Do you have any family "heirlooms", or keep sakes?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I was watching "Antiques Roadshow" where people bring heirlooms that have been passed down. The only thing I have is my dad's pocket watch from 1942. My grandparents didn't have oil paintings, marble statues, etc,; they only had what was on sale at KMart.
Do you have any family "heirlooms", or keep sakes?
 

fuzzybuddy said:
I was watching "Antiques Roadshow" where people bring heirlooms that have been passed down. The only thing I have is my dad's pocket watch from 1942. My grandparents didn't have oil paintings, marble statues, etc,; they only had what was on sale at KMart.
Do you have any family "heirlooms", or keep sakes?
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That's strange, I also have a pocket watch from my dad. An Eljin, looks like a standard production model. It's a watch that he took as collateral from a guy he loaned money to. Has initials I don't recognize. Hope the guy doesn't want it back!
 
Nope... the only thing I have is my mothers' wedding ring, and that's only as old as me.. worth nothing...I'm sure..

Not even sentimental value because she hated my father.. as we all did.. and there's a story attached to it..

I got it into my head this ring was bad luck, it had brought my mum bad luck.. so after having it here for many years , I decided to throw it away.. wasn't an easy decision but I took it and threw it out. That was the end of that, and I felt my mum would have agreed..

Fast forward several years later, and I go into the loft , and get the old vanity case out where the ring used to be kept.. opened it up, and the bluddy ring was right there in the case.. like something out of a damn horror film.... :eek::eek: it's still there...
 

hollydolly said:
Nope... the only thing I have is my mothers' wedding ring, and that's only as old as me.. worth nothing...I'm sure..

Not even sentimental value because she hated my father.. as we all did.. and there's a story attached to it..

I got it into my head this ring was bad luck, it had brought my mum bad luck.. so after having it here for many years , I decided to throw it away.. wasn't an easy decision but I took it and threw it out. That was the end of that, and I felt my mum would have agreed..

Fast forward several years later, and I go into the loft , and get the old vanity case out where the ring used to be kept.. opened it up, and the bluddy ring was right there in the case.. like something out of a damn horror film.... :eek::eek: it's still there...
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How could it be if you threw it out? Very weird indeed.
 
jpstrap said:
How could it be if you threw it out? Very weird indeed.
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I can assure you I threw it out. It wasn't a snap decision, and I maybe made a mistake and threw someone else's ring out..

I looked at this ring several times before I threw it in the bin... even talking to my long dead mother as I did it.. but I can assure you that ring is back again... and I could even post a pic here, not that anyone would know that it was my mothers ring.. but it definitely is.. it's the only thing I had /have that belonged to her.. she had no other jewellery...
 
hollydolly said:
I can assure you I threw it out. It wasn't a snap decision, and I maybe made a mistake and threw someone else's ring out..

I looked at this ring several times before I threw it in the bin... even talking to my long dead mother as I did it.. but I can assure you that ring is back again... and I could even post a pic here, not that anyone would know that it was my mothers ring.. but it definitely is.. it's the only thing I had /have that belonged to her.. she had no other jewellery...
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That's quite a story. I have some strange happenings in my life, but that kind is surely weird.
 
I have a few things of my grandmothers, my grandparents were poor as a church mouse. My father did leave enough money to bury him, and a heating pad. That heating pad still works, we decided to keep it just to see how long it would last, it's looking like our son will inherit it.
 
No. I sent a few pieces of jewelry to my brother to give to his kids if they wanted them. I have a couple of rings of my mother's I keep meaning to take to the estate sale store in town. Either sell or consign. I could care less what I got for them. Food for the ferals.

My mother gave me her "engagement" ring when she was still alive. I remember when she bought it in a pawn shop in Santa Cruz. I didn't want it. A single solitaire diamond. I gave it to a young co-worker. She had a couple of kids with this guy of hers but I can't remember if they were actually married.

She didn't have any engagement type ring and she was thrilled with it and it fit her. Anyway, in the end she told me her BF/husband or whatever, pawned the ring. I felt so bad for her. She felt bad. I told her I didn't care and not to worry about it, that I only felt bad for her. But secretly I thought that ring got a fitting end for that sham of a marriage.
 
My brother has most all of them. I was moving a lot in my twenties and he was staying in one spot. Better that he have them. Grandfatherā€˜s watch, his WW1 medals and Croix-de-Guerre citation, family china, etc. Its a lot of items, but he likes having them. Our motherā€™s engagement ring is now worn by my SIL.

I do have a set of silverware from each side of the family. Never use it.
 
A few things; Mom's engagement ring; an oval Garnet (her birthstone) which I've worn for many, many years. I remember as a child, she took it off when she began to mix the beef for meatloaf and I would hold it. Her wedding ring had 3 tiny diamond chips in it... I lost it. :cry:

I have Dad's mens Cameo ring, a gift from my mother; his Purple Heart and his Army rifle medal; Expert. I used to have some of his high school report cards, solid block of A's and a swimming medal.

I still have a few household items, the small "olive dish", and old nutcracker, a creamer, etc. I have Mom's leopard jacket, that used to be a full length coat with deep sleeves until a cousin got hold of it and had it chopped into a "Jackie Kennedy" style jacket. I never wore it and never will. Also her "Autumn Haze" mink stole she wore with her pearl-grey suit to bridge.

Of my paternal grandmother, I have a round lace tablecloth that she made. Maybe time to bring it out again? Also, a hand knitted afghan she made for my own baby boy, that I've just given to to my Great grandson. I once had an old-fashioned gold necklace of hers with pearls, that somehow disappeared.

Of my maternal grandmother who had not very much, I have an old vase, shaped like a slender water-pitcher festooned with roses. I keep it in remembrance, I had a lovely white swan, that came from Poland, but I dropped it and broke it. :cry:
 
mrstime said:
I have a few things of my grandmothers, my grandparents were poor as a church mouse. My father did leave enough money to bury him, and a heating pad. That heating pad still works, we decided to keep it just to see how long it would last, it's looking like our son will inherit it.
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Mine was the same , parents, grandparents... all poor. I remember when my maternal Grandfather died.. my mother had been estranged from him for years , and so she learned of his death from her mother who sent some silver jewellery.. I don't know what happened to that jewellery or if in fact it was ever worth anything. I think if it had been worth even a little, my mother would have pawned it..
 
I believe that my daughter has my momā€™s wedding ring. The only piece of jewelry that my mom had that was precious to me was a silver bracelet, and it disappeared after she passed away.
She wore it all her life, until shortly before she died.
My grandfather was an Indian Agent in Arizona when my mom was younger and she had an Indian friend who gave her the engraved bracelet.
I donā€™t know what happened to it, but after she had passed away and I looked in her little jewelry container, it was not in there.

I do have her Franciscan Desert Rose china, and that will be for my kids when I am gone. Otherwise, no special heirlooms.
 
Yes, I'm getting that from all sides. There used to be a handful of second-hand thrift stores locally, but they've all gone OOB in the last 5 years. Thirty year ago you could ask almost anything for an item considered and antique or collectible at a garage sale. Nowadays, you can't give most things away.
I have many of the items mentioned in the article. I pity my executor.
 
There's never been anything in my family that would be classified as heirlooms in my opinion. I did manage to get hold of an old teactor my dad used back in the 1960s. It had sat outside unused for the last 45 years, it took a LOT of work but I got it rebuilt and all painted.

So maybe not an heirloom but a bit of family history.
 
As a child I can remember Granddad telling my mother to hide the antiques

I can remember the tall head boards on the bed, marble top on the dresser.
My folks sold some of the stuff.
When Dad sold the homestead,, lot of things were sold then.

That said I have some EastLake pieces of furniture .
That I'd love to sell.

Being the only child ,, I got all the old photos.
I think those will got to the historical society.

My mother collected paperweights & I've added to it.

I'm sure if debodun & I were ever meet ,, we would talk about all the old things we need to move to new owners.
 
I have thingsā€¦all of sentimental value only. Now my guy? Well he has some things from his parents actually worth some moneyā€¦but not terribly old. It is the sentimental things from our parents and grandparents that win the day
 
hollydolly said:
I can assure you I threw it out. It wasn't a snap decision, and I maybe made a mistake and threw someone else's ring out..

I looked at this ring several times before I threw it in the bin... even talking to my long dead mother as I did it.. but I can assure you that ring is back again... and I could even post a pic here, not that anyone would know that it was my mothers ring.. but it definitely is.. it's the only thing I had /have that belonged to her.. she had no other jewellery...
Click to expand...
That's a great story. What I'd like to know is, if you are not mistaken, what do you believe it means?
 

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