"Unexpected art: Duck Brand matchbook" by Culture Check | Local news, sports, weather, blogs, opinion, crime, obituaries, business, directory, marketplace, education, high school, family, shopping, arts, entertainment, movies, books, cooking, auto, real estate, jobs, classifieds, photos, videos, comics, contests, and mountain pass webcams from Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Chelan, Leavenworth, Waterville, Cashmere, Quincy, Entiat, North Central Washington newspaper

Unexpected art: Duck Brand matchbook

Blog: Culture Check

December 22, 2009

For the most part, the once-ubiquitous matchbook — got 'em free just about everywhere — has gone the route of pay phones, film cameras and VHS tapes. Matchbooks are still used as promotional pieces for a few bars and taverns, but even then they feel like retro reminders of bygone days. If you don't smoke, what's their use? Campfires, barbecues, magic tricks, arsonist fetish objects ... anything else?

Remarkably, you can still find a basketful of free matchbooks at the Duck Brand Hotel & Cantina, the landmark business on the main street of Winthrop. Management buys unprinted books, and some enterprising soul draws the restaurant's logo — the duck brand, as in branding cattle — freehand on every blank matchbook cover. So you not only get matches; you get a personal piece of hand-drawn art.

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ArdisK 2 years, 1 month ago

Unexpected art: Duck Brand matchbook

Hi, Mike, Gee I like to see your posts. Do you remember our years at Methow Valley News? Boy does this bring back memories. Early in our years in the valley, my Brother-in-law took us to the Duck Brand. Dave & Dan were still quite little, but they insisted on ordering the "big" burger. Boy did their eyes pop when those were set in front of them. Guess what! They both finished the WHOLE thing.

irwin 2 years, 1 month ago

Unexpected art: Duck Brand matchbook

Hi, Ardis ... it's good to hear from you. Yep, those years at the Methow Valley News were glory days. And -- yum! -- the Duck Brand's burgers were out of this world. The food there is still terrific. Keep in touch!

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