Saturday, March 26, 2011

Memories of Cereal Box Dishware

"What has become of the prizes in cereal boxes?" a friend asked on Facebook. Then she went on to describe items she and her siblings looked for. This reminded me of the rings, toys, phonograph records and other items my brothers, sister and l anticipated, too.

Then the ensuing discussion, as her friends chimed in, brought to mind the dishes Mother collected from Mother's Oats oatmeal boxes. These consisted of cereal bowls, small plates, cups and saucers. I think the design was green on white. None of this dishware remained when I had to pack up Mother's home and move her to mine when Alzheimer's developed.   (As I did more research, I think perhaps some of the dishware was light green jadeite type.)

As I searched for this dishware on the Internet, I discovered, not the one I recall, but others that supposedly were distributed in Mother's Oats. One of these is the Fire King Bonnie Blue design. It consists of a blue flower on cup and saucer set. Carnival glassware apparently also was found in these cereal boxes.

Dishes in Soap Boxes, too

Another type of dinnerware of memory consists of the "Golden Wheat" design my mother-in-law collected from laundry soap. With eight boys in the household, often two grandmas, Dad and her, Mum used a lot of laundry powder. She gave me some of these for our everyday dinnerware when Jim and I married. I still have a few pieces after more than 50 years.

Research has revealed that these Golden Wheat dishes were promotional items made by Homer Laughlin dish company and distributed in Duz soap powder. They had a 22 k gold trim around the rim and a wheat design on white in the center. Some had the company mark, while others didn't. One source indicates that those in the soap powder didn't have the company mark, while the dishware sold independently were marked.

Do you have special memories of prizes found in cereal and other boxes? I've discovered it fun to research the background of them.