Friday, May 15, 2009

Article #55 Any Antiques?

Antiques-old things that we no longer use but haven’t thrown away…that’s my husband’s definition. At one time necessary, now they are just decorative. I have my mom’s old flat irons that she heated on the kitchen cook stove when she needed to press some clothes in the days before electricity. She had two irons, one flat iron was heating while she used the other one to carefully press her clothes in the days before dryers. Now I use the irons for decoration only.

When my widowed maternal grandmother died she left no estate or great wealth but her humble home in Eureka, Utah was full of antiques that her daughters cherished––old dressers, mirrors, lanterns, dishes, etc. I’m sure grandma chuckled watching her daughters trying to decide who got what. Happy to get some of the leftovers that no one wanted, her well used bread baking tins and an old dishpan that she used to knead homemade bread in, they still remind me of my dear grandmother. 

I cherish those hand sewn articles that my paternal grandmother made-a quilt top, several embroidered table cloths, fancy aprons, decorative pillow cases, and even a set of kitchen towels with sayings for each weekday. Before her death, my grandma made sure that each of her grand daughters received some of her handwork. Being her first grand child, I also have the carefully hand stitched baby clothes she lovingly made for my anticipated birth.

Looking around my home I’ve collected a few antiques here and there. I have a wooden wheel that could have been used on a pioneer wagon that brought my ancestors to Utah. Then there is an old milk can that stored that rich fluid gathered from dairy farms to be processed and delivered to individual homes. Years ago, I bought an old wooden barrel that could tell many stories of earlier days, before cardboard or plastic containers, when food stuffs were transported on wagons in these ingenious handmade containers. Grains, liquids, and other materials were taken to early country stores for their far-flung customers living on small ranches and farms. Later wooden crates were popular to transport food stuffs. I remember California oranges and citrus produce coming in wooden crates that could then be reused.


Look around your house and see what antiques you have…Old things that we no longer use but haven’t thrown away...because they remind us of earlier days.

7 comments:

  1. I cherish the few items handed down to me from my grandmother and mother: a quilt, some crocheted doilies, a few dishes, some jewelry. I especially treasure the needlework items. They speak of stolen hours of relaxation after the day's many chores were done.

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  2. I love the look and feel of old household things, and always wonder what their story might be.

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  3. Bring on those tangible reminders of our forbears. Forgetting is easy, I think. We need the old stuff. Thanks for this post. We have my great-gran's flat irons, too. Wrinkle-free clothing was a way of softening air dried clothing. So important!

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  4. We have a number of items passed down from ancestors in both of our families. They are treasures, for sure.

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  5. Nice post. I see several things we had growing up, only a few are left.

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  6. We used to collect "collectibles" in Illinois. We brought some of the irons with us to Hawaii and use them for door stops. I'm sorry we sold off most of the other things. Your things are much more special because they were handed down to you. That's wonderful, Lin.

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  7. The only antique in my house is me..I went through everything when we moved..but I wish I had some things passed down from my family to keep....

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