800 Jefferson St.       Burlington, IA 52601-5432      

Welcome to the opening test issue of the Old Stonogram!

Our first group of readers will be a small one, consisting of our dealers and a few friends. Everyone is encouraged to submit questions, comments, and suggestions on how we could make this little venture better. Our purpose is to use this newsletter as a marketing tool to drive people to our website and advertise the store.

Included in monthly issues will be news about the store (such as special events, new dealer announcements, dealer specials, etc.), photos and descriptions of featured unique items for sale in the store, informative articles pertaining to antiques and collectibles, and a question and answer column using questions submitted by our readers. More things may be added, or some things may be changed as needed.

Right now, we are trying to iron out technical issues, such as templates, mailing lists, and web hosting, before going public. As you read through the newsletter, please click on as many links as possible and pay close attention to our formatting. If any problems arise, please let us know. If all goes well, we plan to launch the first edition of the newsletter as soon as possible.

~ Linda

• The Old Stone Mill would like to welcome our newest dealers, Lois Browning and her sister Rita Akers. Their booth is located in the Annex and their tag number is 54. You HAVE to see the fantastic ice box they have for sale! It is GORGEOUS! They also offer a wide variety of other things, including a Tom Thumb toy cash register in excellent condition, small wooden shelving units, glassware, enamel ware, pottery items, and MUCH more. Lois is a former store employee, and we are thrilled to have her back.
• On Saturday, September 13, we had quite a bit of excitement here in the West Jefferson Historic District. After several hours of heavy rain, the Hawkeye Sewer could no longer handle the water and flooded at Lucas Street, near the bottom of Osborn Street hill. The water flowed along the Burlington Northern railroad tracks, picking up spare railroad ties and carrying them downtown into the 700 and 800 blocks of Jefferson Street. Railroad ties blocked the storm sewers, causing the water to flood the street. The water came within less than a foot of coming in under the front doors of the store, before BN employees arrived to move the ties away from drain openings. Once the storm sewers were unblocked, the water drained quickly, leaving behind sludge and debris. The picture above was taken at approximately 10:00 am that morning. The street was blocked off until BN employees removed the ties at approximately 4:00 pm. Our store was closed that day for obvious reasons.
• Currently running dealer specials:
  
  • Booth xxx (list of specials)
  • Booth xxx (list of specials)
  • Booth xxx 20% off on everything

There will be no featured item in this test issue.

The editor will decide which item in the mall to feature. It must be something unique, and the owner must provide verifiable information on the item. Photos will be done by the newsletter staff . Please notify us if you have something that you would like to be considered.

There will be no featured article in this test issue.

Future featured articles will be written by the editor or by a guest author. Please consider doing a feature article for us in your particular area of expertise. I will be happy to assist with writing/editing if requested.

In this section we will allow readers to submit questions pertaining to antiques and collectibles. We will try to include at least one question, with an answer, in each issue.