Just today I found some letter correspondence mygrandmother Rachel kept, the one who took me to A&W? In an enevelope I found where she had been jottingdown notes about something, probably while on thephone; and then, there is a letter she wrote from allof her note-taking, the response from the addressee,and also his business card, and other interesting things from the mail conversation. It all probably happened in the course of a week's time, but it was sofascinating. She kept it all in one place.
This desk I have of hers can be so interesting likethat though; after she died it was closed up like atime capsule. It looks like she was even preparing fora baby shower when she became sick ~ all of theinvitations, ribbon and other things are in there. And here is something, a very cool stowaway: a newspaper she must have left on the desk with the current events of the day, an advice column, funnies and advertisements.
In the second and third drawers there are photos,music records, embroidery projects, unfinished sewing,a nightgown so frilly placed in a box ~ it must have been a good one, unfilled appointment books, letters.
I think I mentioned I once found her hair in there inan envelope that her mother kept for her. When Rachelwas 18 months old, she had her first haircut. The envelope has the name of the barber, and her mother's name and address on it ~ that was in 1909. I put it in a plastic bag today. It's curly blond and if I touch it it disintegrates. Ralph's is there, too; her twin.
The correspondence that I found that I mentioned earlier is about Ralph. And how she was trying to retrieve his watch and $80 from the state hospital where she had to have him committed. It's all kind of a mystery on my dad's side of the family, I'm not sure what was "wrong" with Ralph, even though his first cousin Marilee is schizophrenic.
The story related every so often is that Ralph became more and more unbalanced and finally one day he was running down the middle of the street stark naked(what family doesn't have one of those?). I doubt the truth of it, but he did live on the same street as my grandparents with his mother. But the story goes that when Rachel saw him, she finally called the hospital and they came and took him away. Her letter to the administration was all about that watch, the description of it, and how responsible she felt for him having lost it...
Anyhow, once in a while I will dig through the drawers of the desk to see what I can find in it. It's really my only means of finding out the truth of my grandmother's life, the real everday-ness of her family that I sort of missed by being the youngest.
Plus, it's so danged interesting to run across a postcard or a photo of my cousins as babies, or my sister, she just adored my sister Linda; or my mom and dad, young and beautiful.
I like this real Rachel from the desk so much better than the one I hear about in passing. The one who wants to get details right before she sends a letter, who can't remember a phone number to save her life, who has umpteen unfinished sewing projects, keeps valentine cards, treasures of ugly gifts by putting them in the bottom drawer, jots down her banking numbers on the back of an envelope, saves scraps of wrapping paper, receipts and bills ... She keeps every photo negative, pencils with plenty of extra lead, promotional raincaps from local businesses, scads of hankies for every occasion and holiday.. And letters from her sister and mother, postcards from traveling family and friends, overseas posts from her nephew who writes to her ~ and, after she reads them, tears the postage off to add to thelarge manilla envelope that is filled to the exploding brim with collected stamps and ticket stubs...
This desk I have of hers can be so interesting likethat though; after she died it was closed up like atime capsule. It looks like she was even preparing fora baby shower when she became sick ~ all of theinvitations, ribbon and other things are in there. And here is something, a very cool stowaway: a newspaper she must have left on the desk with the current events of the day, an advice column, funnies and advertisements.
In the second and third drawers there are photos,music records, embroidery projects, unfinished sewing,a nightgown so frilly placed in a box ~ it must have been a good one, unfilled appointment books, letters.
I think I mentioned I once found her hair in there inan envelope that her mother kept for her. When Rachelwas 18 months old, she had her first haircut. The envelope has the name of the barber, and her mother's name and address on it ~ that was in 1909. I put it in a plastic bag today. It's curly blond and if I touch it it disintegrates. Ralph's is there, too; her twin.
The correspondence that I found that I mentioned earlier is about Ralph. And how she was trying to retrieve his watch and $80 from the state hospital where she had to have him committed. It's all kind of a mystery on my dad's side of the family, I'm not sure what was "wrong" with Ralph, even though his first cousin Marilee is schizophrenic.
The story related every so often is that Ralph became more and more unbalanced and finally one day he was running down the middle of the street stark naked(what family doesn't have one of those?). I doubt the truth of it, but he did live on the same street as my grandparents with his mother. But the story goes that when Rachel saw him, she finally called the hospital and they came and took him away. Her letter to the administration was all about that watch, the description of it, and how responsible she felt for him having lost it...
Anyhow, once in a while I will dig through the drawers of the desk to see what I can find in it. It's really my only means of finding out the truth of my grandmother's life, the real everday-ness of her family that I sort of missed by being the youngest.
Plus, it's so danged interesting to run across a postcard or a photo of my cousins as babies, or my sister, she just adored my sister Linda; or my mom and dad, young and beautiful.
I like this real Rachel from the desk so much better than the one I hear about in passing. The one who wants to get details right before she sends a letter, who can't remember a phone number to save her life, who has umpteen unfinished sewing projects, keeps valentine cards, treasures of ugly gifts by putting them in the bottom drawer, jots down her banking numbers on the back of an envelope, saves scraps of wrapping paper, receipts and bills ... She keeps every photo negative, pencils with plenty of extra lead, promotional raincaps from local businesses, scads of hankies for every occasion and holiday.. And letters from her sister and mother, postcards from traveling family and friends, overseas posts from her nephew who writes to her ~ and, after she reads them, tears the postage off to add to thelarge manilla envelope that is filled to the exploding brim with collected stamps and ticket stubs...
posted by SPOA | 9:30 PM
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