Saturday, August 12, 2023

Desert Rose

Maymie's Dishes

Desert Rose Brochure (front)

Recently while going through some of  Grandma Maymie's photos and letters, I found an old worn brochure for Franciscan Ware Desert Rose Dinnerware.  

Desert Rose brochure (front & back)

Looking at the brochure brought back many fond memories of walking with Maymie down Main Street (Cortez, CO) to the Slavens Hardware Store.  Prior to going, she would have carefully planned out which new piece of dinnerware she wanted purchase to add to her set of Deseret Rose dishes.  Maymie's whole set of Desert Rose was purchased one piece at a time.  Sometimes she would let me pick out the new piece of Desert Rose, and I remember being as excited as she was to bring home dish to add to her dinnerware set.  

The inside of the Desert Rose brochure showed individual pieces and has written notations made by Maymie as she was planning her purchases.
Inside of Desert Rose brochure

Before Maymie passed away, she gifted her set of Deseret Rose dinnerware to me.  She said she wanted to make sure I ended up with them.  The Desert Rose dishes are still being used (and loved) 40 years later.  Deseret Rose is much more than just a set of dishes, each piece is a ceramic connection of love from grandmother to granddaughter.

Note: Maymie walked everywhere she went because she never learned to drive a car.  There was a small market close by and her home was just a few blocks to the downtown Main Street of Cortez, Colorado.  Walking to her mother's home across town was a longer walk of about 7 or 8 blocks.  That was a walk I remember taking many times as Maymie and I would go to check up on her mother, Minnie Pearl Wilson.

Additional posts about Maymie:

7 comments:

josie said...

this is so cute! I loved the picture of her doing math on the pamphlet!

Bs Comments said...

These are gorgeous, I love antique dishware and cutlery. so much character and history in these types of things.

Kate said...

Love all the stories and pictures on your blog of your cute grandma Maymie. Her dishes are beautiful!! What great memories to have shared with her when you helped pick the dishes out and buy them.

Anonymous said...

My name is Diana Lynn McKenzie, Maymie was my great aunt. Buck. ( Lonnie Evan) Wilson was my grandfather. I have few memories of her, but they are definitely wonderful ones. Loved being in her kitchen there in Cortez. She cooked the best desserts! What a sweet woman she was!

Chase said...


Crazy how cheap they are compared to prices now! Obviously they still cost a lot back then for Grandma Maymie but just cool to see!

Rose said...

The dishes are so pretty! I wonder why she never learned to drive?

Madelyn said...

I love these dishes. Did she save them to use for special occasions or did she use them often? I wonder if the flower design is based off of an actual plant or if it was just created.