“What's That Ringing?” Think of School - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – School Bells

School Bell With a Message - Thanks to flicker.com

It is that time of year again and I see my son Joshua preparing for school. It's not as I remembered it sixty years ago when preparing for the new school year was much simpler. My mother would buy me a couple of pairs of trousers and a few shirts and every other year I might get a new pair of shoes. The school supplies were three pencils and a notebook filled with lined paper. Believe it or not the schools actually provided the books then but they were rather unimpressive by today's standards.

What has happened to us, I ask myself. Are the kids of today really that much smarter than we were back then? I wonder because when students graduated back then they went to work and provided for themselves but today I see too many students that graduate with their degrees and either can't find work or it isn't the work they desire. How things have changed. Computers, iPods, iPhones and calculators are the necessities of today. Yes, I believe that the student of today does have more information at his disposal but does that make him smarter? I wonder.

But let me get back to the subject at hand, making money from the school experience. Where should I start? I guess with school bells. Did you know that the old school bells with their yokes can bring up to $500 or more and if the bell has a school mark on it that price can double or triple?

I doubt many of my readers were ever called to school by ringing bells, but I was. Do you know that even the bells that rang so that the students could change classes are collected? This is not even to mention those special bells that teachers prized so much with their names on them inscribed with the class that gave it to them as a sign of their appreciation for the teacher's hard work. I remember fair well that ringing by my teacher's bell as I disrupted the class and how she could make everything in the classroom come to a halt with it. So yes, school bells should be something that we keep an eye out for.

However, there are many other items that should come to your mind when you think of school like year books, early school primers, photographs, and yes, even school assignments. Athletic jackets and cheerleading outfits are some of the most expensive school collectibles. I could go on and on about school memorabilia but that will have to wait for another day.

I hope your school years meant as much to you as mine did to me. I was a handful but loved every day of it. After missing two days of school in the first grade I didn't miss another day until my senior year when we took senior skip day. This seems in stark contrast to my son who will use any excuse to stay home.

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