Memorabilia
Updated - 07/08/2019
NOTE: ADDITIONAL UPDATES OF THIS
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Memorabilia is perhaps the most important type of donation that the Auburn Area Historical Society can receive. Every piece of memorabilia pertaining to Auburn's history is an item we can retain, preserve and display, thus allowing us to not only share these historic items with the public but also ensuring that these unique and irreplaceable items are not lost, destroyed or discarded. Listed below are some of the categories of memorabilia we are seeking. We only collect items pertaining directly to the Auburn area due to our limited storage and display space.
(1) ANYTHING pertaining to the history of the Auburn area.
(2) Promotional items - usually small items that promoted an event or a business.
(3) Post Cards - Auburn is believed to have produced over 200 different versions of Post Cards. We would like to eventually own a copy of each one.
(4) Pictures - any old photograph of Auburn, its buildings, events and people. If you send us a picture of which
you have knowledge, please send a separate paper identifying the person, place, structure and/or
approximate date if you can, especially if you have a picture of your ancestor(s).
(5) Documents - Any documents pertaining to Auburn, such as business letterheads, invoices, bills, records,
diplomas, awards, promotional posters or advertisements, etc.
(6) Signs - Most businesses had larger signs to promote their business. Any type of larger sign relating to
Auburn would be appreciated. For example, a store sign, a "Welcome to Auburn" sign, a train station sign,
an advertising sign, street signs or location signs, etc.
(7) Correspondence - Old letters often contain not only insight into the past, but they also occasionally
contain information that helps us identify and improve our knowledge of certain people, places or things.
(8) Old diaries - Any old diary from someone living in the Auburn area would be appreciated. Often things are
recorded in old diaries that furthers our knowledge of the history of Auburn.
(9) Old scrapbooks - Old scrapbooks from residents of the Auburn area can often contain old news clippings
or photographs of people, places or events in the immediate area.
(10) Clothing which advertises or is identifiable to some aspect of Auburn. For example, an Auburn High
School letter jacket, an Auburn Police uniform jacket, a T-shirt imprinted with the name of a business; etc.
(11) Glassware - for example, milk bottles from local dairies, promotional mugs from the fire company, dishes
containing the name of a local business, etc.
(12) Just about ANYTHING else you can imagine...if it is related to Auburn's past, we'd be grateful to have it.
(1) ANYTHING pertaining to the history of the Auburn area.
(2) Promotional items - usually small items that promoted an event or a business.
(3) Post Cards - Auburn is believed to have produced over 200 different versions of Post Cards. We would like to eventually own a copy of each one.
(4) Pictures - any old photograph of Auburn, its buildings, events and people. If you send us a picture of which
you have knowledge, please send a separate paper identifying the person, place, structure and/or
approximate date if you can, especially if you have a picture of your ancestor(s).
(5) Documents - Any documents pertaining to Auburn, such as business letterheads, invoices, bills, records,
diplomas, awards, promotional posters or advertisements, etc.
(6) Signs - Most businesses had larger signs to promote their business. Any type of larger sign relating to
Auburn would be appreciated. For example, a store sign, a "Welcome to Auburn" sign, a train station sign,
an advertising sign, street signs or location signs, etc.
(7) Correspondence - Old letters often contain not only insight into the past, but they also occasionally
contain information that helps us identify and improve our knowledge of certain people, places or things.
(8) Old diaries - Any old diary from someone living in the Auburn area would be appreciated. Often things are
recorded in old diaries that furthers our knowledge of the history of Auburn.
(9) Old scrapbooks - Old scrapbooks from residents of the Auburn area can often contain old news clippings
or photographs of people, places or events in the immediate area.
(10) Clothing which advertises or is identifiable to some aspect of Auburn. For example, an Auburn High
School letter jacket, an Auburn Police uniform jacket, a T-shirt imprinted with the name of a business; etc.
(11) Glassware - for example, milk bottles from local dairies, promotional mugs from the fire company, dishes
containing the name of a local business, etc.
(12) Just about ANYTHING else you can imagine...if it is related to Auburn's past, we'd be grateful to have it.
A PARTIAL LISTING OF SOME PRIOR MEMORABILIA DONATIONS:
Memorabilia Donations - On Friday, October 12th, 2018, the Auburn Area Historical Society received a unique donation of historic memorabilia. During the recent Auburn Memorial Park Playground Dedication Celebration event, one of the attractions included a "Kindness Rock Garden" which was the product of considerable effort by Emily and Dan Reed of Auburn. The concept of the garden is that small, smooth rocks are painted with inspirational words or pictures and left in the garden. Others may select rocks that appeal to them and remove them while depositing inspirational rocks of their own. Emily had the foresight to have various artists paint a single rock with small panels of inspirational or historic depictions to commemorate the event and then donated it to the A.A.H.S.. Since the celebration and the rock garden are both part of Auburn's recent history, Emily's thoughtful gesture has helped to preserve the essence of the event for future generations to view and appreciate.
Some of the more recent donations of historic memorabilia pertaining to the Auburn area or equipment and fixtures would include: a Conrail railroad map dated 1976 donated by Carl Boltz; Lifetime Member and Auburn-historian Harry Fisher donated another impressive quantity of quality memorabilia to include: an Orwigsburg Morrison Motors emblem, an Orwigsburg Schuylkill County Courthouse commemorative centennial pin with ribbon, two Kay Dee Drive Inn miniature souvenir mugs, an Auburn VFW drink chit, an Auburn VFW decorative wall hanging featuring a woman churning butter, a fourteen-piece complete set of cast iron Auburn Fersommling souvenirs which includes four partially-cast pieces, a Jefferson Grange medal and ribbon, an Auburn Council Junior Order United American Mechanics medal and ribbon, a Washington Camp Patriotic Order of the Sons of America medal and ribbon from Auburn, PA, a World War One "Welcome Home" pin and ribbon dated 1919 from Auburn, PA, a "Dr. Charles E. Quail for State Senate" campaign button, an Auburn Police Department shoulder patch, an Auburn Fire Police badge, an Auburn High School Pioneer pen, an Auburn Brick Company promotional wallet with original picture of the brick plant, a First National Bank money bag, a Pennsylvania National Bank metal thermometer, a Jere Long's butcher shop lard tin, a miniature brass-plated anvil promotional piece from John Ramer's store, an S. F. Grill & Sons Aluminum Ice tongs promotional item, a C. H. Hawkins' metal ice tongs promotional item, a "Harding and Heffner" metal scoop promotional item, an H. B. Harding promotional plate dated 1931, an H. B. Harding promotional plate, an H. B. Harding promotional plate picturing reddish flowers, an H. B. Harding promotional plate featuring two birds (one with its tail feathers spread), an H. B. Harding promotional plate featuring two birds near water, an H. B. Harding promotional bowl featuring a colorful bird sitting on a branch, a 1910 calendar promotional plate from Joseph Frederici's store featuring fruit, a 1910 calendar promotional plate from Joseph Frederici's store featuring a well-dressed woman, two painted label R. D. Wildermuth's rectangular quart milk bottles (one with the name within a rectangle and the other plain) and a "Hillside Dairy" (R. D. Wildermuth) milk bottle cap, two painted label Werner's Dairy quart milk bottles (one rectangular and one round) and two Werner's Dairy milk bottle caps, three embossed lettering C. H. Reber milk bottles (one half-pint, one pint and one quart), three Auburn Dairy (W. W Erdman) embossed lettering milk bottles (one half-pint and two quart bottles - one with his name across the middle of the logo and one with his name at the bottom of the logo), two Auburn Dairy embossed lettering milk bottles (with the large letter "A" only - one pint and one quart), an Auburn Dairy embossed lettering quart milk bottle (C. H. Fix), and nine different bottles or jars from Frank Brown's pharmacy (#1 - a round brown jar with paper label, #2 - a Sulpher jar, #3 - a Boric Acid jar, #4 - a Witch Hazel bottle, #5 - a plain medicine bottle with the word "Brown" painted on it, #6 - a "Brown's Mixture" bottle, #7 - an Ethyl Nitrate bottle, #8 - a Camphorated Oil bottle and #9 - a tincture of Iodine bottle).
Some of the more recent donations of historic memorabilia pertaining to the Auburn area or equipment and fixtures would include: a Conrail railroad map dated 1976 donated by Carl Boltz; Lifetime Member and Auburn-historian Harry Fisher donated another impressive quantity of quality memorabilia to include: an Orwigsburg Morrison Motors emblem, an Orwigsburg Schuylkill County Courthouse commemorative centennial pin with ribbon, two Kay Dee Drive Inn miniature souvenir mugs, an Auburn VFW drink chit, an Auburn VFW decorative wall hanging featuring a woman churning butter, a fourteen-piece complete set of cast iron Auburn Fersommling souvenirs which includes four partially-cast pieces, a Jefferson Grange medal and ribbon, an Auburn Council Junior Order United American Mechanics medal and ribbon, a Washington Camp Patriotic Order of the Sons of America medal and ribbon from Auburn, PA, a World War One "Welcome Home" pin and ribbon dated 1919 from Auburn, PA, a "Dr. Charles E. Quail for State Senate" campaign button, an Auburn Police Department shoulder patch, an Auburn Fire Police badge, an Auburn High School Pioneer pen, an Auburn Brick Company promotional wallet with original picture of the brick plant, a First National Bank money bag, a Pennsylvania National Bank metal thermometer, a Jere Long's butcher shop lard tin, a miniature brass-plated anvil promotional piece from John Ramer's store, an S. F. Grill & Sons Aluminum Ice tongs promotional item, a C. H. Hawkins' metal ice tongs promotional item, a "Harding and Heffner" metal scoop promotional item, an H. B. Harding promotional plate dated 1931, an H. B. Harding promotional plate, an H. B. Harding promotional plate picturing reddish flowers, an H. B. Harding promotional plate featuring two birds (one with its tail feathers spread), an H. B. Harding promotional plate featuring two birds near water, an H. B. Harding promotional bowl featuring a colorful bird sitting on a branch, a 1910 calendar promotional plate from Joseph Frederici's store featuring fruit, a 1910 calendar promotional plate from Joseph Frederici's store featuring a well-dressed woman, two painted label R. D. Wildermuth's rectangular quart milk bottles (one with the name within a rectangle and the other plain) and a "Hillside Dairy" (R. D. Wildermuth) milk bottle cap, two painted label Werner's Dairy quart milk bottles (one rectangular and one round) and two Werner's Dairy milk bottle caps, three embossed lettering C. H. Reber milk bottles (one half-pint, one pint and one quart), three Auburn Dairy (W. W Erdman) embossed lettering milk bottles (one half-pint and two quart bottles - one with his name across the middle of the logo and one with his name at the bottom of the logo), two Auburn Dairy embossed lettering milk bottles (with the large letter "A" only - one pint and one quart), an Auburn Dairy embossed lettering quart milk bottle (C. H. Fix), and nine different bottles or jars from Frank Brown's pharmacy (#1 - a round brown jar with paper label, #2 - a Sulpher jar, #3 - a Boric Acid jar, #4 - a Witch Hazel bottle, #5 - a plain medicine bottle with the word "Brown" painted on it, #6 - a "Brown's Mixture" bottle, #7 - an Ethyl Nitrate bottle, #8 - a Camphorated Oil bottle and #9 - a tincture of Iodine bottle).