KEEPSAKES OF MY YOUTH
My maternal grandparents, Joseph and Ella, nee Kolberg, Kijak were blessed with creative talents. They were loving grandparents who were able to produce gifts for their children and grandchildren created with their own hands.
Here are some examples of these creations that I still have today along with the memories of where they came from:
My mother was born in 1925 and her father made her a child's rocking chair as well as doll furniture which she played with. When I came along some 20+ years later I also sat in the rocking chair and played with the doll furniture some of which I have recently had re-upholstered:
My grandmother was an excellent seamstress and also very interested in the creation of crafts many of which I have today from stuffed animals, doll clothes, refrigerator magnets, etc - all items that I had fun with when I was growing up and now which have treasured places in my home:
My grandmother even made my christening gown which I still have today as well:
But what was the favorite toy that my brother and I always enjoyed playing with when we would visit our grandparents? A huge can that contained hundreds of EMPTY SPOOLS from thread!! As a seamstress my grandmother went through thread rapidly and she saved all the empty spools. When we would visit she would let us empty the can onto the living room floor and we would build things with them.
Now, years later when I talk with other cousins in the area the first thing they mention about when visiting "Aunt" Ella was that they were able to play with the spools. I wish I had a photo of them but when my grandmother sold her home in 1970 and moved into a new Senior Citizen apartment complex in St. Joseph, Michigan she actually was able to sell the can with the spools and off they went - perhaps to be toys for other children!
Such good memories!
2 comments:
These are great memories and the fact you have preserved many of the items is especially nice. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Barb, for your comment.
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