Random Trinket - Airguide Boat Speedometer

Another bit of Green Lake nostalgia that's been with me for a long time.

This simple Airguide boat speedometer was originally installed on my Grandpa's 14' - 15' Lund fishing boat that he purchased new back in the late 60s. At the time, the little red fishing boat with a eye-searing turquoise interior and unforgiving marine plywood bench seats had a steering console and remote controls for the mighty 20 HP Johnson outboard. Somewhere along the way, the console was removed and the boat converted over to a tiller-steer model. My guess is that my Uncle Steve, a boat hot-rodder if there ever was one, likely removed it in an effort to lighten the boat by, oh, a whopping fifteen pounds or so. Or it could have happened when he spent a weekend when my grandparents were away and took the 50 HP motor off my grandpa's pontoon boat and placed it on the Lund (which incidentally had a maximum HP rating of 30 HP).

me on Green Lake in the Lund, summer '86

We were cleaning out the barn/garage at Green Lake one summer and took the console out to bring to the dump. I quickly grabbed a slotted screwdriver and took this nice chunk of chrome-plated brass, plastic and glass home with me, where it decorated my teenage bedroom wall - after I permanently disabled it by hacksawing off the brass nipple off the back. D'oh! If it did function, it'd show the Lund maxing out at about 25 MPH, which felt like about 50. Thankfully these can still be found on eBay - just as this particular speedometer can still be found hanging from a small nail on my garage wall.

Random Trinket - A&W Rootbeer Mug

I've owned this old A&W mug since I was about eight. It's been in kitchen cabinets in Danville, Homewood, Chicago, Naperville, Palatine and Libertyville Illinois, Boulder and Arvada Colorado, Monona Wisconsin and now Carlsbad California. That's a lot of moves for something I rarely use.
But still I can't seem to be able to part with it. Originally found against a concrete parking block in the parking lot of the Danville Jaycees park (before it was a county park)...
...I still recall bringing this "treasure" home to my mom to wash so that I could drink from it at lunch that day.
It's nowhere near mint, likely "borrowed" from Danville's A&W drive-in (owned by a neighbor of ours) before it was pitched from someone's car. But it has character. And at this point, if I've kept it this long, it's here to stay.

Random Trinket - Hunter Zephair Fan

Here's a random piece of functional home furnishings that Allie and I have owned for the vast majority of our relationship. Why, of course, it's a fine Hunter Zephair oscillating fan.
We picked this up in the early-90s at Chicago Recycle Shop (on N Clark in the Andersonville neigborhood). Allie and her friend Barb discovered the shop shortly after getting their drivers licenses - they'd sort through the piles of used clothing in the basement in search of swingin' 1960s dresses, boots and the like. George, the proprietor of the shop, would always ask the two of them just why they wanted to dress in those old clothes. I also enjoyed the basement, but mainly to search through the tools and cool electric fans - like this example.
Why do I like old electric fans? Two words - Green Lake. My grandparent's cottage had a pair of small old fans - a fixed "ZERO" and an oscillating "ESKIMO". Highlights include the study metal construction, good air output, a gentle hum as well a violent end to your fingertips and/or knuckles if you accidentally put your hand through the very large openings between the grates. My brother and I brought these back home with us to Illinois when my grandparents sold the place on Green Lake, but they only lasted a couple of seasons before they ended up in some Cook County landfill.
From what I can tell, this gem dates from the 1940s. When I picked it up it was in serious need of a cleaning and repaint. Trouble is, shop owner George always wanted good money for these old fans - upwards of $100. However today was my lucky day as George was taking the day off. I brought it up to the counter and asked how much, his niece gave it to me for a song - $20. I polished the aluminum blades, treated it to a coat of gloss black Krylon, recovered the base with black felt and lubed the bearings.

It's come in handy over the years, quietly and reliably chugging away while Allie and I spent nine A/C-free summers in the sixteen summers we've lived together.

Random Trinket - Green Lake rock

So for the past 19 years or so my various autos have carried this little memento of my favorite place on Earth - Green Lake, WI. Not a good luck charm or anything (I don't believe in that kind of junk anyway), but just a nice little chunk o' rock reminding me of the great times I've had up there. Oh, and for those of you in the know, it came from Horner's Landing on the SE part of the lake.

Random Trinket

Our Labrador Retriever Jupiter (R.I.P) found this glass apple for us in Boulder.

When we had our condo on 34th Street, we'd walk down the block a couple of times per day and let him romp around at Howard Heuston Park to "get the crazies" out. We'd generally bring out a tennis racket and a couple of balls to send them back and forth across the park for him.

During one outing, he came back with this tennis ball-sized glass apple, retrieved in the tall grass. It's remained one of our few decorations ever since.

Random Trinket

Cub Cadet die cast garden tractor, from Ertl.


My grandpa was International Harvester's General Counsel in the late 60s/early 70s. This little tractor was on a bookshelf on the second floor of their Green Lake house and matched the tractor that was given to him upon retirement. My brother and I would push it around in the shag green carpeting.