30 Main Street, Macedon NY 14502
Macedon Public Library
30 Main Street, Macedon NY 14502
Ernie VanderMolen of Macedon holds a vintage Jiffy Way Egg Scale, featured in the “Macedon Collectibles” exhibit displayed at the Macedon Public Library.
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Display of “Macedon Collectibles” featured at Macedon Public Library
Icy surfaces can be treacherous for winter drivers who live in snow country. A hundred years ago, if you relied on REAL horsepower for transportation, you faced a similar slip-sliding dilemma. How did local commuters, farmers, and others who relied on horses, keep “Old Dan” from doing the splits on a patch of icy roadway? If you would like to find the answer, visit the Macedon Public Library and make your way to the display case behind the Main Desk. There, you will see the nineteenth century equivalent of the snow tire – the studded horseshoe.
The assemblage of “Macedon Collectibles” now on display at the Library are the property of Ernest VanderMolen of Macedon. A number of the items in the case were passed down through his family, and represent articles widely in use in days gone by in the Macedon community. Besides the studded horseshoe, with metal cleats which screwed into place when greater traction was required, the display features a child’s bank in the form of a book inscribed with the logo of the First National Bank of Macedon, a tool for positioning a brass ring in the nose of a pig, an alligator wrench, postcards showing Macedon scenes from the early 1900’s and typical portrait photography from that era, and a copy of “The Farmer’s Favorite” - a catalog from the well-known farm implement makers, the Bickford and Huffman Manufacturers of Macedon, NY.
Also prominently featured in the display is a vintage Jiffy Way Egg Scale, manufactured in Owatonna, Minnesota. The weight of an egg determined if it was categorized as small, medium, large, or extra-large. VanderMolen used this very scale as a youngster working in the family business. His family farmed in Macedon and typically housed up to 10,000 chickens. He well remembers washing the eggs, candling, and weighing them.
VanderMolen is a member of the Macedon Historical Society, and says his love for collecting coincides with his life-long interest in local history. He says that part of the enjoyment of collecting comes from researching the history behind the artifact, and when that history is local, the discovery is even more satisfying. “Sometimes you really have to dig to find that story,” he says. Future displays of more artifacts from his collections are being planned.
