The Deer Heads

We have a lot of taxidermy in the house. Even though I am a hunter, none of the many trophy's we have in the house were shot by me.

We currently have eight deer heads in the house.

The one in this picture we got for free. Two heads were beautifully mounted and put on a big crate. The folks I got it from had packed it and moved it from Washington State. Never un-crating it was moved another five times. They were about to move again and the wife said it was the landfill for them because they were not going to take up any more garage space.

The two I received that day are in the foyer.

--I really need a moose. A huge moose...

The Desk Plate

This Relic is the name plate that sat on the roll top desk of my Grandfather Howard William Wilsey.

I can remember it as a small boy. I was always fascinated by Gramp's roll top desk. He always seemed to have a stash of malted milk balls in there.

If I could find that desk it would be mine.

--I also have the one my Grandfather had made as a gift for my father. 

The Infodata Root Beer

I have two bottles of this special brew.

It is official Infodata Root Beer. Back when Infodata Systems was interesting we would go to trade shows and hand out custom bottled Old Dominion Root Beer.

God only knows how many of these things were given away.

I am not a root beer drinker so the bottles I managed to keep have survived. They told me it was really good stuff.

--I still have some Infodata shirts somewhere!

The Squishy Cartman

While I was working at Infodata Systems Inc I stole this Relic many times from a co-worker. She would steal it back. But not until I squished him many times.

When she left the company and I found it on my desk the following Monday.

--I always think of Cynthia when I see him.

The Pipes

These were some of my Fathers pipes.

He had many others but I remember him smoking only the bottom two. I am sure we have photos of him smoking these!

I need to figure out how to clean these properly. I want to actually try the corn cob pipe!


I always thought it was so cool that he actually smoked a real corn cob pipe!


--Especially when you are a farmer!

The Bop It

You guys know what a Bop It toy is. That's right, it's a Relic! You probably have one in your house somewhere.

My friend Bob invented the thing.

I went to his 40th birthday party and stole this party favor!

It's a mini Bop It!

--I love making Bob Scream!

The Mallet

When I was in 7th grade I had my first year of wood shop. We spent all year learning how to use massive, dangerous, loud machines to make really ugly bird houses.

I picked the lathe for my final wood working project. I turned the head and the handle, assembled it all and oiled it up. It earned me an A in the class.

--I made this in 1973.

The Shou Xing

I have several examples of this Chinese God in my Relic collection.

Shou Xing - God of Longevity

This character represents 'long life'. According to Chinese folklore, Longevity is described as wise, knowledgeable and capable of ruling the world. During festivals, a Chinese family normally worships the symbols or pictures of Longevity to express gratitude for granting the elders in the family a long life.

When old people celebrate their birthdays, families and friends love to use the drawings of Shou as gifts. Pictures of Shou were often drawn on birthday cakes. Such a gesture would embody the filial wish that family elders or birthday person might live as long as the legendary mountains of the south, with health and good fortune to match.

The God of Longevity is the 3rd god of the Gods of Good Fortune. The God of Longevity was originally a stellar God, Shou Xing or the Star of Longevity

--I could use some longevity. Big bald head is optional...

The Bear

Yes, it's true.

We have a full sized, taxidermy, black bear, in the middle of my library.

The guy I got it from had it for 15 years before he got married. Before that it was in a bar in Old Town Alexandria for 60 years.

I loved driving home with it in the back seat of my car. The looks I got on Rt. 66 were awesome.

I always thought it would freak out the cats. The only pet it freaks out is Jenns dog Puttputt!

--I want a scary standing up Grizzly.

The Button of Pa

This is a school photo of my father, Maurice Wilsey.

Back in the day they use to put these photos on  buttons for some reason.

This is one of the treasures that my mom always kept inside her Whitmans tin.

--He sure had some coffee mug ears.

The Fox

We have a lot of taxidermy in the house. Most of it we got for free. People would just give it to us. The explaination usually begins:

"Well, I'm getting married..."

The fox is one of those stories.

When I went to pick it up I drove up to a secluded farm house. As I was walking up to the porch a massive Great Dane comes loping around the side of the house.

I actually had my hand on my 1911.

Luckily it was a big baby and a cream puff. Not really much of a watch dog. The Toy Poodle that finally caught up was the barker.

Anyway I got this beautiful fox for free. Saved from the landfill and now in my foyer.

--Just inside the front door...

The Holster

This was my Fathers holster.

It's a nice quality, western style, leather, but it's like 10 sizes too small for me to ever wear.

Might fit around one of my thighs.

It's very Indiana Jones.

I remember seeing a photo of my dad wearing it while we were on a camping trip.

--I need to find a copy of that picture!

The Wood Box

I have had this wooden box since my college days.

I bought it in an open air market in Toronto Canada.

It's an unremarkable box.

--It holds powerful magic items...

The Shishi Lions

I have several Shishi Lions on my collection.

This one is part of a pair of hand carved lions that have balls carved into the globe and into their mouths.

My brother Russ brought them back from Taiwan.

--One is male, one is female. Both are awesome.

The Whitman's Tin

This old Whitman's Chocolate's tin box was where my mother once kept some of her treasures. Her Relics. She had a ceder chest where she kept the tin. She had lots of her memories in there.

This is the same box that she took that lock of hair from. It's the same box where I keep that same lock of hair today.

Just an old tin box.

--I always wondered who actually ate the chocolates.

The Thing

I bought this Relic at a yard sale for $5. We call it "The Thing" because when I asked the woman how much she wanted for it she called out to her husband, "Honey! How much for the Thing?" and he knew exactly what she was talking about.

It is made of resin and is actually an urn. I actually bought it because I recognized the The Three Stars depicted on the front. Click on the image for a more detailed view.

Fu Lu Shou refers to the concept of Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). This Taoist concept is thought to date back to the Ming Dynasty, when the Fu Star, Lu Star and Shou Star were considered to be personified deities of these attributes respectively. The term is commonly used in Chinese culture to denote the three attributes of a good life. Statues of these three gods are found in nearly every Chinese home and many Chinese-owned shops on small altars with a glass of water, an orange or other auspicious offerings, especially during Chinese New Year.  

--So we call it The Thing.

The Pirate Dagger

This Relic is made from a WWII bayonet and a femur bone for a handle.

It was given to me by my high school friend Ray Clark.

Ray was killed in a motorcycle crash in the early 1980's.

Ray was a good friend. We had a lot of fun together back then. Did a lot of camping together. I had my first drink of beer with Ray. Road my first minibike. We learned to make fire without matches with this knife.

--This makes me think of Ray.

The Oliver

My kids always get me gifts for my Birthday.

When I turned 50 my daughter Cady gave me this antique typewriter because if you have an oak roll to desk you must have a cool typewriter!

It is The Oliver Standard Visible Writer No. 3 and it is totally awesome.

The No. 3 was produced in Vienna, Austria by A. Greger & Co. from 1903 to 1924 as the Courier; production ended in 1919, the final machine was assembled in 1924. They also produced the Courier as the Jacobi for a major German office equipment dealer in Munich; The Jacobi name was borrowed from A. Greger's sewing machine division, the Jacobi Company. A. Greger & Co. was originally a bicycle builder. A. Greger & Co. may have been been the manufacturer or assembler of Oliver branded Typewriters Nos. 3 & 4 prior to purchasing the patents from The Oliver Typewriter Co.; research is on going concerning the early years of Oliver in the Europe.

--You have to hammer the keys to use it. It still works.

The Lock of Hair

This Relic is one of my most prized possessions.

It is a lock of my mothers hair.

She gave it to me after she was 70 years old and her hair had long ago gone white. We were looking through her jewelry box at a ton of Jade things.

She said it was the first snip when in the 70s she changed her hair style to that pixie cut thing. She laughed really hard when she told me that like there was more to the story than she was sharing.

--My dad always always called her, "Runt".

The Boyscout Knife

This is the big ass folding knife I had when I was in boyscouts.

It has a full size fork and spoon in addition to all the normal blades, saws, clippers and corkscrew.

--Lots of good memories in this Relic.

The Hooded Merganser

This Relic is a piece of taxidermy that has a small label on the back that says:

   Hooded Merganser 1967

I saw this for free on craigslist.

We have several examples of taxidermy in the house that I plan to list.

This one is in the hall bathroom on the wall over the toilet currently.

--I like it!

The Botonee Cross

This Relic was given to me by Ann Miller, my kids Grandmother. We found it in her basement and she had no idea what it was and tossed it into the trash. I salvaged it and asked her about it.

I thought it looked cool. For years I thought it was the top of a staff used by formal clerics during events.I found out later that is is actually something called a Botonee Cross.

It is a parade flag pole topper.

You can easily Google the term and find that there are all kinds of these flag pole toppers. They have them for various religions, occupations and organizations.

I wish I knew more about the actually history of this specific one. Maybe once some if the Millers see it it might trigger a memory that could add to this story!

--I still think it looks cool and I like remembering Ann. I still miss her.

The Sleeper

This is another sculpture that I made long ago. It depicts a woman sleeping.

I made it during a 45 minute class out of a kind of clay that does not need to be fired and only has a very short window of time that it can be worked.

These kind of Relics really make me want to take another art class to do sculpture.

It always make me feel like I need to do another one. Like this was an initial study of the form.

Today's Relic was posted from the road somewhere in the midst of Alabama!


--One day I will revisit this. Maybe Brenda will model for me...

The Scotties

I was on my way back from Jimbos bachelor party weekend. I had hardly any sleep and was having a tough time staying awake on the eight hour drive.

All the coffee in the world was not working except for keeping me uncomfortable with a full bladder.

I stopped at an "antique mall" in Pennsylvania.

I ended up buying the wacky looking Scotty book ends.

I have never actually used them as bookends. They always make me remember the hole we blew in the back of my truck. The fire at the abandoned farmhouse and the metric ton of chicken wings ate at the Log Cabin.

--They have maintained a constant vigil over my Relics since then.

The Shirt of Joe

When I was a kid I had an awesome G.I. Joe. The 12 inch tall kind. Not the smaller later version. Mine had a scar on his face.

I do not have the original Joe anymore. I wish I did. I don't even know what happened to it.

I do have his shirt.

I have the same model G.I. Joe now. Purchased along the way. You will see an entry regarding that Relic one day.

--I have had this shirt with me through three marriages. I have had it for over 40 years, as of this writing. 

The Pennsylvania Locomotive

This is one of the Relics that I have had since I was a kid.

Back in the early 1970s I was seriously into model railroading. I had a huge setup that consumed most of our basement. I am still amazed at how patient my parents were with the massive installation.

This was one of my favorite engines. It is ALL metal and very detailed.

--I would love one day, after I retire, to do model railroading again!