MONROE - Do moms still tell kids to carry a hankie? Jeanette Crooks of Brodhead has a few hundred to choose from.
Crooks calls herself an "eclectic" collector. She and her husband have collected dolls and doll dishes, vintage clothing and carnal glass for about 45 years. Hankies were one collection she didn't even realize she had started until about 1985.
And even today, she doesn't know how many she has.
"And I don't want to know!" she laughs. But she believes she has sold at least 50 Christmas hankies from her collection over the years.
Although Crooks tries to use eBay, it is not her favorite place to buy and sell.
"I still love an action, I love people," she said. "There's a certain amount of providence there. I like to know where stuff comes from."
Crooks got several hankies at a local estate auction in Monticello. Many had small notes slipped into them - from whom they were received or on what occasion they were given. Even though Crooks knows none of the people, she keeps the notes with each hankie.
Crooks call the 1940s through the 1960s the "golden age" of hankies.
At one time, hankies were a social necessity. Hankies were given at weddings. Mom cleaned your face with them, or tied your church money up in them, so you wouldn't lose it. They were something grandma gave you. They were a standard in a get-well card.
"If it's your grandmother's, it's worth preserving," Crook said.
But hankies also became souvenirs in the 1940s, when travel became easier. Crooks' collection contains hankies from states, cities and foreign countries in a variety of fabrics.
Over the years, Crooks has learned how to identify the age of a hankie - and whether it had been used. Used hankies have a softer feel, from being washed.
Some in her collections still have the labels on them. They were the ones put away, because the owner thought they were too good to use.
"We are fortunate in this area. Switzerland had a lot of fine hankies," she said.
Crooks' collection depicts the wide range hankies have - from plain to whimsical to elegant. Her collection started with Valentine-themed hankies and then Christmas and even St. Patrick's Day.
Older hankies have drawn - or pulled out - threads, making a design. But by the early 1900s, lace machines were being brought to the U.S.
In the 1940s, hankies had subdued colors and in the 1950s, became more artsy. Edges can be rolled, stitched flat or scalloped. Round hankies are her favorites.
Crooks said women used to buy plain hankies and embroider or tat the edges.
"It was common to buy hankies and put your own touch on them. It was a cottage industry," she said.
Crooks collection also includes hankie holders. After washing and pressing, the hankies - often a set - they were laid together in a pile and wrapped or tied together.
Crooks' collection includes a U.S. Marine set from WWII, a clear triangular case from the 1920s and a silk-lined wooden box from 1910.
In the 1950s, hankies got larger.
"As our money improved, you could buy bigger hankies," Crooks said.
Crooks also has the more rare children's hankie. Within reason, children's hankies can have stains and holes and still be valuable. The fact that they survived at all makes them something.
"Children probably lost their hankies - or threw them away. So you don't find many of them," Crooks said.
But the Kimberly-Clark paper tissue brought an end to children's hankies in the 1950s.
Crooks calls herself an "eclectic" collector. She and her husband have collected dolls and doll dishes, vintage clothing and carnal glass for about 45 years. Hankies were one collection she didn't even realize she had started until about 1985.
And even today, she doesn't know how many she has.
"And I don't want to know!" she laughs. But she believes she has sold at least 50 Christmas hankies from her collection over the years.
Although Crooks tries to use eBay, it is not her favorite place to buy and sell.
"I still love an action, I love people," she said. "There's a certain amount of providence there. I like to know where stuff comes from."
Crooks got several hankies at a local estate auction in Monticello. Many had small notes slipped into them - from whom they were received or on what occasion they were given. Even though Crooks knows none of the people, she keeps the notes with each hankie.
Crooks call the 1940s through the 1960s the "golden age" of hankies.
At one time, hankies were a social necessity. Hankies were given at weddings. Mom cleaned your face with them, or tied your church money up in them, so you wouldn't lose it. They were something grandma gave you. They were a standard in a get-well card.
"If it's your grandmother's, it's worth preserving," Crook said.
But hankies also became souvenirs in the 1940s, when travel became easier. Crooks' collection contains hankies from states, cities and foreign countries in a variety of fabrics.
Over the years, Crooks has learned how to identify the age of a hankie - and whether it had been used. Used hankies have a softer feel, from being washed.
Some in her collections still have the labels on them. They were the ones put away, because the owner thought they were too good to use.
"We are fortunate in this area. Switzerland had a lot of fine hankies," she said.
Crooks' collection depicts the wide range hankies have - from plain to whimsical to elegant. Her collection started with Valentine-themed hankies and then Christmas and even St. Patrick's Day.
Older hankies have drawn - or pulled out - threads, making a design. But by the early 1900s, lace machines were being brought to the U.S.
In the 1940s, hankies had subdued colors and in the 1950s, became more artsy. Edges can be rolled, stitched flat or scalloped. Round hankies are her favorites.
Crooks said women used to buy plain hankies and embroider or tat the edges.
"It was common to buy hankies and put your own touch on them. It was a cottage industry," she said.
Crooks collection also includes hankie holders. After washing and pressing, the hankies - often a set - they were laid together in a pile and wrapped or tied together.
Crooks' collection includes a U.S. Marine set from WWII, a clear triangular case from the 1920s and a silk-lined wooden box from 1910.
In the 1950s, hankies got larger.
"As our money improved, you could buy bigger hankies," Crooks said.
Crooks also has the more rare children's hankie. Within reason, children's hankies can have stains and holes and still be valuable. The fact that they survived at all makes them something.
"Children probably lost their hankies - or threw them away. So you don't find many of them," Crooks said.
But the Kimberly-Clark paper tissue brought an end to children's hankies in the 1950s.