Garage Mahal was outstanding this year.
Everybody that I talked to said that by 8:30 a.m. many of their treasures had already been sold and by 2 that afternoon when I was ready to give up the ghost, there were still tons of people walking around the neighborhoods.
There were some serious shoppers out there.
There were baby strollers with no babies, just purchases. A few brought luggage carriers and plastic containers they filled with goodies as they went along. Naturally I got my infamous little table as I do every year. This one was at a neighbor's house so I had my obligatory buy before we even got in our car. Old fur collars, a Cheval mirror for $10 , a wood pedestal, and a neat Christmas planter were among my buys.
The one that got away was a wonderful wicker sofa table for $50. I kept looking at it with lust in my heart. Unfortunately it was so big and my sitting room so small, that I'd have to throw out my sofa in order to move a sofa table in. Whoever got that, got the buy of the day!
My personal favorite find this year was an old bubble glass "God Bless our Home" picture from the 1920s for 50 cents. The lady said that it had belonged to her mom. It's an unusual one since it has no pictures of the Holy Family done in garish foil art like the six other ones I own. This is a Christmas scene with snow dusted evergreens and a cottage in winter. The seller will be glad to know that it's going up in my house immediately and will be loved.
Aside from the treasures bought and sold at Garage Mahal, sadly our community will soon be losing one of its treasures in the world of finance, American Trust & Savings Bank. At the end of the month, the bank will no longer exist. Michigan City-based Horizon Bancorp in December announced an agreement to buy the longtime family-operated American Trust & Savings Bank. Their financial planning and insurance companies will continue on. American Trust & Savings was known as "the Slovak bank." Before they built their bank on LaPorte Avenue, they were housed in the Slovak Dom on 119th Street. President Phil Grenchik said this location plus his dad and brothers' ability to speak the Slovak language probably was the reason for their moniker.
The bank even had special vouchers for its customers to send their money back to the homeland. Because of the Iron Curtain, funds could not be sent but vouchers stamped "Paid to the Bank of Bratislava" were a way for the people in Slovakia to purchase whatever they needed.
The bank first opened its doors in 1920 with $50,000 in capital. The Joseph Grenchik family took it over in 1940 and have run it ever since. This bank has always shown a personal sense of humor from holding an actual boat show in its small lobby to putting their tellers outside on roller blades when their drive-through was being redone. Their support, services, unique style and sincerity will be missed by our community.
The opinions are solely those of the writer. She can be reached at puccini99@aol.com.
