Hello from Hazard!
We hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day!
Dale Cerar, of Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, and Diane Lee, of Ravenna, Ohio, agree with other readers that Item No. 1247 is a paddle used to stir mixtures in a large kettle cooking over a fire.
Brian Allman submitted Item No. 1247.
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In response to Item No. 1248, Mark Sheldon Carroll, of Kent, Ohio, wrote the item’s two identifiers, BREAD LOAF and the No. 43, cause him to wonder if the old key and brass fob-star might be from Historic Zoar Village in Tuscarawas County.
“For those unfamiliar with Zoar Village, it was founded in 1819 by a group of Pietistic Christian Spiritualists (similar to Quakers and Shakers) who fled Germany to find religious freedom in the United States. The new community in the young state of Ohio established numerous means of self-sufficient production, including their own bakery. I understand that the bakery delivered fresh goods to the village dormitories and homes which were identified by two-digit numbers.
The Zoarites’ religious community was legally dissolved in 1898, but many of the historic homes and structures still remain today and about 200 people live in the village. The village and its garden are truly very valuable surviving portions of Ohio’s history.
“Ms. Tammi Shrum, Zoar’s official historian, is the most likely person to know if this old key and brass fob-star might be from the Zoarite religious community. If she or someone else can confirm this, I would strongly encourage the item’s owner to donate the key and star to the Zoar Community Association for display in the Zoar Village Museum or the Zoar Village Bakery,” Mark wrote.
Thank you for the history, Mark. We will attempt to contact Tammi.
Dan Kerniskey, of Eastlake, Ohio, submitted the item.
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Randy Winland, of Prospect, Ohio, submitted Item No. 1249.
Do you know what the item is and how it was used? Let us know by emailing us at editorial@farmanddairy.com; or by mail to: Hazard a Guess, c/o Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460. We could use more items to keep this column going. Please submit items you would like identified to editorial@farmanddairy.com.
