Theory on the Missing Molds

Reuben Bates' molds, above

Ann Van Arnum has sent me several Izannah resources I hadn't seen.  She also sen me a wonderful theory on what happened to Izannah's molds. The molds above are not Izannah's molds, but are eerily similar. I asked Ann if I could quote her on this site, and she said yes. So here is Ann's theory:

"My theory on the long gone molds is that before and during World War Two, there were Scrap Drives that took place all over New England. Perhaps the metal molds disappeared into the Scrap Drives when someone was cleaning out a cellar.

I grew up in a very old house with a very old cellar. My maiden aunts' home, which was where they grew up, was built sometime before the Civil War. The homes were very close together on the outskirts of Boston. I remember my aunts going down into their very old cellar and dragging out all kinds of metal things , and also going into the old barn, and taking out old metal things for the scrap drives."

The old adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” meant the end to many things we would consider historical treasures today.