About thirty years ago, I spent $100 on this antique cubby that was originally the in-house mailbox at a small-town bank in Kansas. One hundred dollars was a lot of money for us back then, but I had Christmas money from my parents so I went for it! I have never been sorry! I don’t know if the alphabet letters are original to the piece, but they were cut out and pasted over each cubby space. They’ve faded over the years and once or twice I’ve gone over them with colored pencils to keep their color.
The Farmer’s State Bank in Galva, Kansas received its charter in 1909, so my guess is that my piece is at least 100 years old, and maybe much older. I bought it at the Galva Emporium Mall, which is now permanently closed, but still on the street view of Google maps. The business card was taped to my piece when I bought it, which is how I know its history.
When I brought it home, this antique first served as office cubbies on my writing desk in the corner of our living room in the duplex where we raised our four kids. There was plenty of space to store all my office supplies and a few pretty just-for-display items too.
When we bought our first house just outside of the tiny town of Moundridge, Kansas, and it was there that I first had a coffee bar. I had begun spending a couple days a week writing in a coffee shop in town, and found it so inspiring that Ken suggested I set up a coffee bar in my office. I loved the idea and this was my first attempt at setting up a little space to make a cup of coffee without leaving my office.
My first Keurig was a game-changer in this office.
Meanwhile, the cubbies were still holding office supplies atop a rolltop desk in the living room:
But seven years later, when we moved to our house in Wichita, Kansas, I chose to use the “formal” dining room for my office, and was thrilled when I realized I could use the cubbies as coffee mug storage for an even bigger coffee bar in my office. This worked especially well since my office was right next to the kitchen, making it even easier to refill the water and wash the mugs. My mug collection had grown to about 100 mugs by then!
I’ve whittled it down to about 50-60 now, but I still have a semi-annual washing of the mugs. 🙂
You may remember that I LOVE to rearrange furniture and that coffee bar spent time on every wall in that room. 🙂
About six years after we moved, I had my dad take the thick wood back off the cubbies and replace it with hail screen. Doing that opened up the back and let in light (plus, made the piece much lighter.) I was pleased when my dad was able to use that backing piece to frame a map of his later.
It wasn’t until we moved to our Missouri house that I turned the cubbies back on their side. And in this house, the coffee bar is in the dining room because my office is too far away from the kitchen. It’s handy to have the coffee bar away from the kitchen prep area when we have company over.
Plus, the grandkids love being able to choose a mug for the hot chocolate they want every. single. time. they come over, even in the summer. We love hosting these hot chocolate parties! The coffee cubbies have had a long evolution, and I think I love their current purpose most of all. But who knows? Maybe someday one of my grandchildren will grow up to use this piece on their desk to hold office supplies.
Latest posts by Deborah Raney (see all)
- Decade birthdays - May 26, 2025
- Deb’s Favorites - May 25, 2025
- We Shopped at Piggly Wiggly - May 12, 2025
Love the story of the multi-purpose cubby. It has looked great in every spot!
Thanks, Angie. It was fun to remember all the places that piece has been in my life! And now that we’re in Missouri, it’s fun to have brought along a piece of Kansas history.
Aloha from Hawaii Deborah. Wow, what a visual treat to learn of your prized possession and how it has been used over the years. And the mug collection is awesome. My collection would be a ‘few’ in comparison.
Thx for your writing ministry. I am an avid reader and some of your books are in my vast kindle library. Gos bless you as you and your husband continue serving our Lord!!!
Thank you so much, Patricia. You bless all of us here on Inspired by Life…and Fiction by being an avid reader!
I love the history and the pictures. What fun! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Thanks, Bridget. It was fun to remember as I was putting the blog post together!
I enjoyed the back story of your piece of “bank furniture.” I’m an avid reader of all your books, and I appreciate your Christian tone in all of them. I also enjoy watching you rearrange your furniture. You are a multi-talented lady!
Awww, thank you, Harriet! It’s fun to share both with you—books and furniture arrangements. 🙂
What’s shocking to me is that I recognize some of those photos from when you actually took them. I don’t have a cubby for the mugs I collected through the years, and now I’ve begun thinning out collections of various kinds, including mugs.
I thinned my mugs by almost half. When the cubby was turned on its end, I could get 3-4 mugs in each space. Now two per cubby is the limit (I have a few other mugs in a cupboard that I cycle through when the dishwasher is full of dirty mugs.) But like you, I AM trying to thin out our belongings. Having recently added a LOT of treasures from Ken’s mom, I’m letting go of some things that don’t have sentimental value. We took a large box and two full large garbage bags of “goodies” to our church garage sale that is a fundraiser for a youth mission trip so that felt like a win/win.
P.S. I love that our friendship goes back as far as some of those photos! ♥️
I love pieces like your coffee/mail cubby! It’s so much fun to look back and see how it’s traveled along through life with you. 🙂
Thanks, Angie. Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow such a cool coffee bar. I could use one in my office too 😃
I wonder how do you choose between all of these beautiful mugs? 😉
Sometimes I allow myself two different mugs in one day. 🙂 They need to be “dusted” occasionally anyway, and I have a dishwasher, so why not? I do have a few that are my top favorites that I grab often, especially anything with polkadots.
I love the “novella” about your coffee cup holder. I also love knowing it came from a small town bank. “Our” small town bank was also founded in 1909! A sweet symmetry of sorts.
Oh, how cool, Roxy! 1909 was a good year apparently. I wonder if your bank had an in-house mailbox like that?
I love seeing pictures of your house and garage sale finds! It’s about time for them to start up!