The day I have been waiting for is just shy of 2 weeks away. Easter Sunday is the day I bring a tradition of the past into my own home for the first time. My mother has bestowed upon me her mothers’ 4 quart Pyrex Pumpkin Butterprint cinderella mixing bowl. Yes, those are trumpets you hear and perhaps an angel or two singing Hallelujah as well. You see it is mine, all mine, the elusive “where did it come from” orange Butterprint. Sit back and I will share with you exactly where such a rare, hard to find Holy Grail of Pyrex originated from.
It is my understanding that during a time when things were much simpler, electronics were still a thing of the future yet there was hope of landing on the moon, Camelot was a perfect place but assassinations were commonplace, peace was yearned for instead there was war, a disillusioned and ironic time that perhaps not so simple after all. The time was the 1960’s. My grandpa was an army staff sergeant off fighting for our country often leaving a wife and 8 children at home. A brave wife with a stern hand and a loving smile to hide the angst and hardship of running such a large household on a sergeants pay. This was a time of “waste not, want not”, extras were luxuries and not so easily discarded and replaced.
My Grandma, Ethel Pratt, saved pennies and cut corners with the best of them. She shopped at her local supermarket where she collected green stamps as rewards for purchases. Stamps were given to customers according to how much money was spent. To my good fortune she traded 1.5 completed S&H Green Stamps Quick Saver Books for a set of Pyrex Pumpkin Butterprint mixing bowls that were featured in the 1965 S&H Greenstamps Ideabook of Distinguished Merchandise. I was able to purchase a copy of the book my Grandma would have looked in to find her bowls and original green stamps with Saver books. ☆see photos
It is no wonder that this Pyrex pattern is so hard to come across! It was available for a limited amount of time as a choice among hundreds of other items. My mom cannot remember the set as having 4 bowls but it is my experience that larger, less used sizes of bowls have lasted thru the years whereas the smaller, everyday use pieces were often damaged. It is just a matter of the odds against glass that is handled regularly. I have searched long and far to find the 3 matching bowls so the set is complete again. Not very often, I find them offered on eBay at outrageous prices but I would rather find one in the wild. Not for the price (shhh!! I did break down and purchase the 2 quart for $62 on eBay) but for the history that comes with the piece
Grandma Pratt NEVER put anything in her 4 quart mixing bowl aside from potato salad and peach cobbler. This Easter I will whip up an awesome helping of southern tater salad to serve in what I deem Pyrex gold. Hopefully, many decades from now my daughter will do the same for her family. That is the primary reason I love all vintage glass & dinnerware: the nostalgia.
Fingers crossed no one drops or breaks it!
Visit this blog for more in depth information about green stamps from the inception thru present day.
Will any of your Easter Sunday dinner be served in a special vintage dish?
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