Learn about antiques and collectibles orgia Caraway

uring WWII, the military ue of using the technology for e Army and Navy ordered more ing reels showing aircraft and ar.

hour peering into my little black plastic viewer pretending to be the heroines of those two tales.

The story of View-Master began when William Gruber was visiting the Oregon Caves with his stereo camera in 1938 He met Harold Graves, president of Sawyer’s of Portland The two men started to talk about stereo photography and Gruber told Graves about an idea he had: take seven pairs of 16mm stereo Kodachrome slides, mount them on a cardboard reel, and view them through a hand-held magnifying viewer Graves was immediately impressed with the idea and arranged a $50,000 loan to set up production

By the end of 1939, Sawyer’s was able to expand sales and in 1940 the View-Master was introduced at the New York and the San Francisco World’s Fairs The View-Master nd B (1943) required opening wer to insert a reel In 1946, the as introduced. This allowed the in a slot in the top and was ndestructible plastic. Millions ere produced The subject material for the reels was endless Photographers were sent all over the world to capture scenes from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth to natural wonders to city scenes to popular characters such as Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers Cartoon characters, fairy tales and religious stories were all represented Portland artists Florence Thomas and Joe Liptak sculpted many of the scenes and characters in clay

In 1956, the View-Master reels had switched from one-reel envelopes to three-reel packets Packets included story booklets and up-to-date reel lists. In 1966, Sawyer’s was purchased by GAF GAF deleted many scenic reels from the lists in favor of popular movies and television shows They also introduced new viewers and projectors and a talking View-Master viewer. The company went through several ownership changes in the 1980s and is now owned by Tyco Toys. The best sellers

of today’s

stock are Disney or Warner Brothers titles

Amassing a large collection of reels should not be difficult Many reels from the 1940s and 1950s are available at flea markets for $1-3 Packets are in the $3-10 range Popular subjects command higher prices. The sturdy Model C viewer can be found for under $10, however Models A and B command $20-40. Modern viewers can be found in thrift-shop toy bins for a couple of dollars

Through a generous gift by Mr and Mrs Bill French, the Howe Mercantile has a wonderful collection of 1940s-1950s View-Masters and reels that are for sale for the benefit of the old church restoration Come see these old viewers and relive your childhood memories And maybe purchase one of these gems and support the church restoration project Thanks to the French’s.

Dr. Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, and her friends opened the Howe Mercantile on April 25 Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p m In addition to Tips, Tools, & Techniques: Caring for Your Antiques and Collectibles, she has written four Denton history books and is working on a 5th history about the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo

Beginner Computer Classes being offered at Howe Community Library

The Friends of the Library are sponsoring FREE beginner computer classes to be offered during September and October at the Howe Community Library. These classes are geared for those “scared” or “uncomfortable” with using computers – so no skills needed! Class size will be limited so please call the library at 903-532-3350 to reserve a spot

Location: Howe Community Library (the library is attached to Howe Middle School and is located across the parking lot from the

Howe Elementary playground Look for “Community Library” on the side of the building)

Time: Tuesdays, 3:45-4:45 pm

Instructor: Brenden Pace, Grayson College student

September

1st - What is this scary thing called a computer and will I break it?

8th – What is Social Media? (part 1)

15th – What is Social Media? (part 2)

22nd – Getting Started with Facebook

29th – Using YouTube to find “how to” videos, music, and much more!

October

6th – How to search using the Internet

13th – How to use email

20th – How to move photos from your smart phone to the computer (please bring cables that came with your phone)

27th – How to create a document in Word ----- and save it.

Howe Lady Bulldogs Volleyball

Volleyball 2015

City to repair streets; ask for residents to remove vehicles

Grayson County will be working on streets in Howe next Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept 1 and 2, and residents are being asked to clear their vehicles from the streets during those days for the repair work Streets that the construction will affect are Sunset, Ricketts, Mayo and Pecan The streets will be getting asphalt chip and seal