When “heirlooms” aren’t identified, and their stories never told, they often become items tossed or sold – as they have no history, no ties to the family. So take the time to identify your family heirlooms history and record your memories so the family treasures aren’t tossed in the trash. They are just as valuable as your family photographs and also need to be documented. Sometimes it’s not even the value of the item in question; it’s the story which holds the value.
Friday Night Heirlooms
Shawnee “Little Chef” Cookie Jar
My Shawnee “Little Chef” Cookie Jar… Marked USA
Although my mother never baked cookies, she always had this cookie jar on the counter in the kitchen. I suppose she kept bought cookies in it… although I really don’t remember. I recently her over the phone as to why or how did she happen to have this cookie jar, but she wasn’t remembering my description of it. I’m sending her a photo to see if that prompts a remembrance. Maybe she kept money in it, as she didn’t bake cookies. I’ll keep you posted!
Shawnee Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio, was founded in 1937. Legends say that the Shawnee name and distinctive logo are attributed to an arrowhead found on the grounds of the then unnamed plant. The area is rich with the history of the Shawnee Indians who once lived and produced pottery in the area long before it was settled.
Mama’s Cookie Jar
Shawnee’s first production items were mostly dinnerware and vases, but it was the cookie jars and the character figurines which most people remember. Many retailers such as Woolworth’s and Sears were the major distributors of Shawnee production items.
Many Shawnee ceramic pieces have no identifying mark as they mostly only had paper stickers, which haven’t survived. The one mark of just USA, on the bottom of many cookie jars, is how most are identified.
That USA mark is on the bottom of mine!
My “Little Chef” nestled amongst cookbooks and knickknacks inside my Hoosier Cabinet!
Thanks for Reading…
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© 2017, copyright Jeanne Bryan Insalaco; all rights reserved
Everyone Has a Story 
Good story. I’ve never heard of the Shawnee Company but that is a cute little cookie jar.
I’ll bet your mother kept store bought cookies in that jar. Of course, she could have gotten cookies from Aunt Ola. Didn’t you say Aunt Ola baked cookies?
Really nice keepsake.
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