If interested in loaning a family-friendly collection to be displayed at the Oglethorpe County Library for about six weeks, contact Leta Bird at 912-278-6170. Bird is in search of a Barbie collection in anticipation for National Barbie Day on March 9.
Barbara Cabaniss began collecting salt and pepper shakers when she was about 7 years old, after she received her first set from her great-uncle, who passed them down from Cabaniss’ great-grandmother.
The collection has grown through the years, fueled by her travels and interests.
“They all have a history, and they all mean something to me, but probably the one that (I) purchased this year in the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge area,” Cabaniss said when asked which are her favorites. “And it’s ice cream cones, because I love ice cream.”
Numerous salt and pepper shakers from her collection are on display at the Oglethorpe County Library.
“This particular collection is fantastic,” Nicole Hensley, Oglethorpe County Library branch manager, wrote in an email. “So many children have been fascinated by all the different shakers and where they came from.”
Among the salt and pepper shakers on display are Cabaniss’ early collection, focusing on Christmas, Thanksgiving, travel pairs, including Scotland and Ireland, Coca-Cola, food, such as bacon and eggs on a platter, and oddity groups.
Also on display are Cabaniss’ farm collections, featuring a set of milk containers and others that represent life on a dairy farm.
“I think that when people have time to look at them, hopefully they, like in our travels, if they may see some state (that is) represented, that maybe they’ll go in the library and check out a book and learn more about that state or that city,” Cabaniss said.
Cabaniss’ collection grew naturally early on, as she initially received them as travel gifts from a friend, from one of her students in the ’70s and as Christmas gifts.
“So you see how they just kind of came to me, and then I thought, well, this is pretty neat,” she said. “They don’t require a lot of space, and so when we began to travel, I began to look for different salt and pepper shakers to represent where we were.”
Leta Bird, vice president of the Maxeys Woman’s Club, took on the role as facilitator of the library’s displays about a year ago. The salt and pepper shaker display is the club’s fourth display, replacing Gary Doster’s historical postcard collection from the fall.
“Well over a year ago, maybe even over two years ago, I noticed that that cabinet sat empty nine months out of the year, and it just worried me to death,” Bird said.
Notations, written and printed by Bird, are featured with the salt and pepper shaker groups to explain their origins and importance to Cabaniss, who lives in Maxeys and is president of the club.
Bird writes notations for each collection on display.
“The Woman’s Club is always looking for ways to help Oglethorpe County,” she said. “That is our prime reason for being — to help our county, our local area.”
Cabaniss, Bird and the Woman’s Club serve the county through education and libraries, civic engagement and outreach, arts and culture, health and wellness and environment-related deliverables.
The collection, which has been on display since the middle of November, will be there through the end of this month.
“The display case is the first thing you see when you enter the library; it’s our first impression,” Hensley wrote. “Our first chance to show someone new that the library is more than a building full of books, but a growing community, connections and resources, a place to gather information and enjoy yourself.”