Sandy-John Ficus - ©2001 - Wisconsin Pottery Association

The following article appeared in WPA Press, Vol. 9, July 2001

About WPA Charter Members Sandy and John Fiscus

At this writing Sandy and John are packing their household and preparing to move to Oklahoma! Not one to miss an opportunity, (and knowing that their resistance would be low due to the sheer exhaustion of moving), the WPA Press asked them if they would consent to an interview, so that those of us that did not know them well would at least now know what we will be missing with their departure. (With what I learned during this interview, I must say that I wish we’d done it two years ago!) John and Sandy have been faithful club members, regularly attending meetings since the WPA’s inception/charter. Here’s hoping that they occasionally find a reason to visit Madison or at the very least, keep in touch.

WPA Press: We understand that you are charter members of the WPA. Would you tell about how you first heard of the club, and approximately when you joined?
Sandy and John: We are charter members and were invited to join the club by Dave Auclair. I believe we were at the first or second meeting at Dave and Betty’s house. We really liked the people that belonged and enjoyed hearing and seeing their pottery. It was and still is a great learning experience and still a lot of fun. Dave was responsible for our becoming “serious” collectors. He knew a lot about everything and was kind enough to share some of his knowledge.

WPA Press: Would you mind telling a bit about yourselves? What do you do when you aren’t collecting?
John and Sandy: We are retiring soon, but prior to that we both worked full-time and spent weekends looking for pottery. John was born in Madison and Sandy in Stoughton and we have lived on Raymond Road for about 37 years. Our son is living in Flagstaff, AZ.

WPA Press: Now on to pottery business: What got you started collecting?
Sandy and John: I (Sandy) followed a stranger at the Flea Market at the Dane County Fairgrounds. She was asking for Frankoma pottery and since I didn’t know what Frankoma was, I trailed along behind her ‘til I found out. My first purchase was a coffee cup and I really didn’t think it was anything special, but I guess I was hooked. The next month I bought a honey jug that I could have bought at the Frankoma factory for half what I paid for it at the Flea Market. From then on we collected it and found that there were some very lovely pieces out there and we had a great time finding them. We have also collected Rosemeade, syrup pitchers, banks, etc. Some of the collections are packed away because there just isn’t room to display all of it. The Flea Market was where we first met Dave Auclair.

WPA Press: Who got you interested in collecting?
John and Sandy: The stranger at the flea market (started it all). I have no idea who she was, but it is all her fault.

WPA Press: Did either of you grow up in a family of collectors or antiquers?
Sandy and John: We each grew up in a family where one parent was a “Junker”—John’s Mom and Sandy’s Dad. They both enjoyed auctions and picked up some interesting stuff, but nothing really worth much, at least at that time. A few “not quite” antiques, but really neat stuff—pictures, end tables. All four of our parents would have thought we were more than a little balmy to collect all those knick-knacks that just sit around and collect dust—not to mention the nudes!!

WPA Press: What do you like to collect? Maybe you would tell us about your first piece and how your collecting has changed over time?
John and Sandy: We have collected everything from pottery to fairy lamps to beer/pop can and bottle openers. Mostly we collect pottery. It only has to catch our eye and then we’re off. It is said that three items constitute a collection and maybe that’s true, because when we have two or three of anything, things start getting serious and we look for it everywhere and anywhere and sometimes we are lucky enough to find it. Sometimes we find a piece of pottery or even glass that catches our eye, we don’t know who made it, we just like it and it is probably the only piece we will ever see simply because we don’t know what we are looking for. But that’s all right because it is a pretty piece regardless and we enjoy it for that reason alone.

WPA Press: Where do you like to shop: antique malls, garage sales, St. Vinny’s, estate sales?
Sandy and John: All of the above. We don’t go to many garage sales or estate sales anymore. We have a few favorite shops that we get to occasionally. Flea markets are also a favorite place to shop and meet friends for a cup of coffee.

WPA Press: Do you have any really exciting finds that you’d like to tell about? Or any good antiques stories that you'd like to share with us?
John and Sandy: The only really exciting finds we can think of is finding two small Lawrence Rabbitt vases at the same mall in booths about 20 feet apart. One sold for $3.00; the other for around $25–30. We bought both of them and were very pleased with ourselves. That was more than ten years ago.

To Sandy and John, thank you for filling us in on your collecting adventures and giving us a little insight into how you got started (and/or how you keep going). Our sincerest good wishes for a safe and easy move. Please keep in touch!

Kari Kenefick, WPA Press Editor