Mom's Locket: A ,"birthday present for my mother from my father before they were married. It holds pictures of each of them in their young days. Mom wore it for her wedding. I wore it for my wedding. Each of my daughters wore it for their weddings. As the "family historian" Brooks will keep possession of the locket to ensure each of my granddaughters has the opportunity to wear it for their weddings as well.
Native American dolls: I began collecting Native American dolls in 2010 when I first visited Leavenworth, Washington and fell in love with one that I saw in a shop there. It brought back memories of my dad bringing me Indian dolls on the occasions he would go out of town on construction jobs. I'm not exactly sure if he brought them home because I liked them or if I liked them because he brought them home to me, but either way, I loved them. They were special to me and every new one I bought, brought back those special memories. As the granddaughters who receive them look at them, I hope they'll have a special memory of me attached.
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| My first doll purchased in Leavenworth and my Eskimo purchased in Alaska with 3 totem poles. |
Totem Poles: I began collecting totem poles because of my love for Indian lore. As a child, I remember my mother telling me of the Indian legend that they're waiting for "the great white God" to return as he promised. As I investigated the LDS church and learned of the resurrected Christ visiting his people in other lands, the legend took on even more meaning.
Cut Glass Beverage Set: Coming through the Haag line of our family, this pitcher and glass set came from Germany. Every time we'd have a holiday dinner at Grandma Hills house, I remember looking at the beautiful set and wondering why we couldn't use them. I was always told they were too special and fragile, yet they were made to be admired AND used.
Cuckoo Clock: I've always been proud of my German heritage and was VERY excited when I began taking German in 9th grade. I didn't just study the vocabulary, I studied the pronunciation for hours! I had to get it right. Since my dad was so aware of my love for German culture, when his friend Ralph Weber was going to Germany, Dad asked him to bring me a cuckoo clock. I LOVE my clock. It cuckooed once on the half hour. On the hour, it cuckooed the appropriate number of times and then played a tune while German children danced in circles. It even hung on my wall at college. After several years of use, it was wound too tight and wouldn't work anymore 'til Brandon and Brooks sneaked it out of my closet when I lived in Idaho and had it repaired. It's never been quite the same, but every time I hear the cuckoo and the little song, it brings back more loving memories of my dad.
Victrola: While I have my own fond memories of persuading my aunt DeeDee to wind up the old victrola in my Grandma's parlor, even greater are the memories of regularly sharing the magical experiences of bringing days gone by to life for my children by playing the old 78 rpm records: A favorite anytime was Rufe Davis singing The Old Sow Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBMBkeCafjQ
At Easter there was Here Comes Peter Cottontail. At Christmas, there was the original Gene Autry recording of Rudolph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11rwc6Sf4o
and then EVERYONE'S FAVORITE that I played each year for the first snowfall: Suzy Snowflake!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTS_Z67waA
Suzy was such an important part our family tradition that I received a phone call from Megan early one morning during the fall of her freshman year at college. she was sobbing and being hundreds of miles away, I didn't know what to do until I realized she was saying it had snowed the night before in Rexburg, Idaho and she was homesick for Suzy! So, I wound up the victrola and played it over the phone, which terribly confused the rest of the family when they saw no snow...
Mom's Rocking Chair: A child's rocker that my mother remembered as being hers, inherited from her mother as a little girl. She always called it the "cherry" rocker. When I was in high school, I retrieved it from my grandma's basement and my father had a friend "restore" it for me. In the restoration, however, we learned that it wasn't actually made of cherry wood and it had never had a caned bottom. It was stained in a cherry finish, the bottom was caned, and the rocker survived many moves and aided me as I rocked and sang to each of my babies before bed. Unfortunately, the rocker is currently broken with a couple of the spindles being broken off where they attach to the chair. I hope one of my children will love my rocker enough to replace the broken legs and make it usable once again.
My bookcase: Although it's not been in my possession for many years, my bookcase is extremely near and dear to my heart. As I was preparing to move into my sorority house my Sophomore year of college,I realized the bedrooms had no bookcases. So, I asked my dad to build me one. While he was a carpenter, he was not a furniture builder. My bookcase was ugly as sin, but, by golly, it was heavy, sturdy and strong. My father died 6 months after building it for me and became very special to me as the years went on. It was the closest I could get to my lifelong dream of my father building a house for me...
Vinyl Record collection: 33 rpm albums & 45 rpm singles from my pre-teen and teen years in the 60s and 70s don't contain music that's hard to find, it's the memories connected to looking through them, selecting the ones to play, dancing in the living room while cleaning on Saturdays, introducing songs that ended up having long-term affects (i.e. Brooks decision to name a daughter Claire after Gilbert O'Sullivan's hit song) or watching performances to some of their favorites that some still remember! (i.e. Daddy Dewdrop's Chick-a-Boom)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6PJCb1daug
And then, there are the memories attached to the children's albums and the Christmas records, Elvis, Bing and the family favorite, the Lennon Sisters.
Christmas Tree Skirt: Randy crocheted our Christmas tree skirt to match the family Christmas stockings and each year as we began to decorate the tree, as the Lennon Sisters would begin to sing Christmas Island, Samantha would don the tree skirt and entertain all with the Christmas Island Hula.
Christmas Ornaments: I think most everyone has memories around their ornaments whether they are Hallmark Keepsakes, special gifts, ones the kids brought home from school, ones the family made together or purchased on memorable trips. We had all of those as well, but probably the most precious on our family tree were the Disney ornaments that hung on the Zielke family tree my whole life, the most special of which was Thumper, who hung at the top center front every year (so he was visible AND protected from little hands!
Princess Aurora: Sleeping Beauty was always my favorite Disney movie and, consequently Princess Aurora and Merriweather (my favorite fairy) were a sure win as a gift for me, whether a figurine, a doll or ornaments!
Childhood Books: Books have always been important to me. My kids grew up with some of my favorites from my teaching years like Leo, the Late Bloomer or Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I still have my Mother Goose Book and a reprint of my favorite Christmas book, Santa's Workshop. Most sentimental, though are my copies of Disney's Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella that were always kept in the play cupboard at Grandma's house. My hands had to be clean to be allowed to touch them. More remarkably was the older edition of Cinderella with the inscription in the front cover, "To Mary Ellen, From Virginia" We have no idea who Virginia was, although she was probably a key link to my mother's past. She remembered going on a train to Chicago once each year to see this woman until the day she asked my grandmother who the lady was. She never saw her again.
Other toys from Grandma's house: Handmade beanbag clowns and discs to play a bowling type of game; Gyroscope (to me, it was always a top, that could spin forever) that we used to play with on the parlor floor at Grandma's for hours!
China & Crystal: When Randy & I got engaged the first time, we bought a china and crystal set. We pulled it out 3 times a year (Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas) to set a fancy holiday table. Over the years, through auctions, Randy added some Depression glass and a couple pf pink crystal glasses to add more options for the holiday punch.
Beatles RockBand: Not really a FAMILY memory, but a degree of nostalgia anyway, bringing the Beatles music to life through a video game!
Jewelry: While of little monetary value, my jewelry has immeasurable worth in sentiment.
Diamonds: The diamond and sapphire earrings Randy gave me for Christmas 1975 (Silly me, I saw the size of the box and thought he was giving me an engagement ring!) My engagement and wedding rings, my mother's engagement ring and my grandmother's engagement ring.
Pearls: The strand of pearls Randy gave me with matching earrings. He believed every woman needed a classy set of pearls, so he made sure I had mine. He always told me that I was to wear mine with a simple black dress to his funeral. As we're divorced and he's told others he doesn't want a funeral and he wants to be cremated, I guess I'm no longer obligated, but maybe I'll choose a day when he's gone, put on my black dress and add my pearls. Just because. The earrings each have a diamond attached. Unfortunately, both the necklace and one earring need repairs. Randy got Sami to give restringing of my pearls a valiant try, but perhaps being restrung professionally would be a good idea.
Opals: My first opals were earrings Lanie gave me to wear in her wedding. The matching opal necklace I got later has gone missing over the years. I purchased an opal and silver ring that I loved at the Sequim Indian Reservation in western Washington. Finally, a ring belonging to my great grandmother has two opals, surrounded by black pearls and four rubies.
Locket: In addition to my mother's locket, there is also one that belonged to my grandmother with hers and grandpa's pictures inside.
Baby rings: My baby ring, a simple gold band that I last wore on my pinkie finger in my 3-year-old picture. My mother's baby ring has an emerald birthstone. Hopefully, one day, a grand-daughter or great-granddaughter will be born in May to inherit this one!
Signet ring: My dad's initial ring R.
There's no special way to close this post. No profound words to pass on, so I will just say to each of my children or grandchildren, if you find yourself in possession of any of these items you will hold them dear to your heart, pass on the stories connected with them and work hard to create memories of your own with your families. It's the memories that are truly priceless.
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