Sending Out an SOS in Search for Skull

Julie Escalante of Glendale, who is collecting Southwestern art, is looking for a cattle skull similar to those shown in Georgia O’Keeffe’s work; Escalante, of course, wants the real thing, not a painting. Can you help without making any bones about this or should Escalante stop being bullish and wonder whether she’s out of her skull for getting involved in such an odd project?

For months, Virginia John of San Juan Capistrano has been on her feet seeking a specific toy for her Shih Tzu: an eight-inch-long wing-tip, hard-rubber (not vinyl) oxford with a squeaker in the heel. Can you toy with that idea for a while, or will John’s hopes go to the dogs?

Lucy Caillouet of Lake View Terrace would like to find some old-fashioned tortoise-shell hairpins that are 2 1/2 inches long; they are the only thing that will hold her hair in place. Can you pin down a source for her or will the matter end up as shell game between the tortoise and the hair?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Peter at (213) 394-7129 will pay a good price for a Casio MQ-2 pocket calculator , which is no longer being made. Please figure on helping Peter play the numbers game again. . . . Sally at (714) 493-4598 needs an adjustable loom so she can make baby blankets of fine wool; she has looked all over and is about to give up on the idea. Please help, so that Sally can stop being such a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items and for products no longer available in stores. You must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

Last week we reported that at least some Olga stores carry fabric and trim. In the meantime, Sheryl Pascolla, manager of the Olga factory outlet in Van Nuys, has informed us that none of the Olga stores carries fabric or trim and have not done so for several months.

For Peter Cavallo of Port Hueneme, who was wearing out lots of shoe leather in his search for moccasins, the news is a shoo-in. According to an anonymous reader, within walking distance is Channel Islands Shoe Co., 723 W. Channel Islands Blvd. (in the Olveira Center), Port Hueneme, (805) 985-5080. And if Cavallo wants to take a real hike, Elsie Pickens of West Covina suggests the White Eyes Indian Shop, 21 South 1st St. in Arcadia, (818) 445-3730. But if Cavallo is able to drag his feet only to the nearest mail box, we have two additional sources: Alice Hurst of San Pedro says Minnetonka moccasins are listed in the catalogue of Red Barn of Oscoda, 5764 North U.S. 23, Oscoda, Mich. 48750; and Marion Treat of the Covered Wagon, 2526 Sudderth, Ruidoso, N.M. 88345, (505) 257-4591, says she will be glad to send Cavallo some moccasins if she learns his size.

No more running in circles for Gladys Fox of Los Angeles (and also for Pearl Bank of Chatsworth), who didn’t have the long-playing stylus for a Garrard turntable. Ernest Knight of the Diacoustic Laboratory, Calabasas, (818) 888-8010, says if Fox tells him what Shure cartridge is in the turntable, he will give her the needle. Basically the same message came from Art at Schweid’s Music City, 17522 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, (213) 370-1011 or (213) 370-9212. (They specialize in stereo needles.) He says to either bring in the old stylus or provide the model number of the cartridge or turntable. And if either store tunes out, I. J. Klein of San Diego says to contact EMG Hand-Made Gramophones, Ltd., 26 Soho Square, London WIV 6BB, England.

Here’s another source for Monoi coconut oil soap from Tahiti: Importer Edith C. Vollendorf says she can be contacted evenings and weekends at (818) 335-6883.

For Marian Steele and the others: Nail-Aide has not been discontinued, but it is generally available only through beauty salons and mail order. Write to the manufacturer, Beauty Aids Inc., P.O. Box 481004, Los Angeles, Calif. 90048.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.