Give light and people will find the way. ~ Ella Baker
I was reading in the March CLM (Country Living Magazine) that vintage camp lanterns and old barn lanterns are one of the top five collectibles for 2014. So this morning I walked through Antiques Iowa to see if we had any. Look what I found:
Light. Warmth. Comfort. Memories. I think that it is really comforting to use these lanterns in your decorating. Just looking at the worn-down color makes me happy. Especially with the cold, winter wind blowing, I think surrounding ourselves with lanterns that symbolize our past, our memories flow to warm our hearts.
The magazine specifically said red camp/barn lanterns, but I did take a picture of some blue ones because I have a lot of blue in my home. Blue reminds me more of camp adventures…4-H camp & horse camp. I wasn’t in band so I never went to band camp –LOL! But blue…for nature, the sky, the water…trail rides through the trees….having a great time with others. And then there were the night adventures…raiding other cabins. 🙂 Okay, we used flash lights…but I’ll bet that past generations used lanterns.
We always had lanterns like these for when the electricity went out. It seemed to go out a lot more than present day. We were on a farm out in the boonies. Really, the Boonies…I was raised in Boone County with an Ames address, Boone phone, Roland Story school district. I went to Harrison Happy Hustlers 4-H and had 5 school districts of friends! That was great in high school because I knew kids from the schools we were playing. 4-H was great.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton
I hope that you have someone who is light to your life. Happy memories!
Kim
antiquesiowa 
I love your site. I noticed you said you from Ames, Iowa, I haven’t heard that name in ages! I was born in Cherokee, Iowa & lived in Larrabee, Iowa for a short but so many memories of going to visit my grandparents (C.J,de St. Paer) every summer from Iowa! My Grandfather ran and owned the only General Store there for years…then when age became old, they moved to Texas with us… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give a history of my life, but I was so thrilled to see Ames, Iowa!!!! Have a fantastic time with your great store!!!