Question:
I LIVE IN SOUTHERN OHIO AND COLLECT RED WING, I WANT TO KNOW BACK IN THE DAY WHEN PEOPLE USED POTTERY/CROCKS TO ACTUALLY USE FOR EVERDAY THINGS, WERE RED WINGS A HIGH END BRAND? I MEAN YOU CAN FIND MILLIONS OF OTHER KINDS OF CROCKS (WITH NO MARKINGS OR JUST A GALLON NUMBER, THE KIND MY GRANDMOTHER USED FOR SAUERKRAUT) THAT ARE PLEANTIFUL TO COME BY BUT RED WING IS NOT AS EASY TO FIND LIKE THOSE. WHY IS THAT???? ALSO I CANNOT FIND THE RED WING CROCKS IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS HARDLY AT ALL, WERE THEY MORE PREVALENT IN AREAS CLOSER TO MINNESOTA? I HAVE A HUGE COLLECTION BUT THEY ARE MAINLY FROM OTHER STATES FAR FROM OHIO. I DON’T EVER HEAR ABOUT OTHER COLLECTORS IN MY AREA AT ALL! I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU WOULD HAPPEN TO KNOW WHY THEY ARE SO SCARCE HERE? Tami

Answer: Tami, in the upper Mid-West, Red Wing Stoneware was considered high end. In Minnesota and all the states that surround it, Red Wing is quite easy to find. Because of the many other stoneware companies in the Mid-West,, many stores purchased stoneware for sale from the potteries that were closest to their stores. For this reason, the further you get from Minnesota, the harder it is to find Red Wing. The web has made the search much easier today then it was even 10 years ago. I hope this addresses your question. Al Kohlman