The Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society resumed their meetings after summer recess this past week and the featured guest was veteran appraiser Eddie Costello (Antique Road Show).  The presentation is called "Trash or Treasure" and it is just what the name implies - an opportunity to find out if that long, lingering piece in your basement is worth bucks, or worthless.

The WCHS meets on the last Thursday of every month (visit their website) at 1 PM in Emmanuel United Church of Christ at 91st Avenue and Woodhaven Blvd.  You've probably passed by it a million times -  the large Church located at the base of the bridge that crosses Atlantic Avenue.

They have cake and coffee and tea and almost every month they have an interesting guest speaker.  We say almost every month because next month Project Woodhaven will be the guest speaker.  We hope they don't regret their decision to ask us to speak!  Seriously, it is an honor to speak before such an audience of caring individuals, those who truly love Woodhaven and its' long history and we are really looking forward to it (Wednesday, October 28th).

Mr. Costello warmed up the members with some jokes and then an interesting Q&A session.  He explained that the values for antiques and collectibles -- everything with the exception of gold -- are way down.  He also explained that only items created before 1850 are considered genuine antiques (back when things were more likely to be made by hand).

And with that, people started bringing their items up to the table to be appraised.  Members brought everything from jewelry to dolls to paintings to old magazines -- it was real interesting to see what people had brought with them.  This item, a pipe with a horse carving, was estimated to be worth around $150.   

It was interesting to watch the reactions on people's faces as they awaited the verdict on their item.  Earlier, Mr. Costello told the story of a woman who had brought him a Tiffany lamp for at a show like this -- he told her it was worth a staggering 17 thousand dollars.  "Great," she said.  "I have another one at home, too!"  Everyone hoped to be that woman in the story, but some walked away disappointed. 

That old heap of telephone equipment?  Around 700 bucks.  That picture on the right?  Not so much.  It was a real interesting way to spend the afternoon.  Here's video from the afternoon:

The doll below was appraised for around 50 dollars - but the outfit was appraised at around four or five hundred dollars because it was handmade in Italy. 

Over the course of the afternoon, we saw a lot of very interesting items (many of which you saw in the video).  The two jugs (below, right) belong to my mother, who used to wash them in the Holy Loch, in Scotland, when she was a child in the early 40s.  Mr. Costello noted that they were decorated by decals that were hand-fired on -- but still worth around $250.

The big winner of the day was the doll brought in by WCHS President Leonora Lavan.  She purchased it for a few hundred bucks about 25 or 30 years ago and today it's worth close to 5 thousand dollars.  You can tell from the look on Mr. Costello's face that he knew he had a good item in his hands.  All in all, a great way to spend the afternoon! 

Bonus

This past week, WCHS President Leonora Lavan was a guest on Project Woodhaven's Radio Show (soon to be moving back to Friday Nights).  We spoke about the historical signs around Woodhaven, the history of the WCHS, and the free book you can get from the WCHS.  Here are some highlights of our chat with Leonora Lavan:

The book many of you may be interested in is "The Story of Woodhaven" written by Vincent Seyfried.  It's a wonderful book for anyone interested in our history and origins, with lots of wonderful etchings, paintings and very early photographs of Woodhaven.  Through a grant, the WCHS was able to reprint the book and distribute it freely.  Thus, if you would like a copy -- it's free.  Click on this link to go to the WCHS book page -- or click here to view the order page.  All you need to pay for is the shipping -- it's a real bargain.  

One last note -- as you may have heard, local organizations in Woodhaven are being strangled financially.  Partially because of the economy, and partially because of the Semenerio mess, groups like the WCHS are really struggling.  In fact, as of press time, the WCHS had not received their yearly stipend yet (which is very modest to begin with). 

If you like seeing the historical markers around town -- and you like being able to get this wonderful book for free -- and you appreciate the fact that a group like this exists to help preserve the history or your favorite neighborhood -- become a member.

Even if you can't attend their meetings -- even if you live far away -- please become a member and send along a small $10 donation to help keep them alive.

Note:  The Leader Observer's Adrian Carrasquillo covered this event -- read about it here.  

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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