Al Oregon

There has not been an obituary posted in the paper yet. If one is, I will post what it says for remembrances. The only address that I have is for his shop. I would guess the family would be picking up his mail from there or have it forwarded. That address is: Stan Brown, Marble Mouse, 354 9th Street, Astoria, OR 97103.

Here's the article from The Daily Astorian on the accident: 11/28/2006 11:23:00 AM LORI ASSA — The Daily Astorian file 'Marble Guy' dies in slippery accident in Washington Stanley Brown, marble shop owner in Astoria, gave away free marbles to show his kindness and give people luck By KARA HANSEN The Daily Astorian A 64-year-old Astoria man known to many as the "Marble Guy" died Saturday when his pickup slipped off an icy Washington road and plummeted into a ditch, settling upside down in several feet of water. Stanley M. "Stan" Brown was headed south on the Astoria-Naselle bypass with his fiancée, Roshelle Jones, 41, of Longview, Wash., when he lost control of his vehicle near Bean Creek. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members said Jones remained in a hospital Monday after suffering hip and neck injuries. The owner of a marble shop in downtown Astoria, Brown had become a local fixture of sorts since moving to the area several years ago. He manned booths at Astoria's Sunday Market and at the Saturday Market in Ilwaco, Wash. He even appeared in the locally filmed "Ring II" during a market scene. But sales weren't Brown's priority, family members said Monday. Whether at his store, at a market or walking along a downtown sidewalk, he insisted on handing out "lucky marbles" to anyone he passed. Brown's pockets rattled with the tiny glass spheres, and his store was filled with them, some also made of clay, metal, resin, rubber and wood. His grandson Stuart, 16, of Naselle, said Brown likely gave away more marbles than he sold. "He wanted to give away a million lucky marbles before he went," the teenager said. "I think he oversucceeded." The "lucky marbles" offered Brown a chance "to show kindness and to give people luck, to get them back into marbles," said Stuart Brown. He often helped teach people to play marbles at his grandfather's booths, but the two also enjoyed road trips together through Washington and "adventures" in the forest, where they would watch birds, examine insects and discuss astronomy. Stan Brown also liked to fish and was an umpire for many years. But life wasn't always so happy-go-lucky for the marble enthusiast. Family members said Brown, a native of San Francisco, was a rowdy youth, earning the nickname "The Jumper" after a bar brawl or two in Fresno, Calif. He satisfied some of his early wanderlust by hitchhiking and by riding the rails - he was a skilled box-car jumper, family said. Those behaviors bowed toward free love as he grew into adulthood. Brown eventually went through two marriages, raising a daughter, two sons, two stepsons and a stepdaughter. He started refinishing antique furniture before moving to Spokane, Wash., where he opened a moving business. But some of his younger years' unhealthy habits lingered. Overcoming heavy drinking gave Brown a lot of pride, said his stepfather, Max Jones. "He had a complete change of life when he quit drinking," Jones said. "It worked for him, and he'd tell other people about it, too. He liked to tell people, 'That's what you've got to do.'" Camille Brown, a registered nurse in Naselle and the eldest of his three children, agreed her father was a strong advocate of 12-step programs, noting a memorial service will likely be held soon at an Alcoholics Anonymous club in Washington. But he helped many people throughout his life, she added. "He'd offer food to the homeless," she said. "My dad never passed judgment on a single soul. He saw the love in everybody that passed his life." After conquering his drinking problem, Brown, then in his 40s, attended community college in Seattle, where he studied environmental science. It was there he also rekindled an interest in marbles, teaching younger students about the game while selling tiny glass globes painted with Earths. Those embellished orbs were among his most treasured. Using a technique that he attributed to Doug Anderson, some of his favorite painted and screen-printed marbles sit in the back of his shop, a miniature marble museum, which he opened when he moved to Astoria. Joyce Compere, manager of Astoria Sunday Market, said Brown was also a strong supporter of local youths. "Stan was remarkable with young people in this community," said Compere. "Young people who didn't fit in - he made a place for them; he put out his hand and didn't lose patience with them. He employed them, giving them job skills, social skills." She said she hired two young men through Brown for odd jobs. And she laughed recounting his initial proposal for a market booth, which she said took her off-guard. "I said, 'Stan, I don't think marbles are a 21st-century product.' He said, 'No, just give me a chance and we'll have fun with this. We'll get kids involved,'" Compere explained. "And he did." She said plenty of lucky marbles scattered throughout her drawers will help to remember Brown. "He was quirky, and funny, loving and concerned about the Earth and the people on it," Compere said. "I will miss him terribly." Brown often visited family in Spokane, in Rosburg, Wash., and in Naselle. He was headed back to Astoria from one of those gatherings when his truck crashed just after Thanksgiving. When family members ventured out to the site about two miles from their home to place flowers in his memory, they found that Brown had left behind some of his familiar possessions. In the ditch near Bean Creek where the 64-year-old perished, his grandson spotted a sack filled with little balls of glass. "I found some of his marbles," Stuart Brown said.

That's sad about Norm. I know his eyesight had been failing for a few years now and it really bothered him that he couldn't see his beautiful marbles as clearly anymore. I had talked to Sami at the Vegas Show and heard that Norm's condition was deteriorating. He was an interesting guy to talk to and he will be missed.

I edited my post to show the article.

That is sad! I visited him every time I was up in Astoria, Oregon. He was such an enthusiastic person and reaaly got kids into marbles. He had local tournaments, was at flea markets and other events besides his own shop in Astoria, dedicated to marbles (probably one of the few in the US). He was working on a marble alphabet game last time I talked to him - kind of along the lines of scrabble and similar games. He will be missed by many. Here's an article from the local paper last Spring. I couldn't pull the picture from the article so just added one form the Portland Marble Show a couple of years ago (he loved the kids). Everyday people: Astoria man takes his shot introducing the game of marbles to kids By KARA HANSEN The Daily Astorian Stan Brown’s pockets rattle with the sound of a pastime he never experienced as a child. But he’s making up for lost time, and hoping he can bring some fun to children who may never have played the ancient-rooted game of marbles. “The marble business is about kids,” Brown said at the downtown Astoria marble store he opened less than two years ago. His own kids are all grown up. “It’s about encouraging interaction and pulling them away from computers a little bit.” Until he was 46, Brown worked in the moving business, most recently in Spokane, Wash. But he decided to retire and go back to college, where he studied environmental science. He picked up a few marbles at one point and began to play with them, gaining interest from fellow students and fostering his love for a game he didn’t play when he was younger. “What did you not receive as a child that you want to give back as an adult? I want to teach young people marble play,” Brown said. Eventually, it became clear what he should do. He had already fallen in love with Astoria, because it reminded him of a small-scale San Francisco, where he was born. He opened Marble Mouse House and has been promoting marble play ever since. It’s an “earth-friendly” sport that doesn’t cost much to play, he said. “No gear required.” And it lends itself well to wider horizons. Brown found that he loved the concept of painting and screen-printing on marbles, of fixing a permanent image to curved glass. He now has hundreds of the tiny works of art at his store, thanks to help from Doug Anderson, who he said pioneered the technique. He also likes to fish and was an umpire for many years, an activity he’d like to continue, if he has the time. “It’s hard to find time in between,” said Brown, who spends any weekend he can at Astoria’s Sunday Market and at the Saturday Market in Ilwaco, Wash., where he may soon host a weekly tournament. He’ll also lead games at the Astoria-Warrenton Crab and Seafood Festival at the end of April. Pockets rattling with the little balls of glass, Brown often hands out “lucky marbles” to passersby, whether they’re adults or children. He hopes people of all ages can find something to enjoy in the pastime, which dates back to ancient Egyptian and Roman games. “I’ve seen grandparents sitting at card tables shooting marbles with children,” Brown said. “I’ve played marbles with kids ages 3 and up ... Anyone can do it.” — Kara Hansen

Nice ones - will be bidding!

Beautiful marble! But, for the newbies out there, most of those colors are blends. A true 5 color cork is very hard to find.

My avatar (to the left) is one of my favorite oxbloods!

I'm leaning towards a Ravenswood on Maggie's marble - nice one!

I've posted this picture before but will do it again - some of the colorful Champions that I like. Plus another pictures of some of my Champion 'furnace' marbles.

Nice bags, Craig. I attached a picture from Sep. 2000 of a bag similar to your Pressman. It had corals in it, too. The other marbles look like they might be Champion so that may help the theory that most of these corlas were Champion (at least from a being found in packaging concept). The rippled wheat bags are neat - some different color meshes found with those. The last bag reminds me of other bags with Peltiers that I thought were done by a distributer/jobebr like Berry Pink. Pressman seemed to put his company name on his headers but there are a lot in that time frame that had no company name. Some of the 'Champion' headers on mesh bags were similar to those and they had Peltiers. Of course, it is possible that Marble King didn't use their company name when they first started packaging. They packaged Peltiers when they did start using the name so maybe these were forerunners. Berry Pink was at the beginning of Marble King and apparently did keep his owne company during the early years so maybe some kind of 'hybrid'...? You going to sell the first or last?

I'd be interested in the Vitro bag - just sent you a message through the board. The email address I had for you doesn't work any more.

I'm always interested in some of those, too, Greg. Let me know. Thanks for the offer.

I'm seeing more of the 8 vane cat's-eyes showing up on eBay and bringing good money. I'm not talking about the Vitro 8 finger transparents and opaques but cage style cat's-eyes. In my opinion, these are almost all newer marbles so be aware. They are part of the many out of the Imperial packaging from Far East, India, etc. Here's pics from one package I have.

Here's Ron Shaw's picture of his Kato with oxblood

I don't think any of them are - JMHO.

You might email Alan, too. While I don't think he has been there, he might have some good contact names.

I had never met Les but communicated with him about marble bags a few times over the years. He had a wealth of knowledge and was willing to help me learn. This is a sad day for the marble hobby! My condolences to the family!

That is a nice find! Those cello bags are pretty fragile and disintegrate pretty easily so that is probably why we don't see many floating around. The double ender headers are nice - a necessity since the ends of the bags would break more easily than the center. I have one like that. There is also a Vitro Victory Agates double ender bag that I have. Here's a pic