The next day we headed home. On the way back to
Milwaukee, we stopped in a number of shops
throughout Illinois. Not too much, although my wife
found a Wrigley Display Case. It wasn't for sale, but
she asked to call the owner. She could have pur-
chased it for $200, but passed on it. I think she
regrets that, as she has mentioned it several times
smce.
The trip wasn't our best. We did a lot of driving, vis-
ited a huge amount of antique shops, and didn't find
much. Sometimes the best finds are in your own
backyard, but that's another story.
Here's another interesting story .....
you never know what you might find at a rummage sale ....
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
by John Carini
The first weekend in August, I received a call from
someone I had previously met at a beer show. He
left a message saying he found some new in-the-box
hot nut machines and wanted to know if I was inter-
ested. I called him back. He told me he picked up 4
new in-the-box machines from a rummage sale. He
said there were 16 more, but they weren't new, and
they were missing some parts so he didn't purchase
them. From his description, I thought they were
common Northwestern '60s with decals that said
hot nut cashews.
I offered him $100 for all 4 machines. He said he
would call me back, that he wanted to try to get the
rest of the machines from the garage sale. He called
me back and explained all the others were sold, and
told me he wanted to keep one of the four he had
just purchased. He offered the other
3 to me for $100. I said yes, and he
drove them to our house.
When I opened the box, I was pleas-
antly surprised. I had never before
seen this model of Northwestern Hot
Nut machine (see photo). The
machines take 50 cents, and they
have nice graphics on the globes.
They have holes in the side for a tray
29
holder or cup
holder to be
bolted on ( see
photo), and a
built in heat-
ing unit. My
best guess is
they are from
the late '70s
or early '80s.
Curious about the machine, I decided to call a rep at
Northwestern, thinking they could give me the
details. I also wanted to purchase a cup holder for
the machine. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone
there familiar with this model.
Three days later, I was at a local Milwaukee auction
when another one of these machines showed up.
This one wasn't new. The mechanism was frozen,
but the machine was clean. I bid on and won the
machine for $30. I'm pretty sure that over the next
few months, several more will be showing up at
local auctions, flea markets and antique shops. So
talk with other antique dealers and pickers. Keep
your name out there, you never know when you'll
get a call.