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Day 143 – The St. Michael’s Church Spoon

On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Of course they were also the first state to vote to secede from the Union in 1860 because of the Civil War. 

Some other fun facts about South Carolina: their state beverage is milk, the official state dance is the Carolina Shag, and the highest point in the state is Sassafras Mountain (3,560 feet).

The oldest city in the state is Charleston, and the oldest surviving religious structure in Charleston is St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. (President George Washington worshipped in St. Michael’s at pew no. 43, known as “The Governor’s Pew,” on May 8, 1791 and seventy years later, General Robert E. Lee worshipped in the same pew.) 

And that brings us to today’s spoon: it’s from Charleston and has a tiny replica of St. Michael’s Church at the top. Not sure if the church is haunted, but I guarantee the spoon is not.

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Day 142 – The Ceylon Spoon

This silverplated spoon is from the country formerly known as Ceylon and was made by Australian silversmith, Stokes and Sons. 


On February 4, 1948, the British Colony of Ceylon became an independent country and part of the Commonwealth. It retained the name “Ceylon” until May 22, 1972 when it gained independence as a republic and has been known since then as “Sri Lanka.”
Unsure how old this spoon is, but I’m guessing maybe late 1950s/early 1960s? 

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Day 141 – The Shakespeare Spoon

Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England is probably best known as the birthplace (and final resting place) of famous playwright and poet, William Shakespeare. It’s just 8 miles southwest of Warwick, which I featured in an earlier post about Warwick Castle. 


This spoon was crafted by Levi and Salaman of Birmingham, England in 1911, and while the bowl of the spoon clearly has an engraving with Shakespeare’s portrait, the handle says “Stratford-ON-Avon,” not “Stratford-upon-Avon.” 

Apparently, the former is the local government district which uses the preposition “on” to distinguish itself from the latter, which is the main town and the location of the district headquarters. However, this doesn’t explain why the spoon carries this name, since the Stratford-on-Avon district wasn’t formed until 1974. After looking at current websites, travel guides, and early 20th century maps, I can only guess that they use the two names interchangeably? 

Anyway, it’s a nice spoon. And as you can see, it’s a nice day in Seattle. The sunshine is back, at least for the next week. Maybe it’s time for a round of National Park spoons to get us ready for outdoor life again?