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ENLARGE
John Sowell and his prized credenza.
I couldn’t help but chuckle when auctioneer Jeff Mornarich came to the point in Sunday’s auction of old furniture from the Oregon Capitol where he mentioned the next items up for bid were two credenzas.
Credenzas?
Those were the stars in a series of television commercials run by Gordon Smith in his losing senatorial campaign. He accused Jeff Merkley, the then-Oregon House speaker, of extravagant spending in the $34 million remodel of the Capitol.
The remodel, approved by Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate, was desperately needed because the building’s plumbing and electrical systems were overwhelmed. Legislators had to bring water from home to make coffee because the Capitol’s water was undrinkable. And the electrical system wasn’t designed to handle hundreds of computers, printers and cell phone chargers.
Offices were gutted and rebuilt. The project included $1.25 million in spending for replacement of desks, tables and chairs, filing cabinets and other items, many of which were several decades old.
Sunrise Enterprises received seven semitrailer loads of furniture that were auctioned off at the nonprofit organization’s new Green facility, formerly a Roseburg Forest Products plant.
During the campaign, won by Merkley, I looked up “credenza” in the dictionary. It explained that the piece was a “sideboard” or a “buffet.” Not being a furniture aficionado, I still wasn’t sure what it was.
While out at Sunrise last Wednesday to view the furniture and write a preview story on the auction, I walked past the credenzas but didn’t recognize them. It wasn’t until I heard Mornarich, a Roseburg attorney who was donating his time for Sunday’s auction, that I figured out what they were.
For the record, these credenzas were about 4 feet high, with a depth of about 2 feet and a length of about 6 feet. They also had cabinet doors that swung out.
With all of the talk about credenzas during the campaign, I decided I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. With Mornarich asking for a $10 bid, I raised my hand and walked away owning my first-ever credenza.
During the auction, attended by more than 150 people, I also picked up two desks and a small table, all for less than $60.
After returning home, I was still curious about the word “credenza” and so I looked it up on the online Meriam-Webster Dictionary. The Italian word comes from the medieval Latin “credentia.” Under the definition, it says a credenza is a “sideboard, buffet or bookcase patterned after a Renaissance credence.”
While one meaning of “credence” is a mental acceptance as true or real, Meriam-Webster also defines it as a “sideboard used chiefly for a valuable plate.”
That still didn’t seem to make much sense until I learned from another source that a credenza was used historically by monarchs, popes and noblemen to test food to ensure that it wasn’t poisoned. A taster sampled the food placed on the credenza and if it was deemed safe, passed the dishes onto the higher-up.
I don’t see my new credenza serving such a noble purpose. But I might see if I can get Merkley to autograph inside the left door and Smith the right.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
Credenzas?
Those were the stars in a series of television commercials run by Gordon Smith in his losing senatorial campaign. He accused Jeff Merkley, the then-Oregon House speaker, of extravagant spending in the $34 million remodel of the Capitol.
The remodel, approved by Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate, was desperately needed because the building’s plumbing and electrical systems were overwhelmed. Legislators had to bring water from home to make coffee because the Capitol’s water was undrinkable. And the electrical system wasn’t designed to handle hundreds of computers, printers and cell phone chargers.
Offices were gutted and rebuilt. The project included $1.25 million in spending for replacement of desks, tables and chairs, filing cabinets and other items, many of which were several decades old.
Sunrise Enterprises received seven semitrailer loads of furniture that were auctioned off at the nonprofit organization’s new Green facility, formerly a Roseburg Forest Products plant.
During the campaign, won by Merkley, I looked up “credenza” in the dictionary. It explained that the piece was a “sideboard” or a “buffet.” Not being a furniture aficionado, I still wasn’t sure what it was.
While out at Sunrise last Wednesday to view the furniture and write a preview story on the auction, I walked past the credenzas but didn’t recognize them. It wasn’t until I heard Mornarich, a Roseburg attorney who was donating his time for Sunday’s auction, that I figured out what they were.
For the record, these credenzas were about 4 feet high, with a depth of about 2 feet and a length of about 6 feet. They also had cabinet doors that swung out.
With all of the talk about credenzas during the campaign, I decided I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. With Mornarich asking for a $10 bid, I raised my hand and walked away owning my first-ever credenza.
During the auction, attended by more than 150 people, I also picked up two desks and a small table, all for less than $60.
After returning home, I was still curious about the word “credenza” and so I looked it up on the online Meriam-Webster Dictionary. The Italian word comes from the medieval Latin “credentia.” Under the definition, it says a credenza is a “sideboard, buffet or bookcase patterned after a Renaissance credence.”
While one meaning of “credence” is a mental acceptance as true or real, Meriam-Webster also defines it as a “sideboard used chiefly for a valuable plate.”
That still didn’t seem to make much sense until I learned from another source that a credenza was used historically by monarchs, popes and noblemen to test food to ensure that it wasn’t poisoned. A taster sampled the food placed on the credenza and if it was deemed safe, passed the dishes onto the higher-up.
I don’t see my new credenza serving such a noble purpose. But I might see if I can get Merkley to autograph inside the left door and Smith the right.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
