William

Sorry to stray from glass, but I wanted to share this flask I found a few months ago and this would be the appropriate thread! I don't recall ever seeing/finding one made in Occupied Japan, a somewhat small timeframe in history. Overall it's in pretty good condition for being a steel piece. $5 at a second hand store in Iowa.

Another somewhat older Jim Beam bottle I have hanging around....not exactly sure of its age. @PittsburghMarbles your the bottle man, have an idea? I'm thinking late 60's-early 70's?

Shout out to Chad and friends in Washington State! Missing a little bit of the tag and seal but love all the bottles Jim Beam made over the years. Some states are more difficult to find than others, per production numbers, don't think Washington state is too difficult to find. But this was my first time coming across one in the wild. $15, why not? 😊

I don't see Alley. Too me they resemble Alox or maybe Davis. Alox operated through the late 30's-late 40's while Davis operated 47'-48'. I could be totally wrong, we'll see what other more experienced collectors have to say 😊

Another thing that has changed is the Grand Prize for the $20 (red) ticket. For as long as I can remember, it's always been a brand new car. And they would only produce 1,500 tickets. Now it's a cash prize for the first time and not sure on the amount of tickets printed, maybe 2,000? I never win, but I toss my $35 in the ring every year. Actually, I gifted these too Patty because Sunday the 12th of September, day of the drawings, is her 50th birthday! Maybe that will change the luck! 😊

Looks like a great time! Yeah, I miss the fair/carnival aspect of Steam engine days...back in 2008 we had massive flooding in Southeast Minnesota followed by another bad year around 2011 I think? The grounds area in the picture where you see the tractors, used to be set up with the rides. Well, when steady, heavy rain sets in, the creek comes up and half that area down there gets flooded. Insurance issues came too light and none of the available carnival companies in the tri-state area wanted to deal with it so were stuck with what you see on the program. It was a mess down there with the water damage and heavy equipment sinking in the mud. The few years following this Steam engine days actually went downhill, attendance was down big time because of the lack of carnival rides. It's made a comeback now and this little town of under 1,000 people now hosts around 10,000 or so over the whole weekend. Anyways, I'll share some more pics also in the coming days!

I want to guess Alox until others offer opinions? And you might want to invest in some plastic calipers, don't want to scratch the glass with the metal 😊

From one gardener to another, that's great

Just took these while down at the post office 😊

Here's mine, The Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days Celebration! It's a fun filled weekend for everyone! Activities, Events, a Grand parade of Antique, Steam Engine and modern tractors followed by the Festival Parade, music, good food, vendors, cash and prize drawings, etc. Excited!

Does your Town or City have an annual event or celebration that's near and dear too the community? We have one here this weekend in little Mabel, Minnesota this weekend that's in it's 69th year. I thought it would be interesting to see what happens in everyone's little corner of the world! Post away and enjoy!

A piece of glassware....I would have to say my Chairman's Award of Merit I received from Miken Sports is tops amongst all the various pieces of glass I have. Before Rawlings purchased Miken Sports, we were owned by the Jarden Corporation, a huge company internationally, which also owns the likes of Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam, Oster, and many other successful name brands both household and otherwise. Back then in 2012, we ran 2 shifts. Employees from production and the Administration building combined was right around 200 people. Too learn that my coworkers, my peers, had voted me too represent them was quite humbling. I was so proud. Each company that Jarden owned had its own representative for the Merit Award. Now that's alot of folks in the mix. I remember being notified in the final weeks leading up to the final balloting that I had made the cut, Top 50! That information floored me! Out of the final 50, 7 finalists were to be chosen for an all expenses paid trip too New York City, stay in a 5-star Hotel, and attend a special luncheon hosted by Martin Franklin at one of the best restaurants in town. I was on pins and needles that final week before learning that I didn't make the cut. Besides the previous excitement, I was also disappointed but relieved it was over! Still, I was very proud and honored to have been chosen for this, a time I won't soon forget. 😊

I haven't been collecting marbles very long, not even a year yet, but I would say that this mib is probably tops with me, simply because of how I got it. Pulling this Akro Sparkler out of a $12 jar of mixed mibs was a feeling similar to hitting a good lottery ticket (too me anyway). And the odds of it being in this condition considering how long it possibly was unprotected was cool in itself 😊

You'll find a couple of threads, Squabble Zone and Lounge I think, related to the crazy Ebay stuff. And I'm sure Covid19 played some kind of role, look at the Sports cards/Memorabilia side of it. It exploded because everyone stuck at home broke out the collections and started a fire there. Rookies and singles hitting record numbers for sales prices. Insanity. I could make a killing on my huge Football card collection but chose to sit on it. 👍

No matter how big or small, it's a score my friend 😊

Oh yeah!

Oh yeah, in the snail's 3rd picture, can I dare say that it looks like it's getting sick? 🤮 🤣🤣🤣

Yep, my phone isn't very good from 25 feet away 😉

That's the same thing I thought about my 2 little guys. Who knows how long they have been banged around and too still look half way decent like they do. Amazing.

Good morning! Nice one, Chad 👍

Like my little pale green one, this is another one I found mixed in with a bunch of random mibs...

Correction...she's the "Queen" 👑

General marble and glass chat 😊

Gladys created a post on July 1st regarding "eyelashes"....she showcased a Vitro she found with some. Also pictured are some good examples from Akro and Masters 😊