My name is Bill and I am suffering from Broken Cookie Jar Guilt. It is a guilt that my older brother reminds me of every chance he can. Recently, he has reminded me one more time. It is a guilt I've been burdened with for over 40 years.

The story starts shortly after my parents were married. Their very first home was a small apartment above a grocery store in Philadelphia in the late fifties. When they moved in the apartment was bare, except for a cookie jar that was left in a kitchen cabinet. The cookie jar was dubbed The Major and became part of their growing family. My brother was first and then I came along sixteen months later. We were the classic family -- Dad, Mom, big brother, me and The Major. Shortly after my birth, Dad packed up the family, including The Major, and we all moved to Cincinnati.

It was in Cincinnati that the horrible incident occurred.....
         I needed a cookie. Really bad.

I knew even at my young age that mom would not understand the need and took it upon myself to get the cookie. The lid must have been heavier than it looked. I dropped it. It broke! The Major lost his head.

My dad tried to comfort me and repair the damage. Unfortunately, the adhesives back then were not as good as they are now. After regluing and fixing the head a few times, The Major was finally given his marching papers and retired. (to the trash can)

The next cookie jar, a yellow glass jar with painted fruit, fared much better and still sits on my mother's kitchen counter. I can remember my grandmother taking me to the store to pick it out. Over the years, it has become to be known as Billy's Cookie Jar. Why Billy's Cookie Jar? "It¹s only Billy¹s cookie jar because HE broke The Major". "Billy broke The Major" These are the taunts from my brother, and are still heard these many years later.

Over the years I have tried in vain to find my parents a new Major. I've looked at flea markets, and antique malls. Once I thought I found a new Major, I took it home, repainted it and proudly presented it to my parents. While they appreciated the effort, sadly, it was not The Major. And became yet another reminder of my Broken Cookie Jar Guilt. Even my brother has tried over the years to find another Major, but unfortunately he has not figured out the difference between a soldier and a nutcracker. So now my mother's china cabinet now has a collection of Nutcracker jars.

This past year when my mother had her kitchen remodeled, she happened upon an envelope of old pictures. It was my brother who first noticed it. Among the pictures was one of my brother sitting at the kitchen table, as I sat in a high chair next to him. And in the background -- The Major!

Of course my brother saw the picture as another opportunity to laden me with B.C.J.G. I, however, saw it as a golden opportunity. A quick scan later and the search for the Major had taken a new turn. Armed with an image, I turned my search to the Internet and found the Cookie Jar Collector Association and Barb Crews. Within days, Barb provided me with the following information -- The Major was made by Marsh Industries and is called the Toy Soldier.

My ultimate goal is to finally shut my brother up, surprise my mother with the long lost major and to finally end.... my Broken Cookie Jar Guilt.

Jar seen above is also shown in Roerig's II, Page 197.
~Barbara Crews

Image Supplied by Billy Kennedy