I was just reading an article today about happiness, that as we get older it isn’t about acquiring more things, but about paring down and sharing. Since I am an admitted Old Stuff Hoarder, I have started to beg anyone who comes into my house to take something away with them. Recently I have given away Day of the Dead Catrinas and an old pitchfork to a Sun Devils fan.
If you have ever had a yard sale in Patagonia or Sonoita that I have attended, I have something that used to be yours. Things that no one has any use for, but are vintage and cool. I especially like old rusted tools. I like things that were used and still contain the spirit of the last person to touch them, like old pottery shards with the fingerprints of the potter from 500 years ago at the village that was here on the very hill where the Patagonia Museum now stands.
I take these things to my house in Flux Canyon, mix them around and most of them eventually end up in the Patagonia Museum. There is a 1913 calendar from Henderson’s General Merchandise and a Tetley’s Tea tin I acquired from Louise Easley’s sale just below the museum. Thank goodness for the Museum, otherwise you couldn’t walk through my house.
I find myself utterly unable to throw away a book. I can recycle most of them in the Little Free Libraries around town. However, my mother-in-law, Susie Kane, left behind dozens of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, and no one wants them. They are stashed in every available corner of my home, including the bathrooms. I CANNOT THROW THEM AWAY. I need help. Probably mental help.
If you have something that relates to our local history that you would like to share, come up to the museum. Everything in here has a soul. One woman came out of the bathroom and said, “Those creepy dolls were staring at me.” I was so proud.