Thoughts of Fall

By fromskilledhands ( January 29, 2008 at 9:49 pm) · Filed under Change, Collecting, Discoveries, Musings

I came across a post I had started before the snows came, when the rich intense colors of Autumn abounded. I’m not quite sure why I never posted it; I fully intended to do so—-really.

Fall is the time of Harvest. The garden, somewhat neglected this year, has spots of color: the beautiful blush of tomatoes on the vine, the bright green of celery and chard waiting to be picked. Some parts are going back to the soil, the brown of their stems and leaves merging with the rich dark dirt.

We are also harvesting in other ways. Harvesting family history. We have discovered an old box in the basement, full of newspapers and magazines from years long gone. Fragile newspapers announcing WWI; papers describing “society” weddings of the day; celebrations of the end of WWI. Items saved by my father-in-law’s father.

There are Time magazines from 1945 and sections from newspapers that no longer exist that talk about WWII and that decry the atrocities of the day. Funny how some things don’t really change… There are papers that had been taped to windows requesting that passers-by purchase War Bonds. There are magazines that my mother-in-law, an English war bride, brought from England. A box full of interesting and amazing parts of the past.

These are part of the tapestry of our family. The question is, what to do with them; what to keep, how to keep it, where to store them. They sit in a box, waiting for the answer to come. I’ll let you know what it is.

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4 comments »

  1. Larramie said,

    January 30, 2008 @ 10:33 pm

    A bit like opening Pandora’s Box, is it? Well, at least, now we know where you’ve been lately, Debra — sorting through the past. Welcome back, you were missed!

  2. Mary Witzl said,

    February 3, 2008 @ 9:25 am

    As a self-confessed packrat, I’m the worst person in the world to give you advice (you ought to see our crawl space!), but I would say that if you have any room in your house, hang on to some of these, Debra!

    This weekend, I cleaned out my wardrobe, which has been sorely neglected. At the bottom, I found a canvas bag full of letters from my mother to my father, written in 1949 and 1950. I cannot bring myself to burn them or throw them away.

    I still have my uncle’s stamp collection, my father’s signal cards from the U.S. Navy, a picture of my great-grandfather in his bandmaster’s uniform, and a quilt my grandmother made around 1910. People tell me I ought to throw them out, but I’d sooner get rid of my computer.

  3. fromskilledhands said,

    February 3, 2008 @ 1:37 pm

    Larramie–It’s good to be back. Time has been at a premium these days. Thanks.

    Mary– I keep things, too, especially things that cannot be replaced. Seeing things written when my now-86 year old father-in-law was a child is wonderful. Insights into the boy who became a man. Priceless. It is good to keep these things, I think. It is good to have a view of one’s roots, yes?

  4. Eryl Shields said,

    February 7, 2008 @ 6:09 am

    That was interesting: to have a little autumn (fall) inserted into late winter as if there was a blip in the circle of time.

    You have to keep that box of papers!

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