Longaberger Travel 2: Road Trip!

A Small Gathering Basket is a very useful size, and with a Protector and Road Trip Lid added, it will help keep you organized wherever you go. Wooden Dividers introduced new uses to many baskets, and then Longaberger's heavy wooden Road Trip Lid and its coordinating plastic Protector took dividing a basket to new heights. 

Of course, the Road Trip doesn't need to go anywhere further than the deck or patio with you. Organize all sorts of items right at home.

The Road Trip Lid has two round openings, a larger and smaller rectangular opening, and indentations for a square sticky-note pad and pen or pencil. The Lid can be used with a regular Small Gathering plastic Protector, but it's even better with the Divided Protector offered at the time. Each Lid opening has its own space in the Divided Protector, with a higher floor in two center square sections to make them shallower and more accessible for items such as a cell phone. 

Several binders in my office hold Longaberger's colorful old WishLists and monthly feature flyers in clear pocket pages in order. Looking back through them trying to find out when the Road Trip Lid was introduced was fun. Around 2000, things were really going well for Longaberger, with innovative designs and unique accessories. 

The two lower photos are from old WishLists with the Road Trip set ready to go on the road when it was introduced and later used on a buffet. Another showed it used in a nursery. 

If you have a vehicle that has no center console, the Road Trip set will sit between riders solidly and comfortably on the seat and hold all sorts of needs. Kids traveling in the back could keep drinks, snacks, small games, coloring supplies . . . the perfect traveling companion! 

One of Longaberger's most popular baskets was (is!) the Medium Gathering, perfect to carry your 9" x 13" Baking Dish or a big batch of cupcakes. The Small Gathering Basket has the same useful dimensions and shape in a slightly smaller size and is almost as useful. It was first introduced in 1979 and was made with two swinging or one stationary handle through the years. One of my other favorites, the Pantry Basket, is made on the same wooden form as the Small Gathering but has two leather loop ears instead of wooden handles. The Road Trip Lid will only work with the two-swinging-handles version. 

The demise of Longaberger is often attributed to consumers no longer liking baskets and country decor, but TLC designers innovated over the years to appeal to a wide range of styles. Looking back through that old literature reminded me of Longaberger designers' creativity and drive. They offered all sorts of designs through the years! Poor and incredibly wasteful management of the company after Dave Longaberger's untimely death on St. Patrick's Day 1999 was a huge factor in its gradual waning and loss. Had Dave survived cancer and continued management himself, we would still have the original Longaberger Company flourishing.

Still to come: three more handy Longaberger travel baskets.