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As life-time residents of Abingdon, Illinois, Mike and I did not actually start collecting Abingdon Pottery until about the end of the high school years of our second son, somewhere during the year of 1994. I had taken on a part-time job with a local newspaper as a reporter (to go along with a full-time job that I also had). I did a story on a couple who were not only friends and neighbors but also were charter members of the Abingdon Pottery Collectors Club, Bob and Edith Andrews. I was so amazed with their collection. I could not believe that anything that beautiful had actually been made right here in our hometown of Abingdon.

You see, my dad worked at Briggs for several years. But, he did not start until around 1953 or 1954. By that time, they were no longer making artware products. It was strictly plumbing products, mostly toilets. He was a tester. When Mike and I did start collecting AP, all three of my brothers thought we were nuts. They, too, were unaware of the artware that was produced from 1934-1950. They could not figure out why we would want to collect full-sized toilets, at least, until they could see for themselves just what we had on our shelves. Now, as is usually the case between family and friends, one of my brothers and his wife are also AP collectors.

Although I have since collected a few other things besides Abingdon Pottery which I have had to box up some, all of our Abingdon Pottery pieces are on display somewhere throughout our house. Yes, we have it in virtually every room. The AP is what both Mike and I enjoy collecting the most. At first when we started collecting, we tried to go somewhere every weekend, mostly day trips, to see what kind of small antique shops we could come across. We were fortunate and got most of our pieces when prices were pretty low to reasonable. Nowadays it seems that the AP pieces that are selling on eBay can get pretty pricey.

We were able to buy a few small collections in the beginning. Any extra pieces were what we would sell or trade along the way to our friends and fellow collectors. We have also had a table of extra pieces for sale for the past few years at the annual Abingdon Pottery Collectors Club Show and Flea Market. This has also been a way to meet other collectors and dealers which we are so thankful for. But today when you see collections for sale, they are usually wanting "book" prices which can quickly add up to a big sum of money.

We do not get out as much as we did in the beginning to go hunting for more pieces. It seems like the time just isn't there. And of course not to mention the fact that we now have our very first grandchild, Joey, who just turned one year young last November. We like to spend as much of our free time with him as we can. Both of our sons are happily married and live 60 miles away -- one to the West and one to the East. So we might still spend a lot of time on the road, but for different reasons now.

Collecting has always been a lot of fun for both of us. Although in the beginning, I was not as anxious. I remember when both of our sons were pretty young, we would walk up to the annual AP Collectors Club Show and Flea Market. I would try to keep the boys entertained while Mike would look at mostly the AP that the dealers had for sale. I kept thinking to myself, when is he going to be done looking at that old stuff. But now, we have also gone with family to shows and flea markets. It is a great way to spend time with those that you can not always get with so easy.

As to what might be our favorite pieces, I would hate to say. Myself, I really like the little what-nots or figurines. But, I also like our floor vases as well, along with the brown cactus bookends that we most recently were able to purchase. Outside of an advertising ashtray and the advertising pencil holder, it is the only numbered piece that we now have in brown. We have yet to be able to purchase a piece in orange (known as Fire Red), which is another very rare color. We were told that when they (the Abingdon Pottery, now known as Briggs) were making pieces in orange, the orange paint carried uranium which was needed for the war, so they had to stop using orange. Mike is pretty fond of our AP cookie jars. We have most of the jars made, some in different colors and styles. We are missing lids for the #692 Witch Cookie Jar and the #697DF Floral Cookie Jar. The whole one that we are still l ooking for is the #561-71D Special.

When Mike and I joined the APC Club, we both became active members of which I am currently the editor for the newsletter which we produce quarterly. Members are kept abreast of finds, prices, etc. Our newsletters are friendly and informal, but very informative. We also like to come up with interesting articles on various pieces of the AP which might help in the finding by other members.