Merchant' Gifts:

A slice of Small Town Business

October 18, 2008

In years past, it was common for small town merchants to give away small gifts, either to entice customers or at the holidays to thank customers for a year of patronage.  Many of us had pens, thermometers, calendars, hammers, ashtrays, whisks and other such practical items in our homes, stamped with the names and addresses of our local businesses.  Today, some of those items are collectable and prized by collectors or sold by antique dealers. 

Eleven North Star members brought items, talked about how they acquired them and what they knew about the items.  The discussion brought back many memories for many of the members as the items were discussed and displayed.

There are no photos of the items since the webmaster was busy with the program and missed out on some great photo opportunities.