Topics

 

The Ultimate Fall Treat

Beer on the Vine

Pumpkin turns up in everything this time of year — and truthfully, some of the items are a bit weird.

Air fresheners. Coffee. Hand soaps. Cheerios. Not in the category of weird (at least in my book): beer.

My favorite beer store started stocking pumpkin ales at the end of summer. Please don’t judge, but it never occurred to me that they used real pumpkins. I thought they used pumpkin-ish spices like cinnamon and ginger and moved on to their next beer, letting the consumer’s imagination take it from there. Not true.

Great Lakes Brewing Company last year harvested somewhere in the range of 200 to 250 pumpkins grown organically at their Pint Size Farm. Located half an hour from the brewery on a historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Pint Size Farm’s half-acre plot produces pumpkins using traditional farming methods.

The completely organic, pesticide-free and artificial fertilizer-free produce is used seasonally in their brewpub for their Pumpkin Ale. Last year they also brewed a small batch Specter Detector, an experimental Belgian white ale using roasted white pumpkins.

Sure beats breakfast cereal.

 

Do You Know a Giver?

Give Him Up

Volunteers hate attention. Most are happy to go about their good deed doing without a lot of fuss from the rest of us. Too bad.

Shining a light on these good people reminds us that there’s plenty of generosity and positive things going on in Northeast Ohio. Learning about how others give sometimes results in a gentle nudge to the rest of us. Their kindheartedness has a ripple effect.

We’re again saluting local volunteers in Boomer’s November/December issue. Go ahead, let us know about a giver you’ve discovered. Send a description (150 words), contact information and a photo, if available, to [email protected]

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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.

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We want to honor volunteers in our November/December Issue - and that involves you, but just a little bit. Our volunteer salute issue last year received a lot of positive feedback. After all, it's inspiring to read about people who are doing good things. People find all sorts of ways to use their time and talents to help others. We want to hear about them. ...

Boomers: We've got money and we know how to use it. Boomers have distinctive spending patterns. They’re buying fewer cars, shirts, and TVs and shelling out more for services such as healthcare, travel, and entertainment. ...

Grandparenting pays off, but you probably already knew that. A study has found that older adults who provided some care, whether for their grandchildren or for others, had a lower risk of death over a 20 year period than those who did not help others. ...

Market update from Aug. 14, 2017

Margie Patel, Wells Fargo, and Doug Mackay, Broadleaf Partners in Hudson, discuss how to play the current action in the markets

Watch Here

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Our pop culture columnist Mike O talks tattoos, pumpkins and the latest issue of Boomer.

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