RIVERSIDE — Carol Carlough’s collecting started with gloves 16 years ago.
“My daughter was getting married and wanted a Victorian wedding in our garden. I went to thrift stores to buy gloves for the bridesmaids,” she said of the wedding for daughter, Becky Crider of New York City.
Three years ago, she got into collecting aprons.
She had lots of pieces of vintage costume jewelry handed down to her by her late mother Dorothy Stephens who worked at Sherman’s Jewelry Store in Danville.
“One thing leads to another. I have been given most of my collection,” she said of gloves, aprons, handkerchiefs, hats, jewelry and dolls displayed throughout their Riverside home except for one room. “My husband said I can put them any place but the bedroom,” she said of their two-story home. Her husband, Bill, who has a chronic illness, “goes with me to the thrift stores, stays in the car and plays for the collection,” she said. He is retired as philosophy chairman and as dean of international education at Bloomsburg University.
She has 450 hats, 60 hat boxes, more than 1,500 pairs of gloves, 850 aprons, including 463 vintage and 387 gingham, 200 evening bags, 100 scarves, 200-plus fancy handkerchiefs and more than 1,000 pieces of vintage jewelry.
The Carloughs share their finds with others by hosting English teas. Those attending can wear the hats, gloves and jewelry for the day. “We’ve been to England many times. They are a traditional full English tea,” said Carol, who named their home at 410 Sunbury Road “Charlotte’s Tea Room” after one of their granddaughters.
They have help in putting on teas for all occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, bridal showers and children’s events. Reservations can be made for groups of 10 to 30 by calling 275-3435. The cost is $15 per person with everything homemade.
“I have three teas coming up and have done five so far,” she said of hosting Red Hat societies, sororities, a Sunday school class, a high school class and garden club.
Her collectibles are tucked around everywhere and include a stuffed bear she had growing up, oil lamps, mugs and a duster. “A month ago, a woman gave me her collection of 200 hats. I was thrilled to death,” she said.
She has hats of all kinds, such as fancy ones for afternoon teas and lunches and gloves to match, wedding hats, white straw hats and net hats called whimsies. Her oldest hat is probably from the late 1800s, with most from the 1930s through 1950s. Does she wear any of them? “No. I look terrible in a hat,” she said.
In the kitchen, she has a pair of beige gloves on display. She found a note inside them saying they were worn while shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy in 1960. “One of Becky’s friends is good friends with Caroline Kennedy. I said she could have them if she wants them,” Carol said.
Carol doesn’t wear the aprons in her collection either.
In what was Bill’s study are gingham aprons including one that can be converted into a bonnet, hat boxes and a gingham girl’s dress from the 1950s.
The family room is full of vintage aprons, dolls and hundreds of handkerchiefs. Some of the aprons are fancy shear ones worn by the cocktail party hostess, said Carol, who has researched the subject. One style is reversible and worn in the kitchen or the dining room. She has a pinafore apron, which is a square that is pinned on. “I have aprons that have been sent from all over the country,” she said. Many came from a relative who bought them on eBay. A recent one is a “Mama for Obama,” which was a gift.
A woman gave her hankies from the 1940s. “She was an RN at Geisinger and patients would give their nurse a hankie when they were discharged,” she said.
She has handmade baby clothes from 1934 and dolls from the 1940s of composite and plastic that would have sat on women’s dressers. One has a dress made from pipecleaners.
And yes, she regularly dusts everything.
-- E-mail comments to kblackledge@dailyitem.com.
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Riverside woman collects a little bit of everything
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