Joe Koch shows off the toy train he received for Christmas 99 years ago, when he was just one year old.
Country Meadows of Bethlehem will host an antique and memorabilia exhibit Sunday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Guests are invited to view antiques, collectibles, primitives and artifacts. Experts Greg P. Somer, Charlie Moyer and Bob Clintin will be on site to evaluate and provide an “opinion of value” of locally owned items.
Country Meadows of Bethlehem resident Joe Koch, 100, has a unique item to be appraised. He still has a small toy train his parents gave to him in 1917. “Itwas my Christmas present when I was one,” says Koch as he holds the small metal train. “I put a string on the front and pulled it around.”
While he doesn’t recall playing with the train, he does remember his father reminiscing about it. This past Christmas, Koch, again, received the toy train as a gift, but this time from his son.”My son saw it and he thought it would be a good thing for me to have [at Country Meadows.] He put it in a box and gave it to me. He thought people would like to look at it,” he says, adding that his neighbors are curious about the toy’s value.
Koch is curious, too, but has never had it appraised. “I tried to get some missing parts to repair the train but couldn’t find them,” he says. “My parents were from Germany and I don’t know if they brought it with them from over there or where they got it.”
Country Meadows is located across from Northampton Community College at 4035 Green Pond Road. For more information, email Bethlehem@CountryMeadows.com.