Just A Thought
By Julie Gutknecht

I've been collecting spoons now for more than 30 years, but my latest addition proved to be more than just #654. It was my "Penny Spoon" - a mystery to solve.

It was a baby spoon my dad had found amid a load of scrap metal. Tarnished nearly black, he set it aside for me. That was about two years ago. After polishing it to a shine, I found the name Penny engraved in the handle plus the date June 6, 1968. There was a tiny clock in the center which looked as though it were set at about 4:50 a.m. Back markings credited its manufacture to the Wm. Rogers Silver Company.

Who was Penny? Has she been looking for her lost spoon? How did it get to dad's scrap trailer?

My "Penny Spoon" was set aside with questions unanswered until a couple weeks ago. I had a Friday with not too much scheduled and so I decided it was time to do a bit of investigating. While we didn't know if Penny was even born in Wright County, I decided to start at the Buffalo Courthouse. My plan was to move on to the neighboring counties if my search here failed to reveal a match.

The birth records are in alphabetical order by last name--which I didn't have - so I was handed a rather large index book. I flipped the tab for the A's and ran my finger down the list for babies born on June 6, 1968 - no Penny - on to the B's. I made it to the P's before I found my Penny, born to parents in Cokato. The entire license bureau office put up a cheer.

With most of my family living in Cokato, I immediately made a call to mom who made a few calls of her own. We thought we'd come to another brick wall. Everyone she'd talked to assumed Penny's parents had already died and their daughters had married and moved from the area. One of my brothers, Allen, graduated with one of Penny's sisters and thought he remembered her married name.

A phone call led from her to Penny, now married and living in Litchfield.

I'd be curious to hear what Penny's reaction was to my call. Some woman with a spoon? She said she didn't remember ever having seen it.

While this was a fun addition to my collection and right up my alley considering my love of historical preservation, I knew, if it were me, I'd love to have it back. I mailed it to her last Monday.

I was floored this Tuesday afternoon, while finishing up this week's issue of the Messenger, to hear Al Malmberg on WCCO talking to a Penny Hicks who was describing how a Buffalo woman had found a baby spoon and had tracked her down.

She said her older sisters remember feeding her with the baby spoon but none had a clue where it came from, where it had gone or how it came to be on dad's scrap wagon.

While this is definitely an exception, it is why I really enjoy collecting. There are so many stories behind so many of the pieces. If they could only talk.

I'm thrilled to have found the rightful owner to #654.

Article and image courtesy of Spooners Forum, June 2000 issue.