Back when I a kid, just getting into collecting cards in the hieght of the junk wax era, there was a lady named Bernice that opened a card and comics shop in my home town. I quickly became a regular at Ms. Bernice's little shop because she wasn't just about making money on the kids that came through her doors, but i think she truly loved watching kids fall in love with a hobby that she herself loved.
Well, she had a little hand crank quarter vending machine on her back counter. You'd stick in a quarter and out popped a folded cardboard flat with 4-5 cards sandwiched in between. I'd save up my $10, swing by the convenience store or bank to get a roll of quarters, and then head straight to Bernice's quarter machine to dump those quarters in. Most days I would at best hit some late 70's or early 80's cards as my prize for the day, but one day when i got there Ms. Bernice told me the quarter machine needed to be refilled. I waited about 10 minutes while she grabbed the stacks of cardboard and meticulously loaded them into the machine. When she finished, I started cranking away with my roll of quarters. I was probably on my third or fourth dollar, when i cranked out this 1921 American Caramel Oscar Vitt.
When i saw it I thought for sure she had goofed and accidentally mixed this card in there by mistake. I was overjoyed. I immediately took it over to her and asked if it was real and how old was it, and she just smiled and assured me it was real and "very old" (I didn't realize how old until many years later, as Beckett magazines back in the day didn't cover all the "very old" stuff).
Needless to say, that only fueled my fire even more for quite a few more years. I recently pulled out my old collection, specifically this card, and was immediately taken back to that day in Ms. Bernice's shop, and almost 40 years later, i'm reignited to start collecting again after a 15 year hiatus. I doubt Ms. Bernice is around any more, but sure was glad she was there when i was a kid.
