Would you be surprised if I told you I liked the History Channel? Well, most of it anyway.
Some of the newest shows on the History Channel are Pawn Stars and American Pickers.
Pawn Stars is basically a reality show set in an especially nice pawn shop and we get to see the unusual items that people bring in and try to sell or pawn. A value eventually is negotiated and we watch and see whether the shop is willing to pay that kind of money for this object.
American Pickers might be the newest show to appear. It involves a couple of guys who are "pickers" that travel around to homes where there are what looks like extremely huge junk collections. They always manage to find something in the homeowners outbuilding that they just have to buy. They make offers to the owner to try to buy items ranging from a rusty piece of metal to a classic car and everything in between and beyond!
These shows are pretty entertaining, probably because we get to see what kind of "junk" someone has that we might have that might be worth money. What bothers me though is how much importance is placed on the monetary value of these items as opposed to the historic value. It's not such a big deal in American Pickers because generally the "stuff" they find is in a pile in someone's overgrown backyard. It's slightly different in Pawn Stars.
None of this really made any difference to me until I started seeing people walking in and trying to sell family heirlooms. Then it bothered me. One guy appeared saying that he found his grandfathers World War II uniform in a trunk in his grandmothers attic and he figured he could probably get some money for it. Other people have appeared with swords and other various items that belonged to earlier generations of their family and the first thing they say is, "This is collecting dust in my closet and I'd rather have the money in my pocket."
Some things should not leave your family as they tell the story of who you are and where your family came from. If, however, you're concerned that heirlooms will not be appreciated or cared for by later generations, or if you simply don't have room for items, please contact a local museum or historical society before considering a sale. Historical societies exist to collect objects and information that tell the history of an area. That history is usually lost forever when family documents and artifacts enter auctions or antique shops.
The Bradford County Historical Society has been telling this story for well over 100 years using the family heirlooms that have been donated over that time. In an increasingly money driven century, as this one has become, don't trade your longlasting family history for money that can be spent in a matter of minutes. Remember the Bradford County Historical Society when considering the future of your Bradford County related family heirlooms.
