September/October 2017

We celebrate grandparents and grandkids in this issue, and it sounds like a lot of fun — at least that’s the word from friends who have them.

What’s fun for me right now is not raising kids. I liked raising kids when I was doing it, and most days I was good at it. But I don’t miss the pressure, especially at this time of the year. Autumn kicks off the kid-centric holiday triad of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, amplified by a force I never faced: Pinterest.

I feel for today’s parents. The website for creative and, seemingly, insomniac high achievers makes every birthday and holiday celebration an EVENT. I’ve seen the pins (favorite items) on Pinterest, and they make me anxious. We all know that parenting is a competition; Pinterest is the equivalent of a steroid booster. Everything’s bigger, better and less attainable.

In the early ’90s, someone gave me a box of Halloween outfits, and my kids wore those for a few years. Then, you couldn’t buy a cute Halloween costume for $20 bucks like today. Eventually, I tackled the job on my own with limited success. I inexpertly smeared mascara across “pirate” eyebrows and globs of lipstick on “fairy” cheeks. My kids looked like they were dressed out of the church donation box with a side trip to Sephora’s clearance aisle.

Worse was the 1960s, and now that I think about it, Halloween costume fails may be an inherited trait.

Mom had a lot of talents, but designing creative Halloween getups wasn’t one of them. An early childhood memory is when I showed up at Akron’s Rankin Elementary for the kindergarten Halloween parade wearing a store-bought princess costume with a plastic mask.

Mom apparently didn’t succumb to or didn’t care about the holiday pressure to create. She was raising my two younger brothers while dad worked nights at the Akron Beacon Journal.

Antiques and Collectibles

By Breanna Mona

What’s your attic’s net worth? Fighting off cobwebs and furry little critters is tough enough. Figuring out which mysterious trinkets are worth a pretty penny and what’s simply a hunk of junk is even tougher. You don’t need to appear on “Antiques Roadshow” to get to the bottom of it. Here’s the word from local antique experts.

Over It

Hummel, Royal Doulton, Precious Moments, Lladro — these names used to mean big bucks. But these days, most collectible figurines have lost their bite in the antique business. While still very collectible and worth something, they’re just not the money-makers they used to be. Hummels are a good example.

Jean Koepke, the owner of the Medina Antique Mall, says rarity counts, but the value has still declined.

“If they paid $150 for it, now they may only get $50,” she says.

Ryan Prpic — who manages Eastside Relics in Willoughby — agrees. He says a Royal Doulton figurine bought for $100 may only be worth around $40 today.

Why the decline? Pat Martin, owner of Antiques on the Square in Chardon, explains.

“The antique business changes so dramatically year after year — especially in the last 10 to 15 years,” Martin says. “Millennials want different things. They don’t collect like my generation did. Millennials look for functional pieces. They love repurposed antiques. They like painted furniture, etc.”

Other items Millennials are quick to pitch are pottery, china and glassware. Martin says there’s been at least a 50 percent drop in value — if not more — in these pieces.

What’s Hot Now

Which items are getting all the action across all generations? Furniture. Koepke says Hitchcock furniture is particularly sought after because it’s no longer made.

“It’s very popular and hard to find.