Cloverine Salve
Written 1-30-96
As I go through high school, I decide it is time I earn my own money for Christmas presents. I think of the different options available. Seems like nothing suits my circumstances, until finally I decide to become a salesman. I have never been able to sell anything, but am probably like the car salesman on the radio commercial I remember from years ago.
A salesman gingerly approaches a home and knocks on the door very timidly, so that his knock is barely audible. When someone finally comes to the door, he rattles off a list of negative comments about some cars. He finally ends his comments by saying, "You don't want to buy a car, do you?" Such a salesman was I. I had cloverine salve to sell. I knew nothing about cloverine salve, but I had a certain number of boxes I must sell. My prize, -if I sold them all, -a set of green depression glass dishes, service for six. How nice these would look in Mother's home-made china cabinet! Useful? Not really, as we lived on a farm, had nine people at the table, so six place settings would never be enough. No matter, I went with the idea anyway.
With the help of my sister Norma, and after many days of trying, we sold them all, got the dishes, and the two of us gave them to Mother for Christmas. This was about the year 1936-37. We never used them, but they looked mighty classy in Mother's china cabinet!
Some years after we moved to Wausau, these dishes were divided between the two of us. We each got three plates, three cups and saucers, and one serving dish. I tried using mine occasionally, but they were not practical as most of the time there never were enough with just my half.
Years later I sold these dishes to an antique dealer. I don't remember how much she paid me for them, but it was more than I had paid, -which was nothing more than a little shoe leather to sell the salve.
I understand that cloverine salve is still available today in the same flat metal box. The price today is $3.50 a box compared to the $.25 we sold it for.
I believe Norma still has her dishes. If she were to sell them, she would probably get more money than I did, if depression glass continues to increase in value. At any rate, we had the beginnings of a good career started, but since we both disliked it and were not the salesman type, we opted not to pursue it!