March 27, 2018
To obtain the 100’s of vintage mason jars needed for our lights, we travel many miles but are rewarded with great stories to tell. Here’s a few.
Most frequently, we ramble down dusty roads to old white farmhouses where grandparents have raised large families. Houses now left with handmade curtains, a few photos and a cupboard of vintage mason jars. Sadly the families have had to part with the possessions but hold fast to the memories.
We have rescued jars from the farm ‘ditch-piles’by digging under layers of household pots, plates, and castoff toys. But more commonly,we walked down dark steps into the food cellar below the house. Some jars still holding preserves, but most often replaced with the new version of twist-on canning jars.
One adventure took us to an older home damaged by a bad fire. The smell was so strong and everything was charred, but there were shelves upon shelves of old mason jars.So we bought a few and told the folks, if they clean up, we’ll be back for the rest. Miraculously, we polished the jars up so well they looked like they had never been used.
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Perhaps our two favorite stories involve the estate of a 103 year old woman who claimed to the reporter on her 100th birthday…
“I think I’ve lived so long because I only ate the foods I canned myself.”
And one of our last memories was obtaining over 1800 jars from an old school bus!
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Traveling along rural roads of Maine, we meet up with interesting folks for these treasures of vintage mason jars - jars that have held food to sustain families throughout the hard winters of Maine. From blueberries to dandelion greens, these jars have held ‘life’ for generations.
It's so rewarding knowing our handcrafted mason jar lights begin a ‘new journey’ in homes throughout the United States and entire world!
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