Colorful Memories

On that cold February morning, with the sun barely peeking above the horizon, we pulled in to the church lot for the first official yard sale of the year. There was a line 30 yards long of like minded yard “salers” who were ready to get back in to the Saturday morning fray! The doors soon opened and the warmth of the church hall welcomed us.

When I attend church sales, the first thing I try to do is scan the room for the tables or booths manned by the “mature” ladies of the parish.  There is absolutely no prejudice in my actions against the younger sellers, but the really unique and vintage treasures are usually those donated by the sweet “senior” ladies. This theory held true at the first sale of the year as I scanned the table operated by three darling ladies. There was a cute little lamp, doilies, scarves, and general bric-a-brac scattered about on the tables when an incredible array of color caught my eye. My mind raced back in time to my aunt’s kitchen table, waaaayyy back in the mid 60’s. Aunt Mary always served us our grape kool-aid in Heller Hostess Ware Colorama tumblers, but I had never seen these petite little serving dishes before!  The lady had just finished setting the last of the complete set out on the table when I asked to purchase them! She wrapped them up ever so carefully and told me they had been in her china cabinet for as long as she could remember but she just didn’t use them.

After a little research, I discovered in 1957 The Heller Hostess Ware Co. came out with the anodized “Colorama Serving Aids”, with my lovely church sale find being the “8-piece Sherbet Set-A very colorful service for Seafood Cocktails, Fruits, Sherbets, Desserts, etc.” These Heller Hostess Ware items were all the rage in the post WWII era when modern materials and “space age” designs were popular. If you would like to own this complete set of Heller Hostess Ware please visit our Etsy shop.