Cynthia J. Breen Vogel
Many of my fondest childhood memories are of the holidays.
Growing up in Morris Plains, NJ, in the 1960s and 1970s, my parents made every holiday memorable.
My mother – everyone called her “Ma” – worked non-stop before each holiday to create an amazing ambiance for the season.
Each holiday had its own sounds, smells, and events.
For Hallowe’en, I can still feel the crisp, fall air as I stepped outside in my costume, hearing the echoes of my neighborhood pals up and down the street exclaiming “Trick or Treat!”, and that distinctly Hallowe’en aroma that is a combination of the fallen leaves and the “hot pumpkin” smell of a real Jack o’ Lantern with a wax candle burning inside.
Ma would decorate the house for Hallowe’en, not just for the holiday, but to celebrate my oldest sister, Bobbie’s, October birthday.
To this day, I still have the original pulp Jack o’ Lanterns and the vintage Beistle diecuts from those wonderful days.
This is what started it all for me – my many, many years of collecting Hallowe’en memorabilia.
Today, I have combined my love of antiques with my joyful holiday memories and have dedicated myself to collecting and sharing antique and vintage holiday memorabilia.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/zizsdream
Janelle Henry
I started collecting holiday items in the early to mid 1980s.
I mainly collect Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
My interest in reproducing Halloween inserts came as a want/need.
I kept seeing lanterns that were inexpensive but needed inserts so kept passing on them.
I happened to find old paper for the inserts but no way to reproduce them.
My husband was in printing at the time. It all started as an experiment with him and the capability of the new computer at his job and me having the old paper to print inserts on.
The capability of home computers and printers expanding over the years made it so reproducing the inserts for others evolved.
Over these same years I was able to expand my Halloween collection of lanterns.
And of course eBay was in its early years so I was able to find different styles of lanterns with original inserts.
So it was the perfect storm.
I had all the inserts and capability to make them, the paper to make them on, and (with a home computer) a way to sell them.
At first I was able to contact buyers on eBay directly until eBay changed their privacy settings.
By then, I had probably contacted just about every Halloween collector there was so my name was out there.
Usually now all the people who contact me are thru some of those early contacts or contacts made since then.
I on occasion still list on eBay (usually in August thru October).
I don’t like to list there too much because of their fees which I have to pass on to buyers.
I don’t make any money on these but do it to help others.
My prices have remained the same for the past 25 years I have been making these.
I have the inserts available year round.
Most are standard sizes.
The ones that tend to need tweeking are the German ones as there are so many different sizes of them.
For those I have the buyers help by sending a pattern for me to use in making a custom insert for their lantern.
I on occasion also find a new lantern I don’t have with the inserts so expand what is available so ask if you don’t see it in my catalog.
I added some Dolly Toy ones this last year.
People had been asking for them so expanded the offerings.
For the full catalog.
Please email me.
Corey Adams
I grew up in Central Indiana and moved to Tampa, Florida in 2004.
While in Indiana, I graduated from Franklin College with a bachelors in Elementary Education and a masters in Educational Leadership.
Currently, I am the supervisor of English Language Learners at my current site.
I began buying and selling antiques in 1994.
I started collecting Halloween and Chirstmas items in 1999.
I joined The Golden Glow of Christmas Past in 2009.
My expertise for Halloween is in early German lanterns and candy containers.
I sell country and holiday items on the Digs Antiques website located atwww.digantiques.com, under the business name Holiday Happenings.
I sell at various shows including The Nashville Show in February, The Midwest Holiday Show in May, and at The Golden Glow conventions held each summer.
Even though The Golden Glow is Christmas based, there are several Halloween dealers and buyers who attend the conventions since we are able to showcase Halloween items in our rooms.
If anyone is looking for specific items, please feel free to contact me.
I’m also always interested in any early (pre-1930) Halloween pieces for sale.