FROM THE DESK OF OUR EDITOR
Spring is finally here – can Convention-time be far behind?
This issue of CAS Collectors Quarterly will, we hope, fill you with
anticipation, as we’ve filled it with plenty of articles keyed in to our 2012
Convention theme, “A CAS Summer Vacation” ! Among the
highlights: summer vacation memories from members of your Board. . .
“Convention Countdown II”, complete with auction details, and the
always-welcome announcement of our 2012 “On Display Contest” entries. .
.and, of course, the latest travel “tails” from
LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS. . .
We can always tell if we’ve gotten a newsletter “just right”
when we hear from our friend and regular correspondent Alice Noltemeyer. Here’s
what
“What a comfort is was to receive all the CAS news
(especially as I sat with a foot elevated, thanks to gout!) This is the time of
year to prepare for vacation travels and storing up memories. I am sure there
will be many contributions to the 2012 Convention theme, ‘A CAS Summer
Vacation’.
“Mary Lamm-Feltman’s diary of travels west with her three
grandchildren brought back fond memories of taking the same route with our son
and daughter years ago. At that time, ‘
“I know it’s
practically impossible to find one of the ‘Barbershop Mugs’ you wrote about,
but worth the search. Reading about the mugs reminded that, while working at
Ceramic Arts, we each had the opportunity to design and paint our own coffee
mug. I painted a cupid with bows and arrow, aiming at two hearts, on which were
the names “
“The color pictures in the newsletter certainly do
justice to Betty’s art and the Studio legacy, as do the many smiling faces of club
members. I know you all will have another wonderful gathering in August, and I thank you for your enthusiasm. Love to all
from Alice Dahl Noltemeyer (Two Gold Dots)”.
And, as always, thanks to you Alice for your kind
words. It’s the enthusiasm of all CAS Collectors that keeps us going!
BRAVOS FROM BETTY
Another dedicated correspondent is our good friend and
longtime club member, Betty Carson. Our Winter issue included her “pottery alphabet”, “Betty C. From ‘A’ to ‘Z’.
Here’s what we heard back:
“The CAS newsletter was received, and promptly read cover
to cover. Terrific, as always! I really was floored by how you took my very
‘ordinary’ article, and did so much with it! I remember those colored alphabet
pieces shown on the cover, and loved being part of the Trivia Contest. Hats off
to you!
“Did you know I helped with the first Haeger book? What
fun pieces those were! I love the “cowboy” lamps, and once threatened to have a
room filled with nothing but end tables – just for the Royal Haeger lamps!
“Do you know if some of the CAS folks also belong the the
Salt & Pepper Club? I feel sure I remember June (Behnke). Oh well, at this
age, I should know better than to be sure of anything!
“About that ‘I’ve Been
Everywhere’ song in Hank’s ‘President’s Corner’: now if you’d asked me, I would
have said it was a Hank Snow song! Oh, and I loved the latest ‘Mouse’ story,
and that Katie Munz sounds like a really great gal! That’s all for now!”
Well, not quite all: as you may remember, the CAS Trivia
Contest Question in our last newsletter tied in directly to Betty’s
“pottery alphabet” article. Every letter of the alphabet was represented,
except poor, lonely “X”. The contest
assignment: come up with the name of a pottery beginning with “X”.
Unfortunately, as we learned to our dismay, there just
aren’t any! And, so, the contest prize, a 2006 Convention Commemorative,
the “CAS Salt and Pepper Set” goes, with x-tra special thanks for an
x-ceptional article, to the article’s author – Betty Carson! We look forward to
your next one, Betty!
AND THE NEXT CONTEST IS. . .
It’s back to our 2012 Convention theme for this issue’s CAS
Trivia Contest Question. Here’s the clue:
“The four of us have stopped to play,
Before proceeding on our way.
Winter, summer, spring and fall –
No matter the season, we cover them all!”
Can you identify this quartet, dating from 1949? As always,
the answer will be found somewhere within the pages of Ceramic Arts Studio:
The Legacy of Betty Harrington. Once you’ve found it, email your Editor
right away: donaldbrian@msn.com. The
first person submitting the correct answer will receive a CAS Piggy Bank,
our 2010 Commemorative. Don’t delay –
enter today!
MORE MUNCHIES FROM MARLYS
Plenty of our members have been feasting on the “CAS
Recipes” included in our past several issues, courtesy of former Studio
decorator Marlys Wilkinson. CAS workers always enjoyed swapping favorite
recipes, Marlys enjoyed saving them – and now, you can enjoy giving them a try!
Here’s the latest mouth-watering concoction, courtesy of Marlys herself!
“Lemon
Ice Cream Pie”
1/2 cup lemonade
1 qt. vanilla ice cream
Whip together, and put in cornflake crust.
Top with hot sauce:
Shred lemon rind, and cut small. Put in 1/2 cup water, and
cook 10 minutes covered. Then add 2/3 cup sugar, and boil 10 minutes, uncovered. The sauce is
thin, but delicious on the pie!
And on that tasty note – on with the show!
Donald-Brian Johnson
Editor
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REMEMBERING REUBEN
By Donald-Brian Johnson
Reuben Sand, founder of Ceramic Arts Studio, died on October 21, 2005 of double pneumonia. As per his wishes, Mr. Sand’s ashes were distributed in Half Moon Bay, near his San Mateo, California home. On November 4th, Reuben Sand would have celebrated his 90th birthday.
The story of Mr. Sand and the Studio has, over the years, been told so many times that it has assumed the status of familiar legend. How, in 1940, Reuben and potter Lawrence Rabbitt teamed up to turn a deserted lean-to on Madison’s Blount Street into the loftily-named “Ceramic Arts Studio”. How the Studio’s early hand-thrown pots met with little success (and how many of them leaked!) How a chance meeting in 1941 with the amazing designer Betty Harrington led Reuben and the Studio in an entirely new direction—the creation of figural ceramics. And how, thanks to Betty’s talent for design, and Reuben’s talent for production and marketing, the little lean-to in Madison soon became the nation’s top supplier of decorative ceramics.
What’s often forgotten is just how young Reuben Sand
was when he embarked on his
That may be why, for many years, Mr. Sand resisted the urge to reminisce about Studio days—he had, after all, done so much more! Collectors were overjoyed when, in 1993, Reuben agreed to travel to Madison for the first-ever comprehensive Ceramic Arts Studio exhibit, sponsored by the Wisconsin Pottery Association. A touching, final reunion between entrepreneur Reuben and designer Betty was a highlight of the occasion. Then it was back to California, and on with life.
When it came time to begin work on our book Ceramic Arts
Studio: The Legacy of Betty Harrington, my co-authors and I felt it was
extremely important to include current commentary by the man who started it
all—Reuben Sand. We already had, thanks
to Betty Harrington’s diligence, and the generosity of her family, extensive
materials documenting her part of the story. Thanks to
Every several weeks, I called and left a message at the contact number I’d been given. For months there was no response. Then one morning, the phone rang. I picked it up, and a deep, somewhat gravelly voice said, “This is Reuben Sand. Why do you keep calling me?”
I explained who I was, and the project I was working on. There was a pause, then Reuben began to express his doubts. He’d “been interviewed before”; they “always got it wrong”; they “never asked the right questions” and “never let him read it first”.
This went on for awhile. When there was a lull, I assured him that we had something different in mind. We planned on using his comments in the first person, just as he conveyed them, editing only for length or repetition. He would see the material before it went to print, and would have the right to correct (or delete) anything inaccurate.
Another pause. I could tell he was considering the idea. Then he continued: “What if my comments don’t agree with what other people say?”
“Well,” I replied, “folks will have the opportunity to read both, and can make up their own minds.”
Whether that did the trick (or whether he was just tired of talking to me), Mr. Sand agreed. I was to send him a list of the questions I would be asking. He would call me at a set date and time, and answer those (and only those) questions. “And I want a transcript.”
“No problem,”, I said, (instantly hoping to avail myself of Roseann Lindner’s transcription talents).
And so it began. On
the set day, at the set time, the phone rang.
I switched on the recorder. “Hello. This is Reuben Sand. Question number one---
Oh boy, I thought. Is this going to be tedious. But I’d put together what I felt were some pretty good questions, and at least we’d have those first-person responses, even if they were being read from a carefully prepared script.
I tuned back in, just as Reuben was intoning a very lengthy
explanation of how he met Larry Rabbitt, and determined to start a business.
“We found an empty lean-to at
“What are rebars?” I interrupted, in spite of myself.
“That’s not on the question list,” said Reuben, and
continued: “
“Why?”
“I answer that in question number 5.”
“Oh”.
There was a pause. “But I suppose I might as well talk about it now. Larry had been making a few items such as ashtrays and bowls and little pots, and fashioned himself to be working in a ‘studio’—had sort of a nice ring to it—an ‘arts studio’. I simply said, ‘if you think that is a good name, OK’. Later on, people wondered how this ‘arts studio’ was kicking out thousands of pieces—there must have been a lot of artists hard at work!”
He chuckled, off script, and enjoying the recollection. From that moment on, the question-and answer list was forgotten, and the memories poured forth fast and furious.
This was just the first of many wonderful phone conversations I had with Reuben Sand. Over the next several years, we’d talk on a regular basis. Sometimes I’d call, to make sure I was explaining a particular facet of Studio life correctly. Sometimes he’d call, to clarify or expand on a previous response, or to tell me to look for “a package on its way” (thanks to Reuben, original Studio catalogs, copyrights, photos, and the like soon added to our treasure trove of research material.)
Sometimes, one or the other of us would call “just to talk”. And, true to my word, I always kept a transcript.
When our book was ready for print, I sent Reuben’s sections
to him, as promised, for his approval. He was effusive in his praise, offering
few corrections, and asking only for the elimination of one brief anecdote. (An
early
Basking in Mr. Sand’s praise, I couldn’t resist adding, “and your words are just as you said them—I’m sure you checked the transcripts.”
“Oh”, replied Reuben, “I never read those. I just wanted to see if you would keep your promise.”
Reuben Sand was easily one of the most fascinating,
entertaining people I’ve met in my life—and I never even had the opportunity to
meet him in person! Imagine the response
he must have evoked in those who knew him and worked with him first-hand. Over and over in my research for our book, I
would encounter former Studio workers who would describe Reuben as “the best
boss”, and
I once asked Reuben if he ever gave much thought to the Studio “legacy”. A moment or two went by, and then he said, “You know, one of my biggest worries used to be that two thousand years from now some geologist would be digging, and nothing could be found but Ceramic Arts Studio figurines. And the pundits of the time would say, ‘in the years 1940-1960 or so, this was the state of the civilization that existed.’ A pretty good state though. Better than a lot of things they could be digging up. You know, I have so many fond memories of Ceramic Arts Studio and those I worked with. They were all solid, wonderful people. I guess I am just one of the luckiest guys in the world.”
We were the lucky ones, Reuben. Our thanks, for a life well-lived.
