By Wally WachterRetired Herald Managing Editor
H OW MANY TIMES during our lives have we uttered, ``If only I knew then what I know now?''
The lives and lifestyles of many of us would be far different than today if we had any inkling of what the future held in store.
If I had been smart when I was a kid, I would have saved every toy I ever owned, every baseball card, every soda pop bottle. I would have stashed away all of my sisters' dolls and doll buggies. I would have stored these things safely in some attic.
``In years to come,'' I would have rationalized, ``these things will all be valuable.''
People who lived in our era would pay any price today for the small items that have faded from existence, but to which they attach many happy memories. Many in our present era yearn for keepsakes that their parents and grandparents still talk about.
That's the reason why flea markets and garage sales have hit the country by storm. They thrive in many rural communities. Thousands of people mill regularly among their counters and booths, searching for the special items that will give them ties to the past.
Some expert opportunists espy the value of the antiques or passe items as a chance for resale profit. Most of the flea market customers want the items for keepsakes, despite realizing that nothing is worth the exorbitant price tag placed on it.
Garage sales and yard sales are growing in popularity, They are considered the convenient neighborhood flea markets for those who don't have a full day to browse to remote ones.
Most antique collectors make a hobby of the coveted items. They research the history of their treasures and know their exact value.
I am far from being an expert in the antique field. I can't answer many of the questions about them that are directed to me. I received a phone call awhile back from a woman in North Carolina. She was interested in the history of the old Sharon Iron Works, which was here in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
She explained she had bought, at an antique show, a glass ash tray with ``Sharon Iron Works'' engraved on it, and she was trying to determine its vintage.
Husbands, like me, usually are roving window shoppers at flea markets while their more knowledgeable spouses are searching the counters for bargains, or unique items, to enhance their homes.
Although we don't openly admit it, we enjoy the foot-wearying experience as much as our earnest shopping mates. We spot items that take us back to our childhood and often pine, ``We used to have one of those in our home. Why didn't we have the foresight to save it?''
It's the foresight we lacked in those early days that could have made us rich later.
We could have invested in development property at about $100 an acre which could be sold for $50,000 and more today. Some waterfront lots could be bought for $500 and could be sold for a hundred times that amount on today's real estate market.
We could have invested $100 on stocks like Xerox and IBM when they were selling at about $15 a share.
We could have bought mansions for what would amount to down payments on similar dwellings today.
Fortunately, our kids have either more foresight than we had back then. Or they have other motives. They have carefully saved every toy, every game, every book they ever owned while they were growing up and have them safely stored away in OUR basement and closets.
We hesitate to dispose of them. They might someday, in a half-century or so, make them rich.