By Holly Johnson

Hormel Historic Home

The Hormel Historic Home received a great gift recently.

Several months ago a woman contacted us with an offer to donate a place setting of china that had belonged to the Hormel family, and she has delivered.  As I unwrapped each piece I could just imagine Lillian setting her table with these lovely dishes.

The donor, Kathy Parada, now of Tucson, Ariz., explained in a note how she came to have the china. Her mother, Priscilla Redding, moved to Austin in 1944, and was a life-long YWCA member. The Y held several sales over the years to raise funds for the facility.

Sometime in the ’80s Mrs. Redding purchased a set of everyday china that the Hormel family had used which had been stored in the Hormel Home basement. Kathy says she has been using the dishes as her fine china for years now.

In the 1990s Kathy sent Geordie Hormel a letter and offered to give him the china as she felt it should be his.  It took him several months to reply to her, but when he did, he thanked her for being the first person to offer to give him something instead of asking him for something.  He told her to keep the china, and they had a nice visit, she said.

Based on the stamp, the pattern was manufactured by the George Jones and Sons Company of England.  The company manufactured decorative earthenware and majolica-style wares from 1861-1951 in Stoke-Upon-Trent in Great Britain.

Although I am unable to find an original date of production it is likely this pattern was created between 1907 and 1921 based on my research of the company.

It is a discontinued pattern but a few pieces are available on Replacements.com. The base of the pattern is ivory and there is a blue trim filled with colorful flowers around the rim of each piece.  I haven’t discovered where and when Lillian and George purchased the china, but I will keep looking.

Although Kathy is not ready to donate the entire set to us she did generously part with one place setting, and we are thrilled to have it. It will be on display in the Dining Room soon, so please plan to stop by and take a look.

Remember, self-guided tours are available Monday through Friday between 10 and 4:30 for $3 per person.

September: Membership Party month

All members are invited to stop in for coffee and a treat during regular business hours.

Social Concerns

Oct. 15

Randy Kramer, Certified Financial Planner will be presenting on Responsible Charitable Giving. Explained in plain English, he will discuss who, what, when, where, how and how much — issues surrounding charitable giving.

The event is free and coffee and snack will be provided. Please give us a call to let us know you are planning to attend. 507-433-4243.