My cleaning and organizing this morning brought not only less clutter and dust but tears! I came across this envelope:
Dad’s Memorabilila
In the envelope are lots of papers my dad saved.
Memories
Above is the Application for Homestead Exemption for 1939. It’s funny that they list the people who depend on the head of the family for support – a wife, a daughter and 4 sons. One son had already left and one daughter was already married. Of the four boys, my dad is the only one still living. Both girls are still alive.
115 acres with a house and the assessed value of the homestead was $730. Another thing that touched me . . I never met that grandpa and there’s his signature.
What really got me was this:
Letter
It’s the envelope containing a letter my dad wrote to his brother, Charles, and it was returned because Charles had been killed in the war. I can’t rad the date on the envelope but there are several letters to Charles that are in the manila envelope and they are all dated 1944 or 1945 so dad would have been 10 – 12 at the time. A couple of the letters were written either by my aunt or my grandma – definitely not my dad’s handwriting. I can’t bring myself to read the letters. That seems like an invasion of privacy.
I’m guessing someone came and told them Charles had been killed but it just seems so sad to get that envelope back, marked “Deceased”. I had to wonder if the ink smears were from tears!
May we never forget the sacrifices of those who served!
War Ration Book
There’s my dad’s War Ration Book #3. Dad was 9 at the time.
On the back of the book, it has instructions and all kinds of info. One thing it says:
“This book is your Government’s assurance of your right to buy your fair share of certain goods made scarce by war. Price ceilings have also been established for your protection. Dealers must post these prices conspicuously. Don’t pay more.
“Give your whole support to rationing and thereby conserve our vital goods.”
Then it says:
“If you don’t need it, DON’T BUY IT.”
Chances are we will never face this in our lifetime but can you imagine living through this? My mom and dad’s parents lived on farms so they were probably much better off than most.
Well, I’ve used up all the Kleenex in the sewing room so it must be time to head back to the house!
sharon says
You are so right to be sad. We recently worked on Dad’s genealogy and had a lot of stories to go with. It does take you right back there in many ways and makes you wish you could have helped with some of the issues. Oh, how blessed we are!
Liz says
My mom died in 2008 and there are still papers I can’t go through. I found the love letters from Dad to her. I also found stuff from the war, so someday, I’ll write it all up since Mom was a war bride, get the papers, photos, coins, uniforms, dresses, etc and pack it in Dad’s military trunk and visit the WW2 museum in New Orleans. I hope they will take it as a curated collection of one family.
You may want to think about a plan to donate the items to a museum, especially a community historical museum. When my aunt died, there were a lot of items & photos of her town which we didn’t have any attachment to, but the local historical museum was thrilled to have them. The younger generation is not as attached to physical items and may not appreciate all of it. Note that you really need to ask before you donate since accepting a donation places a responsibility on the museum to maintain the items.
Judy Struck says
So touching Judy. I do know my ancestors lived through many hardships. We have way too much and some of us still complain. Today your post made me very thankful.
Dottie says
How very, very touching……thanks for sharing. AND, may we NEVER forget the sacrifices made by so many…..
Jean says
I remember the ration books. We lived on a farm, but sugar and gas were the things that limited us. I got tired of using dark Karo instead of sugar in our baking and I can still remember that taste.We always had a big garden canned and cooked on a wood fired cook stove, and had one heat register in the main room of the house without plumbing.We did have a kerosene 3 burner stove we used in the summer time, but it was still HOT. Bedrooms weren’t heated, but we had wood to fire the furnace and the stove. I carried many buckets of water from the well with a hand pump, which we had to prime sometimes.
Dot says
We didn’t live on a farm, but my mother had a vegetable garden and raised chickens at our house in a suburb of Los Angeles. I remember that shoes were also rationed due to a shortage of leather and rubber. My sister and I got all the family’s coupons because our feet were growing. Meat was rationed, and even if you had a coupon, the butcher was often out of everything. Sometimes our dinner would be a bowl of hot milk with cubes of buttered toast.
Summer Daisy says
So very touching?Hugs?
Vicky Ross says
Loved this entry. Just turned on my computer and I’m already crying. Too early for this. I just finished reading Killing The Rising Sun and the “deceased” letter just hit me hard. That generation really did save the world. thank you for sharing
Susan says
We also have many boxes of things like this. But what do we do with them? I hate to throw away but I really do need to pare our belongings down. My kids are not interested in saving more stuff. I also have collectables from both sets of parents and grandparents. Help.
Good luck with your cleaning of sewing room. It encourages me to tackle mine.
Ranch Wife says
I’m glad you shared these treasures with us, Judy. I am fascinated by people’s stories and I think they need to be written down and shared. My Dad was born and raised in Germany in 1937 and my Mom in Austria in 1939. I treasure the stories they’ve shared. My Dad began to write his story, but he passed away before he could finish it.
Good for you for keeping these pieces of history that connect you to your past and thank you for sharing them with us.