After writing numerous articles on treasures that people have stashed away in their homes, I have come to realize “treasures” can be almost anything. It’s what you find that’s dear and valuable to you.

Mrs. Cheryl Millet, owner of Saint Optical in LaPlace, has what I call a real treasure.

Today, if you go to get your eyes checked, you sit in a chair and look through lenses until everything gets clear and you can see.

But in the 1800s you didn’t have these machines. You had to sit in a chair, and the optometrist or eye doctor had a small case with over a hundred different lenses in it.

The doctor would give you a lens, and you would hold it up and look through it. You could also slip it into what looked like a pair of glasses and look through it that way.

The doctor would change these lenses until you could see clearly.

The case Mrs. Millet had was from the 1800s. The case was made by Nachet and Fils, located at No. 17 Rue Street Severin in Paris, France. The case is called a Trial Lens Set and is lined in red velvet and contains over a hundred lenses.

Mrs. Millet said that they continue to make these lenses and use them because some people felt confined or have a phobia when they sit with their face pushed up against a machine.

What kind of hidden treasures do you have tucked away?

There are collectors of everything, and you might have something stored away that would be worth thousands of dollars to just the right collector, so pull out those hidden treasures and dust them off.

As they say one person’s trash is another person treasure!

Wayne Norwood is a retired lieutenant from the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office and owner and operator of the Louisiana Treasures Museum located on Louisiana 22 just West of Ponchatoula. The museum is currently closed due to the August flooding and reopening later this year.