1999 Avon Baby Bootie Birthstone Charm

MAY ~ Gold Tone

NOS - New Old Stock in Orig Box. Boxes might have damage from long term storage.

*The bootie is Tiny - 1” Long without the hole to attach charm to jewelry.

1 of each version was photographed. I have multiples of each month. The charm you get might have slight differences as these look to have some custom work to the design. If u want a photo of the exact bootie charm send me a message b4 ordering.

**If you will be ordering more than 1 of these charms or other jewelry from me to ship at the same time contact me b4 ordering to see if there maybe some extras I can offer for u 2 choose from or a discount. I will be listing the other baby bootie charms as soon as I can!

🌹🌹🌹This item is from the estate of Rose Christmann ~ AKA “North Idaho’s Outlaw Avon Lady” owner of Rose’s Avon Store in Coeur D Alene, ID.

Rose retired & finally closed her local Avon shop when she was 101 yrs old in June of 2022.

I believe Rose was likely both the oldest Avon Lady selling Avon at 101 yrs old. She also possibly was the longest ever selling Avon Lady. She had sold Avon for over 70 yrs from what I was told by her granddaughter which also was backed up by numerous news articles.

Rose made International News in the Mid 1990’s after being arrested for selling lipstick from her Avon store that she had built onto her new home in CDA, ID. An article from 1996 stated she was 74 yrs old & could no longer easily do door to door sales.

Soon after becoming a widow she had a new home built at a corner where the rear of the house was on a busy road that already had businesses. She had worked hard selling Avon her whole life to pay for her home & she loved doing it so building a shop so she could continue was important to her.

The City of Coeur D Alene decided they didn’t want to have her little Avon shop so they did everything they could to stop this woman but she has always been strong & she was determined to continue working & selling Avon for the rest of her life so she fought back.

She filed for permits to sell Avon from the rear of her new home. It didn’t affect the neighborhood in the front of her home. Across from her shop is a church so it was obviously ridiculous that the city gave her so much trouble. In the 1990’s we didn’t have the best laws to protect our seniors & those with mobility issues so the Rose was at the mercy of the city at that time.

So when the city went after Rose & tried to stop her ~ they did so with what today would be a huge misuse of power & they likely spent more than they did on criminals. In fact they treated her like a major criminal which is why the news stories referred to her as our Outlaw Avon Lady. The city arrested her several times ~ they even set up stings where uncover female officers shopped & bought lipstick from her & then they arrested her.

After her arrest I believe this is when the news started reporting her story. It got bad for the city when Rose’s story was also reported by A Current Affair which went international. CDA was a small city then & after A Current Affair started reporting the city was inundated with calls that they couldn’t handle. Calls were coming from other Countries even by people who were rightly upset with how she was treated. They did throw a Senior in jail for selling Avon!

These articles are still available online. They made it easy to verify her sales history with Avon. One article from 1996 gave her age as 74 then another article said she started selling Avon in Feb 1942 so she sold avon for 80 yrs & 4 months.

Rose has outlived her husband & all her children. If not for Covid she would likely still be selling today even though her grandchildren feared leaving her alone to sell at her store so 1 of them or her numerous great grandchildren had to work with her. Rose got covid but luckily didn’t get ill but to be safe she was sent to an assisted living. The grandchildren talked her into finally living somewhere she could have extra care & be around other seniors.

When Rose’s home & shop were listed for sale ~ the city of Coeur D Alene Again caused issues with her property. The church across the street had wanted to buy her place as well as others but the city was determined to only allowing the home to be a residence. By that time - 2022 the back of the home was on a very busy street & across from a now large busy church. Rose & her family lost a huge amount of $ in what they could have sold her place for.

It ended up taking 6 months to find a buyer. The family worked hard on weekends & any free time they had to sell her estate & at least make enough to pay her care during this time. Her estate was so large though that it wasn’t an easy task. My family was fortunate enough that we could buy chunks of it every week & help sell on eBay & use that $ to buy more. We eventually bought out everything that was left & the jewelry & home decor items are numerous & it’s now mid 2024 & I’m hoping to start listing now but it will take years! There is a trailer full at least maybe even close to 2!

Buyers can look up Rose online & read about her. We are pleased to have her collection. When we give PCs as gifts to friends & family we share with them how they have an item that is collectible on its own but that it’s even more special because it has an even more special story behind it.

I hope you love the item you are buying. We love our Avon here in our home. They do make a high quality product still to this day. The jewelry is amazing! The patented plating Avon has always used has protected these so they have no damage from tarnishing & issues that happen to many fashion jewelry PCs over time.

I will do my best to box up your order so they arrive to you in great shape. These items are NOT returnable so please ask any questions b4 u buy! If u r looking for any vintage Avon - 1980-1990 on feel free to let me know.