Treasures? Maybe. Shade Tobacco Country

Ellington Congregational Church Tag Sale (Connecticut) is Saturday, May 14.

Hundreds of items large and small appealing to all ages at the church, 72 Main St., 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information call (860) 871-6606 or visit www.eccucc.org.

Note: While in this area, a once-common sight was acres of tobacco fields greening up in the May sunshine. Take a ride on some of the backroads, where there are still farms that grow Connecticut Valley shade tobacco.

'Sterling Silver, Bone China, Pure Gold'

"Black walnut - the words themselves have the ring of quality like sterling silver, hand-carved, virgin wool, bone china, genuine leather, pure gold . . . and a few other terms used to distinguish what is rarest and best in our catalogue of material treasures.

"Only a persistent few people ever progress to the cracking of that very tough nut, and many even scuttle the project at that stage. As rare as the nut meat itself is the heroic individual who finally emerges with it."

- Patricia Penton-Leimbach
Author