Of all the minor things I have thrown away and ought not to have, the greatest was a paint-stained carpenters' apron marked “Carmel Builders’ Supply.” Giveaways back in the day, carpenters' aprons have local appeal for collectors, and sometimes two-digit phone numbers as well, and provide epitaphs for defunct local businesses. In a city like Carmel-by-the-Sea, where most businesses are now oriented toward the tourists, such homely advertising is a reminder that we used to be a real town.

Similar nostalgia inducers include yardsticks and dry cleaners’ wooden hangers, but carpenters' aprons win on patina, hands down.