Paul, the keepsakes you shared in the link are fabulous and speak volumes about what people cherish and why.
My answer is my grandparent's antique goblet and the journal in which they tracked and described each purchase. It is endlessly fascinating and and something that brings we simple joy every time I walk past it.
Thanks Lori each and every family treasure is special to us for different reasons and how wonderful that your grandparents journaled all their items a unique glimpse into the past.
I love this topic. My answer has to be my Great-grandma (b. 1881)'s flour bin. Handmade for her by her uncle, it's the size of a decent bookshelf and opens at the top. A little drawer at the bottom opens for the user to scoop out flour. I can't imagine needing the amount of flour this thing holds to bake bread for my family- it's worn, used, and my favorite heirloom.
Thanks so much for sharing with me this wonderful story of your great-grandma’s flour bin. What I absolutely love when I hear about these heirlooms is how unique they are. Each and everyone is as unique as we are!
The sampler I’ve used as the image to represent my Substack is exactly that, a powerful emotional link to the long-gone small child who stitched it. There are many more elaborate and beautiful samplers out there, but this one is at the heart of my understanding of my Cornish family.
It’s about making those connections to the past with those emotional keepsakes that have been handed down to us. Such an important part of what we do 😊
“Heirlooms are more than artifacts—they’re emotional touchstones”
This statement really struck me; it is exactly what they are. There are times when I am trying to tell a relative why something is an “heirloom”, particularly when it has little to no monetary value, that this phrase would more clearly express the specialness of a particular object. And, in the chaos of boxes of inherited items, why some are not heirlooms, just someone’s old belongings. I think I will post this on the wall!
That’s the beauty of heirlooms it’s all about the hidden stories held within. Without the stories there is a risk that they become someone else’s junk!
Paul, the keepsakes you shared in the link are fabulous and speak volumes about what people cherish and why.
My answer is my grandparent's antique goblet and the journal in which they tracked and described each purchase. It is endlessly fascinating and and something that brings we simple joy every time I walk past it.
Thanks Lori each and every family treasure is special to us for different reasons and how wonderful that your grandparents journaled all their items a unique glimpse into the past.
I love this topic. My answer has to be my Great-grandma (b. 1881)'s flour bin. Handmade for her by her uncle, it's the size of a decent bookshelf and opens at the top. A little drawer at the bottom opens for the user to scoop out flour. I can't imagine needing the amount of flour this thing holds to bake bread for my family- it's worn, used, and my favorite heirloom.
Thanks so much for sharing with me this wonderful story of your great-grandma’s flour bin. What I absolutely love when I hear about these heirlooms is how unique they are. Each and everyone is as unique as we are!
The sampler I’ve used as the image to represent my Substack is exactly that, a powerful emotional link to the long-gone small child who stitched it. There are many more elaborate and beautiful samplers out there, but this one is at the heart of my understanding of my Cornish family.
It’s about making those connections to the past with those emotional keepsakes that have been handed down to us. Such an important part of what we do 😊
“Heirlooms are more than artifacts—they’re emotional touchstones”
This statement really struck me; it is exactly what they are. There are times when I am trying to tell a relative why something is an “heirloom”, particularly when it has little to no monetary value, that this phrase would more clearly express the specialness of a particular object. And, in the chaos of boxes of inherited items, why some are not heirlooms, just someone’s old belongings. I think I will post this on the wall!
That’s the beauty of heirlooms it’s all about the hidden stories held within. Without the stories there is a risk that they become someone else’s junk!