Antique of the Month - Wooden Barbell
Like the antique highlighted in last month’s newsletter, this antique was also found in the basement when I moved into Johanna Brotch’s house at 515 East Lincoln Avenue in Bay View in December 1993. It was hidden up on the top level in the corner of a built-in wooden shelfing unit, date of construction unknown, though this unit was in the “new” part of the basement built in 1902 at the back of the house when the kitchen was built.
I thought it was a barbell when I first saw it, and that it is. I discounted that then, though, because it is so light. It weighs almost nothing, though it’s built from wood. The ends don’t unscrew to allow weight to be added. The ends are amazingly each one piece of wood, not halves glued together. I guess there were (and probably today still are) aerobic benefits from holding this bell and working out, though I don’t know.
One would have thought that prior owners would have taken it, but to be truthful, the basement was so full of junk that I just don’t think it was noticed. Same with the rug-beater discussed in last month’s newsletter. I had to take the coal shovel and literally shovel junk off the floor into trash cans to carry up and out into the dumpster I hired in the back. Undoubtedly it was the original coal shovel (the entry in the foundation for the coal chute is still visible) and one of my great regrets is I threw it away. Well, at least I was successful in saving everything else (more to come here next month!).
From what I can gather, these wooden barbells aren’t that rare, but nevertheless it’s still old (I don’t know when) and fun to have. Could it have been Johanna’s? I must again think yes. She lived in the house from 1890 to 1948 and I don’t think these would have been made after World War II. If indeed it is pre-war, then it would most likely have to be hers. Or her husband Captain John Brotch’s or one of her six children’s. One of her sons, John Jr., was an avid bicyclist and participated in many Milwaukee bike races. What do you think? Could you see a turn of the century bicyclist using this for pre-race warmups? I think so!