Antique Stores . . .

This past Sunday my kids and I took a ride to one of our favorite antique malls. It takes about a little over an hour to get there depending on traffic, and when you travel on main roads that go to Washington, DC, you can expect a lot of traffic.  As we traveled we talked about what we wanted to look at.

Charlie loves old paper and in the mall is the best antiquarian paper dealer Whiting’s Old Paper. Charlie has been collecting ship memorabilia, especially about the great ocean liners. His collection of books, menus, post cards, etc. is mind-bogging. As soon as we entered the mall, off he went in search of more.

Tif and I meandered from glass case to glass cabinet filled with antiques and collectibles galore. Such as these old toys. Some we recognized as either knowing someone who had the same thing or sadly, that someone in our family had one just like it, but it is gone. This leads me to feeling melancholy at the same time annoyed to see what people have discarded. I am sure they had their reasons: the item was no longer useful, it was unwanted, tossed out. And so many of these things are absolutely beautiful, charming, and in my opinion, still useful. The things that really get me upset are items of historical importance, especially military possessions, vestiges of remainders from past wars and battles proudly fought and sacrificed made.

For example, why wouldn’t a family want to keep these swords, guns, helmets, badges of honor, even diaries telling the soldier’s story? Still yet there were photographs, autographed Yearbooks from military academies, medals, ribbons of distinction, and uniforms.

Moving on after we had enough grief, we find looking at old furniture very enjoyable. We marvel at the construction and materials used, imagine the house and room where the grand dining set proudly waiting for holidays meals and special occasions. Tif loves old Hoosier cabinets with their commodious compartments.
I enjoy looking at fashion items; fancy purses, jewelry and hats. Again, we ask each other why didn’t someone want that leather purse, rhinestone pin and stylish hat. You see many of these items in antique clothing stores and so much more online.

Oh well, as they say, one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

Yet there is one very good attribute that comes out of these emporiums of memories, and that is they may have what you may be looking for. Something to replace the one that was lost, given away or trashed. You can find just about everything and when you do you can place it in your family museum to either tell or enhance your story. And another feature these antique merchants give are lessons in how to display. Study the cabinets, the shelving, and the lighting. The careful placement and eye-catching presentations. Have fun going down memory lane, even though you may feel a bit melancholy. That feeling can make you actually feel grateful for the things you did save. So go on. Visit an antique store or mall, talk with the dealers. Appreciate the service they provide and then go home and fill your family museum with memories.       

All the Grandparents . . .

German & Norwegian and Italian & Lithuanian . . . what a melting pot of nationalities and heritage. So many different cultures, customs and legacies to be proud of and cherished. Tiffeni & Charlie are both fortunate to have known their grandparents, Tif longer then Charlie, and because of our Family Museums, their memories are safe and never forgotten.

From their father’s side, many Norwegian customs are still alive today. At Christmas time, their father makes a traditional Norwegian breakfast of Norwegian pancakes. Gramma Goesel loved Little House on the Prairie stories and passed down her books to Tiffeni who still has them.

From the German side, Grandpa Goesel was a builder and during the Depression, he made wooden trucks and sold them at the local hardware store. He made trucks for all of his children and grandchildren.

 

From their mother’s side, Italian food is the best. Most recipes have garlic, basil and tomatoes. Pasta is the best, so is pizza. Many traditional Italian holidays are embraced and celebrated.
Unfortunately, not many Lithuanian traditions have been passed down. But grandpa kept many letters and photographs of his family that were saved and with assistance from interpreters, many things were learned about this side of the family. And because Grandpa was in WWII, Charlie developed an historian’s heart with his interest in naval history.    

Here are a few pictures of the grandparents my children had the pleasure of knowing and loving.

 

Marvin & Gladys on their wedding day and during their retirement.

 

Bill & Dorothy on their  wedding day and during their retirement.

This concludes my posts for honoring grandparents.

If you do not preserve, protect and display your family’s histories and heirlooms, who would you be today?

                                         Create your Family Museum NOW!

Happy Birthday, Charlie . . .

28 years ago today, at 12:10 PM, my son, Charlie, was born. 

When he entered our world of three, his father, me and his sister, Tiffeni, he changed our lives. His sister was seventeen years old at the time and as she got older, it seemed unlikely that she would have a sibling. So you can imagine what a surprise it was when I found out I was pregnant. After an arduous birth and when he was placed in my arms, life was good and we began a new chapter in our lives that would, once again, bring back the magic of childhood.

Birthday parties, holidays and special occasions had new meaning and we all had a blast from the past. Beginning with the toys, we went from baby dolls to battleships. From tea sets to trains. Boy clothes were so darn cute, we wanted to dress him up all the time. And when it was time to go to school, all of us were so out of touch with what was going on in the world of education (Tiffeni was getting ready to go off to college) we didn’t know where to begin.

So what does Charlie’s birthday have to do with this blog’s platform? Everything!

As our children grew up, toys, clothes, books, etc., got tucked away in boxes, stored in attics and basements, regulated to a limbo that served no purpose. With every move, we needed to give away and dispose other things, each time a little bit of our family memories went too. But then, all was no longer lost because we created together our Family Museum, with Tif & Charlie having their own. And they are both grateful that their childhood keepsakes are being preserved and best of all, on display, to be seen and talked about, giving them much pleasure and pride.

So from Sesame Street, riding the rails with Thomas the Tank Engine, and saving Charlie’s baby clothes and toys for his future son, this is what having a family museum is all about. Keep the magic of your children’s childhood alive. It’s never too late to start.

"Preserve, Protect, Display. Create your Family Museum today!"   

   

Thursday Toys

Can you remember your favorite toys? Can you recall what toys you received on your birthdays and Christmas? Do you think you had too many toys or not enough of the toys you really wanted? Were your toys new or hand-me-downs? Did you respect your toys? Most importantly, did you save any of your toys?

In my husband’s and my side of our Family Museum, there are a few toys compared to our children’s side, where there is many times more toys. Now if you compare our side of the museum to the Grandparents Museum, there are virtually no toys. What kind of statement does that make? At first you might think sad, but it should not be presumed that they did not have toys. I am sure they had a few precious ones. What the sad aspect of this statement is that none of their toys were saved! 

I recall my dad saying he had a toy train. Where did it go? I remember my mom talking about a baby doll she called Teedle-Lumps. There is a poor photograph of it, but that too has disappeared. My husband recalls is father having sling shots and hunting rabbits with it. He remembers his mom had dolls her sister and she would play with, but not to be had now. However, in all this where-are-they-now, one toy was extremely cared for and given to my husband when his mom passed away at the age of 104.

This hand-made doll cradle was made of pine and fir wood and given to my husband’s Great Aunt Gitta when she was 4 years old in 1870 in Tromso, Norway. It traveled with her to the United States where the family settled in Artichoke, Minnesota. There it stayed until it was passed down to my husband’s mother in Illinois.  When she passed away in 2007, it was passed down to my husband here in Virginia. Can you figure out how many miles this cradle has traveled and how old it is. If you do the math, it traveled 5,194 miles and is 145 years old. WOW! Now that’s what I called preservation!

Next Post: Friday Feature

Child(ren's) Bedroom(s)

Many Ideas

There is nothing more satisfying then when a parent goes into a child’s bedroom and can see the floor. Trying to keep their room orderly is a monumental task. Trying to instill the merit of a neat room is just as difficult. There really is not a sure way to get them to do either. But one thing you can get kids to do is to show off their hobbies, collections and interests. A great way to do this is by having them create Their Own Museum. If closet space is not an option, here are several creative ways. First, ask your child how he or she envisions their museum. Get them involved and the whole family will have fun.
 

Factory-made mullion glass-fronted wall cabinets with solid or glass shelves (seen in photo) – such as those found in a kitchen – is an option to consider when planning built-in display & storage for the child’s room or any room in your home. Ceiling height determines how high to place the cabinets, but do not put it up to the ceiling. Make sure the lighting in the cabinets are ventilated. If you cannot do the job yourself, where you purchase the cabinets, they can recommend a carpenter. By having the museum in this fashion, bedroom furniture can be pushed up against the wall making floor space available. Sold through cabinet dealers and home-improvement centers, manufactured cabinets come in many styles. There are three configurations: base, wall, and specialty cabinets. You can place them side-by-side and stack them to create all sizes of family museums. Space allotment will dictate how many cabinets you can use and whether you can place them on the floor or need to hang them on the wall.

    

Another area to display large objects, like model boats that can take up a lot of space, is by putting them on the top of a window valance. Not only does this put them in a regal realm, it keeps them out of harms way. The valance also is great at concealing the top of draperies, curtains, and window shades. By constructing a wooden valance (a trim carpenter can scallop the edge for a more decorative look) with a solid top, is a perfect place for displays. For example, my son has a collection of large ship models, even a three-foot long Titanic. There is also The Queen Mary I & II, and aircraft carrier USS Independence.

Dormer windows are under-estimated. Though it usually is a place for a window seat, this is really a great place to showcase a particular item or items, and the space below can be used for storage. If the dormer space is large and accommodates more than one window, the space can be separated in sections, devoting, say a collection of dolls & furniture, dollhouses, large toys like rocking horses, baby dolls with their prams, etc., into their own display. This area can also be enhanced with low-watt lighting. If you install glass doors, remember ventilation.  

Once your child/children organize their keepsakes, they will have a great time displaying & showing their collections to friends and family. Their Own Museum identifies them, their accomplishments, instills pride and contributes to the goal of building a future viable resume.

 

Next Post: Closets & Shelving

Thursday Toys

I feel I am out of touch with what toys kids play with today. My two have grown up to be stellar adults (no bragging here) and it has been a very long time since I last observed what toys are popular today. So I did some research and this is what I found out.  Kids don’t want toys anymore. They want robots and computers. Here is a few of these tech-based toys that leave imagination at the doorstep.

The Kiddizoom Smart Watch they wear on their wrist that offers games, an alarm, and even a camera that takes and edits photos and records videos. I am sure this watch won’t be worn to school.

You know how kids are always scarred about the monster under their bed? Well, this toy gives a whole new identity for that monster. It is called Xeno, an interactive monster that can display more than 40 different expressions through its animated LCD eyes (scary) has a pull-out snot dripping from its nose (lovely) and can fart to order. (What’s that smell?) I have no words for this one.

Remember when dolls were quit, quite until you made the crying noise. With this new doll, the child needs no imagination at all. She is called My Friend Cayla, and after you read what she can do, I would not want a friend like her. She is an interactive doll that syncs with an Android or iOS device through Bluetooth and understands speech through voice-recognition technology. Questions put to her will be searched online through the paired device’s internet connection, and she will respond by talking the answer. Should a parent worry about what Cayla might say? Oh no! The parent can rest assured that many pre-defined bad words or subjects are blocked through a dedicated app that can unlock different terms as a child ages, such as age-specific sexual educational topics. And what exactly does the child do? Nothing, because Cayla also plays games, tell stories and discusses photos. Discuss photos? I fear what these toys manufacturers will think of next. Oh, they already have. I read that amid huge strides to make toys “non-gender specific,” children simply make up their own minds about what they wanted. What is wrong with gender-specific toys? It must be a generational hang up.

The way we played, our imaginations fired up the toys. We did not need some iOS device or LCD to light up the toy’s eyes. The simplicity of our toys asked or required the child to invest a lot of imagination in playing with them. There was a poignancy in that simplicity. Modern games can be complex and spell out lots of details for children to observe, but toys like a dollhouse, bike, building blocks, and paper dolls, teach instead of merely entertain. A sad point to highlight here is how many toys were meant to be played out in the fresh air while today’s children are very likely to be indoors.

Our family museum is filed with toys. While growing up both my husband and I had only a few toys, but they were well made and played with, and gave us the tools in which develop the skills we have today. What skills are these high-tech toys giving children today? If you know, I would enjoy knowing it.

When next you have a child visit your family museum, take some time to show them what a good toys is. Encourage them to use their imagination. Better yet, give them some paper and a pencil. That is by far still the best toy to play with.

Next Post:  Friday Feature

 

 

Thursday Toys

My husband, Keith, has many of his childhood toys in the museum. There is a pair of Colt 45 play guns, his cowboy and Indian figures, and his uniform from the Awana Pioneers. Space guns and an Oscar Myer Weiner Whistle among many others..

     Keith was the youngest of five children and coming from a big family, gifts were few. But there was this one wealthy relative who gave great Christmas presents. When Keith went to his grandmother's house one Christmas, and after the gifts were passed out, he couldn't believe he got a really big box. A big box usually meant a big expensive gift. Knowing it came from his wealthy uncle, Keith was very excited. He knew it had to be a great gift. Upon its unwrapping, he couldn't believe his eyes.  Big Max Electromagnet, arm-lift, conveyor. Batteries included.

     Big Max was a yellow robot with one red eye and a green light on his head. Three levers made his body, his arms, and one big claw move in all sorts of directions while the conveyor belt moved small objects that Max could pick up. Keith played with Max for years, challenging him to some strenuous maneuvers. Every time he looks at Max, he goes down memory lane.

     Sometimes, as he gazed into the museum, he would get misty eyed when he would look upon the wooden trucks and boats his father made. Marvin was an excellent carpenter. During WWII, toy trucks were not available. So Marvin fulfilled those needs by making toy trucks out of scrap wood for a local hardware store.

                    He also made fabulous remote‑control speed boats and airplanes.

During their summer vacations at Big Stone Lake in Minnesota, Marvin and Keith would race them. His father is gone now, but with nothing more than a light touch upon the toys, Keith can feel his father's presence and keep him in his heart forever.

The happiness Keith feels when he looks at his toys in the family museum is hard to discribe. In today's fast-paced world, it is a challenge to find the time to ponder on past enjoyments. But when you can actually see and touch those precious

toys and other childhood treasures, you are giving yourself a gift of time to enjoy life. So, go find your old toys and put them in your family museum and maybe take a Thursday now and then to enjoy them.

Next Post: Friday Feature

  



Tuesday Treasures

                            What do you treasure the most?

Person – Place – Thing. I treasure all of those and more. But when I asked myself that question, I had to ponder a moment. And as this blog is about creating a family and/or personal museum(s), I opened the doors to my museum and let my eyes wandered from the people, locality, and possession, and found that

I treasured it all. But what was my favorite? What was the one or more things that inspired me to start my family museum? Answer: My Barbie Dolls!

Now, don’t shake your head, roll your eyes, or let out a guffaw. I am sure that your museum has things that may provoke the same reaction from me. However, remember we are what stuff we have. We hold onto things that are dear to us, many of which are very personal possessions that do or do not have great monetary value, which is really beside the point anyway. Therefore, here is a brief story about my Barbie’s taken from a much longer account.   

The first things I put in the museum were my three Barbie dolls. I lost their original outfits, so I purchased designer ensembles that I found in the Barbie catalog.  When I got them dressed, I actually felt giddy with the memory of how happy I was when I played with them, dreaming about my future and all I can be and do.

I got my first Barbie when I was 10 years old. Ancient by today’s standards where girls that age are far more – or try to be – sophisticated and would not even think of playing with a Barbie doll. My circa 1960 Barbie had the latest hairstyle, the bubble cut. Auburn color and very fashionable. For the next five years, I lived vicariously through my dolls. What else could a teenage girl who lived out in no‑mans‑land (Mokena, IL) do but fantasize about what can be. But as I dreamed of my future, I didn’t realize that not only my dolls were in danger, but so were my rights.

On a dreary afternoon, certain family members who decided it was time for me to grow up, being I was disinclined to do so, kidnapped my Barbie’s. I will never forget that day.

When I got home from a rough day at school, all I wanted to do was escape into Barbie's world. I crawled under the dining room table . . . I had set up Barbie's home there because I didn't have a bedroom of my own to play in. My brother got the bedroom. (I slept in the living room, dining room, the kitchen, but that’s another story) . . . and discovered my Barbie’s and all of their things were gone! I got very angry. I went to my mother to find out who took them and where they were. Much to my surprise, it was my mother and brother who kidnapped my dolls. They were in it together. They said it was for my own good. That I needed to grow up! Stop playing with dolls. Read books. Do my homework.

I was outraged, hurt and confused. Right then and there, I wanted to put my hands on my brother's precious Lionel train set and trash it! Yet little did I know then that after asserting my rights, that moment started me on developing the strong belief I had in myself to defend and protect, which served me well as I went through life.

Thirty-eight years later, I found my Barbie’s, dressed them up in new fashion ensembles, reapplied their makeup, combed their hair, and proudly displayed them in the family museum. I felt a deep satisfaction for not only saving them, but also for preserving my dreams.

So take this Tuesday and treasure the memory of that day.

Next Post: Wednesday Wishes