1800's Shipwreck "Treasures" Estate Sale in Vista~Packed Estate

Betty and Tom  moved into this home in 1976: in it are many mementoes of their lives. Tom was a SCUBA diving instructor and a member of the first American chapter of the British Sub Aqua Club. He was involved in salvage explorations of many Great Lakes shipwrecks of the late 1800s and brought back souvenirs from his adventures. Among them are dishes (near the fireplace) and  after-cabin windows from the wood steamer WH Barnum (in the kitchen area on the wall), plus some small stove doors from the shipwreck. Also available are a deadeye (lignum vitae wood) and a double pulley block from shipwrecked sailing ships. Deck plates mounted in the table in the living room are from the steamer Minneapolis that sank in Lake Michigan on April 2, 1894, the day before the Barnum sank.  In the kitchen is a simple table also outfitted with a grate from a ship’s deck. Growing up in Cleveland, OH on the banks of Lake Erie, Tom was an accomplished swimmer and speed skater. He eventually earned his engineering degree, while spending college summers shoveling coal on Great Lakes steamers.

There are some farming tools from the turn of the 20th century. Betty’s family farm in Remington, Indiana sold butter and farmed corn for several generations. The candle holders are fashioned from farming equipment parts, and bits used by their draft horses Belle and Bill hang above the fireplace. Betty was still making waffles last year and cooked innumerable lovely meals in the kitchen; she made every family gathering at the dining room table special. She celebrated her 100th birthday in the house in 2018 with around 100 guests, who enjoyed  ukulele concert poolside.

There are some prints on the wall and elsewhere by their daughter Nancy , who is a member of the Boston Printmakers. She has been chosen artist-in-residence at seven national parks over the past few years.