This collection was found at a yard sale in Brushtown, PA in 2002. The owner of the piece was a niece of Austin and Mamie Neiderer, and an heir to their estate. Austin and Mamie lived at 26 E. Hanover Street in Bonneauville, PA. The house was located across the street and one lot east of the house where I, (Karl Orndorff) grew up. Edna Noel, a single lady, owned the house and lived on the west half of the building. Edna was the granddaughter of Agideous Noel, a Civil War Surgeon. It was in this house that Agideous Noel practiced as a medical doctor in Bonneauville after he served in the war. (Several doctors and at least one dentist set up office in the town in the early days).

As a youngster I mowed lawn and dug gardens for the Neiderers and Ms. Noel. On occasion Mamie Neiderer would retrieve an old rolling pin from hiding. She would unscrew one end to reveal a secret compartment, and pour out the contents. About fifty coins from the mid to late 1800's in new condition would tumble out. "Take any one but the gold ones" she would say. The Indian pennies still shined like new. Up until then, I had never seen a two cent or three cent piece before.

(Years later I looked for the rolling pin at the Neiderer estate sale, hoping to get lucky. It was nowhere to be found.)

Mamie sent me a check for $15.00 when I served in the military in Vietnam. It was kind of her but there was no place to spend the money where I was stationed. I never cashed the check. Austin sold me my first building lot at 35 E. Hanover St. The price was $1600.00. He was going to build Mamie a "nice little house" there but the dream never came true. Mamie, the sweet and petite school teacher of the early 1900's, had passed. Despite Austin's many business ventures, vestiges of which can be found throughout this collection, the couple rented all of their lives. Austin was a businessman who, over the span of his adult life, sold everything from pianos and music boxes to firefighting equipment, animal feed, photography, appliances, cars, and lawnmowers. He loved automobiles and he loved to have his picture taken.

The following Acquisition numers are individual pieces from the Mamie Neiderer Collection.