In a big old box I found these old photos, I scanned them. Then as luck would have it I was driving the back way ( the old highway)  by Gold Hill Oregon and saw the sign “The House of Mystery.”  My daughter said she would love to see it so I turned around and went back.  June 24, 2012.  Interesting place that raises a lot of questions!

You should  stop by there and give it a look-sie!  xoxo

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The Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery, located on Sardine Creek in Gold Hill, is one of Oregon’s oldest and most original examples of Roadside Americana. Open to tourists in 1930, the attraction is the earliest documented mystery spot or gravitational hill in the United States—a place where bubble levels, tape measures, yard sticks, balls that roll uphill, and plumb lines are used to demonstrate the phenomena.

The Old Grey Eagle Mining Company outpost and nearly collapsed assay house were re-discovered in 1914 by prospector William McCollugh, who persuaded his friend, engineer and geologist John Litster, to travel to the United States. Born in Alva, Scotland, on April 30, 1886, Litster spent years researching the paranormal phenomena of the 165-foot magnet radius, which is said to bend light, defy gravity, and alter mass.

After Litster’s death on December 4, 1959, his wife Mildred sold the Oregon Vortex to Irene and Ernie Cooper, whose daughter Maria and grandson Mark have continued to keep the attraction open to the public.

Herbert Lundy touted the popularity of the Vortex as early as April 1938 in the Portland Oregonian. John Litster detailed his observations in his “Notes and Data Relative to the Phenomenon at the Area of the House of Mystery in 1944.” James Randi, a reformed magician and illusionist, deconstructed its science in 1998, using photography and math to describe the claims of the Oregon Vortex as optical illusions.

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/oregon_vortex_house_of_mystery_/

Written by:Maureen Flanagan

16^th/17^th Century  Old Master Still Life Oil on Panel

A year and a half ago, an 81-year-old man stopped by a Goodwill store in Anderson County, SC., and bought a painting for $3. Last week, he sold it for $190,000.

The man, who only wants to be known by his middle name ‘Leroy’, that he only bought the painting because he thought it might be worth “$100 or a couple hundred on the Internet”.  His daughter-in-law, however, thought the painting might be worth a little more. She visited the Antiques Roadshow and got an initial appraisal of $20,000 to $30,000.
Over the weekend, at an auction house in Massachusetts, the painting — which turned out to be a Flemish work of art from 1650 — sold for over six times that.”It’s the biggest find I’ve ever had,” said Leroy, a former antiques dealer and avid thrift store shopper. “I can only thank Goodwill for that.”Leroy will split the money with his son and daughter-in-law, and use his portion of the profits for some home improvement.

  I love thrift shops, you never know what you might find!!

Painting sold at …….Mcinnis Auctions     John McInnis Auctioneers is a professional estate appraiser and auctioneer with the largest full-service auction house on Boston’s North Shore. The galleries, located in historic Amesbury, Massachusetts

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/south-carolina-man-buys-p_n_1325065.html

http://www.mcinnisauctions.com/

Valuable past: The 1926 caravan certainly lives up to the company motto: ‘always to excel and be superior to others’ ‘There is a stove and lighting and everything is original and still works. All the wood is oak and everything is of the highest quality. ‘Bertram Hutchings was one of the most respected names in caravanning circles in pre-war days.

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‘They started out in 1912 as a maker of horse-drawn caravans, having been enchanted by a holiday spent in one with his new wife the previous summer.

‘Within a few years he had completed a small fleet of horse-drawn vans for hire, only for the business to be curtailed by the outbreak of war.

‘Fortunately, the military needed caravans and Hutchings managed to survive.

‘With hostilities ended he introduced his first design for the emerging trailer caravan market in 1920: the Winchester.

‘Hutchings continued to build motor caravans and horse-drawn vans alongside the trailer type, and as the latter gained in popularity responded with a new model: the Voyageur.’ Bonhams Oxford Automobilia Sale of March 3
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2122712/A-drawing-room-wheels–The-1920s-caravan-wealthy-used-explore-countryside.html#ixzz1vXhkw9MK