A 70 Year Old Christmas Cactus

Exactly How Long Does a Christmas Cactus Live?

While spending time with Mary Ann in the year before she passed, she told us on more than one occasion that when she was gone, she wanted someone to be sure to keep the Christmas cactus that was in the tavern. It was really old and she wanted to be sure that someone would continue to care for it. My sister, Traci, obediently agreed to take it, not having gotten a really good visual of it since there were a lot of items stored in front of it at the time.

Once all the stuff was cleared away, and we got a good look at this plant in all its sprawling enormity, well, let's just say Traci was having some regrets about her promise. This thing may require its own bedroom.

Browsing through old photo albums, I came across a photo of the plant back in its early days. This photo was taken circa 1950s. That would put this plant at darn near 70 years old, possibly older since I don't know exactly when they first acquired the plant. I was curious and had to google how long a Christmas cactus typically lives. If you're wondering, it's 20-30 years.

Christmas Cactus, circa 1950

A Facebook friend of my cousin's posted this story when commenting about her memory of going to Mautz's Tavern:

Sometime when I come back to visit I would like to see the bar again. I remember going when it was open and a lot of times after it closed. Your Grandma had a huge Christmas cactus in there that she was all upset that it wasn't growing well. Seems some of the customers were pouring beer into it : I remember she was so angry that they would do that to her plant. She was a great lady :) I'm sure she would be happy it is still there. Way back when the bar was still open DeAnne took me out there at least twice. At that time it was a large plant but at least half was yellowing and looked poor. Toni told me that it was very old but dying because of the beer but she and MaryAnn were working hard to bring it back

-Peggy Adami-Doyle

You hear that Traci, she would be happy it was still there. This thing is far from dying and in fact, is currently blooming, just in time for Christmas. You better start clearing out a room.

This photo was taken on Sunday, December 22, 2019

Comments

Vintage Soda Bottles

Vintage, Retro Soda Bottles They just don't make them like this anymore. Although they are heavy and fragile to transport, they are a more environmentally friendly option than the plastic soda bottles of today. And they just look so much cooler!! Buried in a box in the side garage were a pile of empty soda bottles of various brands. I find the bygone days of regional soda, before Pepsi and Coke took over everything, fascinating. I grabbed a few of some of these more interesting looking bottles, most of brands I had never heard of, and found a way to use them as vintage decor in my office. Most of these are from the 1950s. It was fun to do a little retro soda research. We do love our soda pop! Pile of 60+ year old empty soda bottles Vintage Soda Bottle Decor in My Office Howel's Root Beer Bottle is Circa late 1940s The origins of Howel's Beverage Company out of Chicago, IL started with the sale of an orange-julep syrup (this would eventually bec...

Red Dot Potato Chips Cardboard Boxes featuring Ta-to The Clown

Historical Cardboard Boxes with Stories as Interesting as Their Contents I am finding that some of the cardboard boxes that are in the tavern are proving to be unexpected windows into history. So for your reading pleasure, here is what I learned out about what was once a Madison, WI based potato chip company, complete with a creepy clown mascot. Red Dot Potato Chips and Ta-to the Clown The first thing I noticed when I found these boxes were that they had my dad's name on them. Once I got past that and all the cool things that were stored inside them, I was then drawn to the brand of potato chips I had never heard of along with its eye-catching clown. I wanted to find out more. The Company's Mascot - Ta-to (rhymes with potato) the Clown Were clowns not considered creepy back then? A quick google search revealed an interesting story of an entrepreneur with a tragic ending from right here in Madison, WI. I encourage you to check out this i...

Kurth's Brewing, Columbus, WI

Kurth's Beer from Columbus, WI Well, the online auction of items from the tavern has been over now for a few months and at times I find myself still reflecting on how valuable some of those items were to people. Our signature piece was the Kurth's Beer sign that had been sitting in the garage for upwards of 70 years. It's that sign that has inspired this blog post, which focuses on all the vintage Kurth Brewing items that were found inside. Kurth's Beer Sign If you want to know more about Kurth Brewery, I encourage you to check out this July 2016 article by Lisa Cestkowski for the Columbus Journal https://www.wiscnews.com/columbusjournal/news/local/kurth-brewery-was-barreling-full-steam-ahead-until-flames-altered-the-course-of-history/article_a5cd6ef0-4a02-5501-bd40-1084d25fe168.html I'm sure it makes sense that there was an abundance of Kurth's Beer served at the tavern. Since the brewery was located in Columbus, WI it was likely the closest bre...

Mautz's Tavern- A Historical Commentary

Search This Blog