Meekins Children’s Librarian, Rochelle Wildfong is a collector. To welcome spring, the library has populated our Cabinet of Curiosities with her quirky collection of vintage pottery animals in all sorts of shapes and colors. You’ll find deer and ducks, squirrels and swans, frogs and birds and Rochelle’s special horses, of course.
Rochelle shares the story of her very personal collection:
“Some of the animal planters and statues come from my German (Pomeranian) great grandmother who lived in Northern Wisconsin. The black draft horse was my mother’s, and I may have found the little green horse at Vic Zononi’s many years ago. I find these planters are really too small for plants other than air plants. Some of them are for display, others hold pencils, and loose change. The little pink squirrel now holds my crochet hooks, and the little white horse carries feathers on its back. The McCoy frog is my coin catcher, and the green bird is very good at holding paper clips. The doilies were crocheted and tatted by my great-grandmother.”
And she also offers this historical background of the creation of her planters. She writes: “In the early 1800’s settlers populated land in the area of what became Roseville, Ohio where earlier inhabitants, the Edena, Hopewell and later, Delaware and Shawnee people lived. The European transplants realized the region’s clay was perfect for crafting pottery. Dozens of potteries were established, and the place became known as the “Clay Corridor” of Ohio. It was common household practice for farmers to make vessels for everyday use in the wintertime. Crocks, canisters, bowls, pans and jugs were made and when the bluebirds returned the farmers commenced farming. Around 1850, about 40 “bluebird kilns” were operating in and around Roseville. Eventually hundreds of potteries, large and small were making varieties of utilitarian, novelty items, such as planters and art pottery. Some potteries that grew into huge operations were Weller, Rockwood, Roseville, Hull, McCoy and Homer Laughlin. A few like Roseville, grew and merged with other companies.”
Do you collect too? Share your special pieces and their stories in the comments. And come into the library and see Rochelle’s collection of whimsical vintage animals through March 2025. Meekins is open Tuesday 10-6; Wednesday 1-7; Thursday 3-6 and Saturday 9-2. Daria D’Arienzo, Meekins Archivist and photographer. #throwbackthursday; #tbt.
Posted to Facebook 2/27/2025
