What Have You Acquired From Family?

BobHufford · Jul 30, 2015

This was originally going to replace the workbench in my "bike room", but now seems destined to be a kitchen island down at the farm.

It belonged to my Grandfather and my Dad was ready to move it on. Not sure where is came from originally. Dad seems to think they had it in the basement of the shop when they lived in Oak Park, IL, but his memory is fuzzy nowadays. It could have been surplused locally from either an airfield near Fordland, MO or Richards-Gebaur AFB as Grandpa had been a civilian electrical contractor there.

The USAAF tag and the format of the contract number date it to July, 1943 or earlier. I need to find a database of contract numbers to narrow it down.

We will clean it up, but leave the original paint.

Excuse the junk in my storage space. The bench had been there about 10 seconds and was already getting covered up. Nature abhors a clean table-top ...

Bob

Bugguy · Aug 9, 2015

This pitcher has been in the family for a while and has now made its way to me. Its Ditmar Pottery from 1918-1921 - a few years too early to be collectible, i.e. be worth anything. Who cares, I guess. I like it.

The writing says: To him who loved a pretty girl; drink beer, be happy.
Seems like worthwhile sentiment.

...and its Czech.

V.C. Brunswick · Aug 9, 2015

From my grandparents (my Mom's parents)
Mid Century bookshelves

From my parents

Mahogany bookcase

Mahogany & cedar chest

Fireking mixing bowls which I regularly use

Bushman · Aug 10, 2015

Just found this hidden away in the crawlspace amidst a crate of old junk. It's my grandmother's old fruit cake tin:

Using it to store sowing supplies for now.

1mach1 · Aug 12, 2015

V.C. Brunswick said:
Fireking mixing bowls which I regularly use

I have the same ones from my late grandmother!

BobHufford · Oct 3, 2015

Much of what we have came from family. Two of my kids live in my wife's late mother's and late grandparent's houses. They are next door to each other. Everything they had (except for some clothing) is still there. Much of the furniture is being used, but most of the "stuff" is stored in the basement or in out-buildings. I'm pretty sure my wife will never let go of any of it (sorry kids).

Anyway ... every time we go over there a bit of it follows us home. Nothing of great value usually -- just something I find that is sentimental or "cool".

Today it was a phone and a couple of hats. The phone will not be used as we no longer have a land-line, but it will go in the "man room". It was very dirty, but I got the first layer off. I had to bring it home as it had my name on it.

I don't remember "Bob's Sport Center", but it was listed as a High Standard gun dealer in a '64 edition of "Guns" magazine.

The "Panama" hat does not fit, but will be displayed somehow. I may try to get the Hawaii hat back in shape to wear, but it may be a lost cause.

Lalin's Leather is still there:

MikeBravo · Oct 4, 2015

Bugguy said:
This pitcher has been in the family for a while and has now made its way to me. Its Ditmar Pottery from 1918-1921 - a few years too early to be collectible, i.e. be worth anything. Who cares, I guess. I like it.

The writing says: To him who loved a pretty girl; drink beer, be happy.
Seems like worthwhile sentiment.

View attachment 33765

...and its Czech.

What a lovely sentiment, brought tear to my eye. I'm intrigued as to why an earlier piece is less valuable than a later piece

Chas · Oct 5, 2015

I got butkus. Some money from their estate, sitting in mutual funds and will go to a down payment on a house when I can bring myself to settle down but my sibs pretty much got all the nice stuff from Mum and Dad when they passed.

I inherited a dysfunctional attitude toward relationships. That's about it.

Shangas · Oct 6, 2015

I love that panama hat!!

Joao Encarnado · Oct 6, 2015

My father passed away and I've got his shotgun.

DNO · Oct 7, 2015

380 years of roots in my country (thanks mom) and a decent head of hair (thanks dad)...I value them both.
(I know it's not what the OP meant, but I couldn't resist. I really do value them more than the few 'things' that they left me.)

AnyaLynn · Oct 7, 2015

I've a few things. All I have in the way of clothing is a crocheted poncho of my grandmothers from the 1960s, it's a beautiful bright blue. I've got some linens from the 1940s-1960s which belonged to the same grandmother as well, those are in storage until I learn how to take care of them properly! Many of them have been ripped and then mended, or two ripped tablecloths sewn together to make one.

I have a desk which my father made. He's a cabinet maker, and this desk was his apprenticeship equivalent of a thesis. It's a beautiful pale wood, I'll have to ask him what kind. It's a roll top as well, which I love.

The desk is one of my two most treasured items. The other is an apron, which belonged to my great-aunt. She was born in 1902 and passed in 2003. I'm not sure how old it is, but it's homemade and the fabric is most likely old curtain fabric.

BobHufford · Sep 16, 2016

I recently started collecting USA made bandanas. Cheap, small, useful -- what's not to like? I was visiting my folks and this came up somehow. My 82-year-old Mom said "wait a minute" and went to her sewing cabinet and came out with a project she had started years ago. It originally started out as four uncut 4 x 4 panels of circa 1950s "Elephant" bandanas with two patterns. You can see the separating dots where the cuts were to be made.

Giftmacher · Sep 17, 2016

I don't know anything about it, only that it has always been here. Material is cast iron. I cleaned it and put on the radio.

BobHufford · Oct 9, 2016

Was looking through the basement at my wife's late Grandparent's house trying to find a few things to put in the flea market booth. Found this memo pad holder under the stairs. It's in the kitchen at the farm now...

Doctor Strange · Oct 15, 2016

My grandparents had a candy store in Manhattan from the early thirties to sometime in the fifties. It was well before my time, but I believe it was somewhere on 1st or 2nd Avenue near the 59th Street Bridge. I've got a little display set up of artifacts from the store, most notably the "No. 25 Model" Hamilton Beach malted mixer. (We actually used to use it occasionally when I was a kid, but I'm afraid to plug it in now!)

We've got more stuff, including a big spherical glass jar for candy or pretzels with "Nabisco" and their logo molded into it, and an incredibly heavy National cash register designed primarily for transactions in small change. The jar is on display elsewhere in my house, but the cash register's still in my sister's basement.

And this is separate from the ton of stuff I have from my parents' 50-plus-year commercial photography business: I also intend to put together a heckuva vintage camera display one of these days!

jlw · Oct 15, 2016

This skillet and griddle were my great-grandmother's. They had been put in a box in an old barn and forgotten. I restored them. They were forged in the Birmingham Stove & Range foundry.

This was my grandmother's skilled. It was also forged at the Birmingham Stove & Range foundry. She used it to make the world's best cornbread and pancakes. Unfortunately, after she passed, the skillet wasn't in use and seasoning began to flake away on the bottom. It broke my heart to remove all of her seasoning, but I had to in order to keep it from rusting. I re-seasoned it and use it frequently.

There is one other piece from same foundry. My great-grandmother gave it to my mother upon her marriage. I don't include a picture of it as I didn't inherit it. In one of those great-family mysteries, my mother went to her cabinet one day and found her skilled missing, but there was a brand new Lodge skillet in its place. Maybe it'll turn up one of these days.

Giftmacher · Oct 15, 2016

Ditmar Wien petroleum lamp (circa 1900's)

VintageEveryday · Oct 17, 2016

Untouched for possibly 60 years, This 1945 Bulova Squadron 'B' watch was discovered by myself amongst my late grandfather's things last Friday. It was possibly bought by my great grandfather either for himself, or for his son on his 13th birthday in February of '45. This watch came with the original presentation box of luscious plum velvet, the original warranty, still vibrant after 70 years, and the sturdy outer cardboard box. Both of my parents' families grew up (and still live in) one of the watch factory towns, Woodside, New York.
It's running strong, and is on my wrist as I type. I couldn't be more pleased to wear this gorgeous work of art.

(A freaky coincidence: my mother purchased a watch for me off of ebay because she knew I'd admired ones with copper faces. When I showed her this watch, she ran to her bedroom and produced an identical one. However, her's was a 1947 squadron with straight hands. She kept the one she bought, and I have my grandfather's!)

VintageEveryday · Jan 6, 2017

I also inherited a 1952 Sheaffer pen/pencil set with 14k gold nibs, and a 1930s Wearever fountain pen (very tiny)

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