Are you lucky enough to have some family treasures? I am not talking about gold, jewels, or silver heirlooms. (Although if you have those things I am a little jealous!) I am talking about treasures that tell your family history, that you can pass on to others, and that remind you where you come from. I have a few pieces that I am going to share with you.
I have this dresser. It was the first piece of furniture my dad’s parents bought when they married, 90 years ago. It was the equivalent to Ikea furniture at the time, and was all they could afford. It came to my husband and me in rough shape. My husband took it to be stripped and it almost was destroyed. It literally came home in a box. My sweet husband painstakingly reassembled the pieces, sanded, stained, and varnished it as a gift for me. I treasure this piece and will always find a spot for it in our home.
The photo is not awesome. Sorry. It is jammed in our guest room right now where my son and daughter in law are living temporarily.
I have my great grandmother’s bread bowl. She lived 17 miles from a paved road back in the backwoods of Louisiana. They got indoor plumbing when I was a child, she got a phone when I was in college. I got to spend time at her home growing up. I watched her churn butter, milk cows, use a wash board, and collect eggs. That sweet lady made bread every day using starter and this bowl. I wish I knew how to make bread but I treasure her bowl. I have started collecting wooden bowls at Star Hill but the bread bowl is the centerpiece.
I could only find this picture of the bowl this weekend. I will add pictures when we get back to the lake house.
This weekend I got three more treasures while visiting my parents.
I got my dad’s suitcase. It is a dented battered 1950’s dark blue case. To the naked eye it looks like something that belongs in a junk store but this suitcase was part of a chapter in my dad’s life that changed my family’s destiny. My dad carried this suitcase to college. It carried everything that this son of sharecroppers owned; two pairs of jeans, three shirts, “some drawers”, socks and his good shoes. With those meager belongings he became the first in our family to go to college, get a degree, earn a living wage and instill in me and our family a love of learning and a strong work ethic.
Our new rescue dog, Lumi, thinks every picture should have her in it . This was a totally spontaneous shot. I love it.
My dad said the suitcase was once bright blue like the handle.
I also got my grandmother on my mom’s side of the family’s salt glaze pitcher. My grandmother did not buy this. She found it under the house my grandparents bought in 1961. She was a determined woman who I loved deeply. She climbed under the house to get this, cut herself and ended up with a leg infection that put her in the hospital. She shined up that old pitcher and kept it as a reminder of her move to the home on Duke Street. If I ever go on Antiques Roadshow it goes with me. I wonder if it is worth anything to anyone but our family?
My final treasure from the weekend comes from my dad’s mom. She did not have money to buy us very much growing up, but she was such a talented seamstress. She could tat, crochet, knit, and sew. This blanket was the blanket she made for my bassinet when I was born. I was able to use it when my daughter was born but when we moved my mom took it to her house for safe keeping. I brought it home to the burbs along with the other treasures.
Lumi was so sad I would not let her lay on the quilt. This is her sad, rejected look.
My family may not have had much in the way of money, but we have a rich history none the less. What about you? Do you have any family treasures?