Dear Sun Spots: Please help us find craftspeople!

Each year I write and ask for help in finding craftspeople who might want ot rent a table at a craft fair. The money from the rental of the tables goes to the scholarship fund of the East Otisfield Free Baptist Church.

This year the fair will be held Sept. 6 at the South Paris Legion Hall in South Paris from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost to rent a table is $10. Those who rent tables are given free coffee and a muffin. They will also have the satisfaction of knowing they will have helped with a young person’s educational expenses. Anyone wishing more information can call (207) 743-9832 before Aug. 6. Thanks for helping us in this very worthwhile endeavor. – Marian Culbert, Norway.

Dear Sun Spots: To Dawn Perry from Winthrop (Sun Spots request June 21). She was looking for a church that she could get married in. The Norlands Church is a beautiful and historical church. Couples can get married there for a minimal fee. I was married there and the beautiful stained glass windows and original paintings made for a beautiful setting! The Norlands is located in Livermore and can be reached at (207) 897-4366. – Heather McDonald, Turner.

Dear Sun Spots: I am the secretary for the Edward Little High School Alumni Association. I try to keep track of all the class reunions for the ELHS classes. I am looking for times and places that these reunions are being held: Class of 1998, 1993, 1988, 1983, 1978 and 1963. I have many out-of-state classmates that contact me for dates and times. Please call me, Diane Freve, at (207) 786-2634, extension 217 or at (207) 224-7348.

Dear Sun Spots: Hopefully you can help me with information as you have with so many others. I purchased a cigar ashtray manufactured by The Belmet Co. U.S.A. It is called “A Belmet Rolodor.” The ashtray is attached to a metal rod that is connected to a wide wheel that rolls. No matter how you tip the ashtray it returns to an upright position. Patent # 1775160 1833517 1905123. I would like information on the age and value. Thank you. – Poland Reader.

Answer: In addition to responses from readers, Sun Spots contacted Belmet Products in Brooklyn, N.Y., (718) 782-3554 and was told the company has not made this product in 30-plus years. Unfortunately there was nobody available to comment on it as many of the employees familiar with it have since retired.

However, according to their Web site, the B & L Metal Stamping Co. started in 1919. The idea was to make a variety of stamped and drawn parts needed for the conversion of gaslighting to electric lighting. This process began well before the war and many buildings, residential, commercial and industrial, were being converted. This created an increased need for electric light fixtures and lamps. B & L quickly established a reputation for quality and reliability and this led to opportunities for the production of stamped and drawn parts needed by other manufacturers in many industries. By the early 1930s, lamp and lighting conversion products were no longer in great demand and the need for components originally pioneered by B & L was sharply reduced. Fortunately, the job shop business had expanded and to this was added a variety of proprietary products for consumer use. These items, made largely from stamped and drawn parts were developed, patented and marketed by Charles Hardy. All of the processes from press work through finishing and assembly were performed in the Belmet plant. The products included floor-stand ash receivers and smoking stands, metal cocktail cabinets – all of futuristic design, metal tobacco humidors, and other desk and small kitchen items.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Inform Us section under Press Release.

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