.  I also have his obituary  and some of his cufflinks and some old photos of his home.

This photo is of my Grandmother and Grandfather when they were dating.  I put it in a rhinestone picture frame and added a vintage rhinestone accent to the top of it.  It’s just some broken jewelry that once belonged to my Grandmother.

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I made a commemorative tray depicting the men in my family that have since passed.  My Grandfather, Great-Grandfathers and my Great-Uncle.  I did the same to the women in my family.  (See my Mother’s Day things way down below).  The little tin mail box was my Grandfather’s along with the vintage rubber stamps.  They have his name on them, ‘F. E. Haskin, Postmaster’.  One of them has rubber bands wrapped around it that he placed there himself.  I will never remove them!

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My FAVORITE photo of my Grandfather as a boy, top right.

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  The cute little girl was a neighbor and he was being mischievous not letting her have the broom.  🙂

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What is it about men in cars?  A young Frank Haskin sitting in his car.

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Dried Roses

I think they look very well with my old faded memories here.  Don’t you?

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Handmade Stool


My Grandfather made this stool.  I have it now and it sits in the nook under my bathroom counter just perfectly!  I love it!  It is something that he made that I will treasure forever.

The paint is all crackled with age.

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My next project that I will be working on.
My Grandfather’s old mirror.

I have the mirror upside down here.  There is a piece missing from the bottom and I will need to find something to replace it so that I can hang it up.  Otherwise the glass will fall out.

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The mirror has a missing  piece.  I want to keep it sideways until I find a way to secure the mirror inside the old frame so that it doesn’t fall out.  Photo at right, above, is the back of the frame.  I am not interested in restoring it so that it looks perfect and different.  I just want it to look the same but be able to hang on the wall safely and the glass not fall out.  I love all the age and wear and tear.

ME

Me, a self-portrait.  This photo depicts the real me.  Always having a camera in my hand.  You never know when something magical may happen.

Everything in life is temporary, except when you take a picture of it, then it lasts forever.

Julie

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June 9, 2012

I’m a bit late to the Jubilee.

The Queen’s Jubilee, that is.

Although this is the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, here is my collection of Queen Elizabeth memorabilia.  I don’t have very much but what I do have is quite grand.  I even have her coronation cup commemorative.

I also have her Silver Jubilee tin with her and Prince Phillip, 1925 – 1977.

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Vintage Silver Jubilee tin and several tea tins.

My vintage style Victorian Phone

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A replica from the “Victorian” era, as in Queen Victoria.

         I absolutely adore this phone.  It is very Victorian, very ornate.  Also the original phone number written on the plate above.  I found this phone at a thrift store a few years ago.  The phone even has the bought date of January 3, 1980.  LOVE IT!  Makes me feel like a queen to answer it when it rings!

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       Mother’s Day Cards

The dice and the one jack in the photo above belonged to my mother when she was a little girl.  I found them in one of my Grandmother’s junk drawers when I was younger and kept them all these years thinking that I would do something with them.  I think they look nice as an accent to my cards here.  Items that once belonged to my family members scattered about.  I think they look playful here beside the photos of my mother as a child.

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Someone wrote me and asked me to display my Mother’s Day cards a bit more pronounced.  So here they are.  I simply bought some card stock and added some old photographs of family members, some paper flowers, vintage ribbon, lace doilies, and vintage buttons.  Also lots of different papers and textures to create these cards.  My mother was a very cute girl.  She used to complain that my Grandmother would make her sleep in rags to curl her hair at night.  I guess it was that Shirley Temple look that was in style at the time. 

Here are two photographs of my Great-Grandmother Keith.  The photo above left is her as an old woman. I sewed an antique locket to the card below that one in addition to the antique buttons and ribbon.  She was a young girl in that card.  Her name was Emma and she was quite a simple beauty.  Nothing fancy about her.  But she was lovely!

Vintage buttons and vintage and antique keys added to delicate paper and doilies. 

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To the left I’ve sewn an antique doilie to this card with a lovely antique rhinestone button in the center.  I also used several different textures of paper to create the cards.  Some velvet and some very delicate tissue like paper.

To the right is my other Great-Grandmother Honnie.  Her real name was Lillian.  My mother grew up calling her Hone but when I came along I called her Honnie so from that moment on everyone called her Honnie.  Here I’ve put her image on a card with velvet surrounding her, some vintage emblems, an old tassel and a small vintage key, probably once belonging to a jewelry box or something.  They were my two Great-Grandmothers.  One poor and one well off.  I loved them both equally!

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Here I am when I was a baby.  I’ve added an antique button and an antique hat pin to this card.
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This was my Lord of the Rings phase.

 

Lovely fantasy paper and ribbon.  Very “fairy tale” like.  I sewed on to the cards vintage and antique buttons, silk flowers and pretty ribbon. 

I think the antique buttons make these cards.

Although hard to see, I sewed an owl antique button to the card at right.  It looks like it is in the tree.

Julie

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Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Julie