Hunting in the Ozarks: Plate and Mug

Last week, my husband, Nate, and I headed southwest from home to Branson, Missouri. Billed as the country music capitol of the U.S., we were instead lured to the area by the combined siren songs of the wax museum, the Titanic museum, many rounds of mini golf, Table Rock Lake, roadside attractions in Missouri and Arkansas, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Mansfield. It's like the Wisconsin Dells and Helen, Georgia put together.

​By our last day, the weather turned unseasonably hot, well into the 90s and humid. Looking for indoor activities to pass the hottest part of the day, we turned to our old friend, thrifting.

​We hit the United Methodist Thrift Shop, Riley's Treasures, Humane Society Downtown Thrift Store, Caring Community Thrift Store, and Tantone Thrift Store. While nice stores with a wide variety of items, we only picked up a 1982 World's Fair souvenir trinket tray, karaoke CDs, and DVDs. After lunch, Nate suggested we head to Arkansas - we'd never been and there were roadside attractions to see. While in Berryville, Arkansas we stopped at the St. Vinnie's and the Good Shepherd Doggie Thrift Store. My find was two textured fringed bathroom hand towels in both blue and green that match our shower curtain perfectly.

Wherever the mushrooms were, they weren't in Branson and Berryville that day. The next day, as we drove home across Missouri and Illinois, we stopped at Hilda's Antique Mall, one of three at the same exit in Divernon, Illinois. I came across two embossed ceramic mugs for $18.00 each. Wow! I left them for another lucky shopper to find. But maybe there's more.

At nearly the last booth I browsed, I spied a mushroom. Giddy but trying not to get too excited, I moved closer and recognized the single mushroom decal of the back of the smaller mugs that were part of the Breakfast and Snack Sets. Underneath the mugs were three plates!

Nearly trembling with the thrill, I started gathering all six mugs and three plates, calling for Nate's help, and then reason prevailed. Though priced at the current going rate, the total for all would be over $200. Yikes! Couple price with space being a premium in our house, I purchased just one plate to join the mug I already had, once again leaving the others behind for another hunter.

Breakfast Set.

Snack Set.

Salad Bowl Set.

Offered in the U.S. only as part of the Breakfast Set (4 plates, 4 bowls, and 4 mugs) from 1978 to 1984 and the Snack Set (4 plates, 4 mugs) from 1978 to 1981, the plate measures a hair over 9-1/4" in diameter, the measurement provided in the catalogs. In Canada, plates were offered as a set of four from at least 1979 to 1981, and appear identical to the ones available in the U.S. The orange-brown stripe around the edge is 1/2" wide and is 3/16" from the edge. The decal with three mushrooms is centered in the white field and measures roughly 5" square.

On the back is the adorable Merry Mushrooms mark that seems to only appear on the dishes of the Breakfast, Snack, and Salad Bowl (1 large serving bowl, 4 bowls, wooden fork and spoon) sets. The mark is about 1-1/2" wide and 1-1/8" high and consists of three mushrooms, two orange capped with brown spots and the third brown capped with white spots. Underneath, in dark brown, is "Merry Mushrooms" that resembles the script in the catalogs, followed by "Dishwasher Safe, ©Sears Roebuck and Co. 1977, Made in Japan." For more on marks, see A Closer Look: Napkin Holding Bottom Markings.

The 8-ounce mugs in the Breakfast and Snack Sets are 3" tall and smooth with a three mushroom decal that measures about 2-3/4" wide and 2-1/4" high on one side, and a single mushroom decal, 2" wide and 1-1/2" high, on the other. Like the plates, they have a orange-brown stripe inside the rim but it is 3/8" wide and 1/8" from the edge. The same mark as the plate in on the bottom. These mugs don't appear to have been available in Canada.

Now to find a bowl and the large serving bowl!