collector or trash item

 I have been accused, many times, of never throwing anything away and that always leaves me with a negative feeling about myself.  Perhaps some of you might relate to this.  But I still tend to keep 'stuff.'

The other day I happened upon a news article from the long ago past in the late 1800's about a spot in Indiana called the Hoosier Slide on the shores of Lake Michigan.   It was a 200 ft. sand dune where people came to slid down, a recreation for the people of the area and even brought in tourists.  Then glass manufacturers discovered that the sand was perfect for making glass.  The Ball canning company, and others, came in and loaded up the sand for their glass factories.  This went on until the Hoosier Slide sand dune was no more.  Gone! The article spoke of the canning jars produced at that time, with the Ball label now being a collectors item and having a tint of blue in the class. 

It suddenly occurred to me that I had a collectors item almost within arm's reach.  It was sitting on a shelf behind my office area, an old fashioned jar just the right shape to hold a light that I had glued together.  There it was, with some flaw bubbles in the glass, an indication of its age, a thin neck that no current lid would fit, with a slight blue tint and the lettering of Ball on its side.   How many times had I come close to tossing this?  And once I am no longer here to appreciate it I am fairly certain its value will vanish in the eyes of those cleaning up after me.  Still it is rather fun to think, however accidentally,  I have a collector's piece.

Since I have ancestors who were employed in the glass factories in Lancashire, England, this is another plus to having my jar.  And the story of the Hoosier Slide?   It did disappear but in 1966 the site was preserved land,  the other sand dunes were saved. The area is now part of the Indiana Dunes National Park.

Researchin, on and on

 I have become a researcher.  In some ways it was quite accidental.  Other than the need to do research for college papers so very long ago the main motivation  for any type of research in my life was my interest in genealogy.  As a child I was always asking my elders about their earlier lives.  It made the best stories, and I like that even now, both the hearing and the writing.

When I would ask my Dad to tell me stories about when he was little he would always respond with, "Do you mean when I was a little girl?"  with a big grin as he teased before coming up with a yarn to satisfy me.   He had grown up on a ranch, doing ranch life and was a cowboy, even for some years after my birth. By the time I was five my dream was to become a rancher, with or without a husband. 

When my maternal grandfather passed away for a time I slept at my grandmother's house to ease her loneliness.  She had some to the United States at the age of 19 from England, taking care of the household in Wyoming for her mining father, brother and two uncles.  Each night she would regale me with visions of the hedges, the streets, her family that she had left across the Atlantic, never to return. She had gone to school, she had been a seamstress apprentice(and did not like it), she had walked the streets of Liverpool, made the voyage as a young woman.  There were lots of memories to entertain me. 

As a young mother my interest in my ancestors was still very keen.  Now I was involved in doing genealogy.  Stories of my great-grandmother had always intrigued me, and even more so her mother.  At this point I knew her maiden name and that she had come to New York state from England--that about covered what I knew.  I went to a genealogical library in a nearby town, with 4 children in tow,  hoping to find out more.  In those days I had to use a library viewer and check out a film that had census records.  Riding herd on my little girls while seeking, it took some time.  I was rewarded for my efforts on this visit.  I found her, my Jennie, in New York, at age 17---the last name was correct, but the rest was confusing.  Judging from that record she was living with a family by the name of Hindle---a widowed woman who had several children.  Was Jennie a servant?  What more could I learn?  I did learn, with more researching as years went by, but that is another story.

I have continued to do research on my ancestors and it continues to fascinate me.  But now I also do research on both the people and the place where I have lived for my married life.   For the past five years I have written two historical columns weekly for the local county newspaper, going back a century or more in time on a variety of subjects and events.  Sometimes I feel like I know the residents and settlers of a century ago better than I do those around me at this time.  This expanded research keeps me learning and the assistance of technology is wonderful beyond belief.  When I think of the college days, and the first concentrated efforts with genealogy I am happy that my interest did not evaporate due to the difficulty of that time.  For me, research is fun!

Plants can bond

 

My Christmas cactus bloomed! Having just had it re-potted I wasn’t sure whether it could manage the process this year. You must understand that this plant has been part of my entire married life. It sat on top of my mother-in-law’s dryer in those first years. Buds would generally start appearing in late November.  Before long the to of her dryer would be a beautiful bouquet.    

            She lived within walking distance and we were the best of friends. She had a green thumb for plants, indoors or outside, and this was a booming cactus when the two of us became acquainted.  I don't know how many years she had it before my arrival.   Not doubt it has a history because Grandma had been a homemaker for nearly thirty years before I arrived on her scene.                  

            Many years later as she was moving into a nursing facility  she gave the plant to a friend who had admired it.  Only a year or two later that friend gave it back to me when they moved from the community.  Lucky me. 

            It has bloomed in my living room now for nearly twenty years.  I have taken many cuttings from it and shared them with others, but I have the Grandma plant. It was late to start blooming this year, but by mid-December the blooms were going, and it still is. Quite often this goes on until April and then it is due for another pruning and I am ready to share cuttings again. It is an old-fashioned cactus, not a hybrid, and it fits me perfectly. Many good memories go with the blooms,  the cactus and me, we understand each other.