When my sister and I cleaned out our parents’ home, we
had to make many decisions about what to do with all the stuff. Which things
are truly “valuable” and which have only sentiment in their favor? Should we
sell it, keep it, or throw it away? To help ensure a future for our family’s
heirlooms, I plan to leave a booklet for my daughters telling the stories of
what they will inherit one day. (Not TOO soon, I hope!) With this challenge I
begin my book of Heirlooms.
is for those heirlooms that are “under-appreciated.”
Frankly, that could be almost anything in my house! But I will limit myself to
the silver.
My grand-aunt Helen Martha Killeen Parker knew she was
dying in 1981, so she labeled her possessions with the names of the recipients.
My dad’s sister was very close to Aunt Helen, so she received quite a few
things. Whether she thought she had inherited too much for one person or simply
had no interest in another tea set, my aunt gave the set to me knowing I would
appreciate fine silver.
I always thought the silver service was a wedding gift
until I did a little research. The pattern is Shell and Gadroon by Gorham
dating from the 1950s, almost 30 years after Helen and Herbert married. I found
a set online selling for $789. Unlike the set for sale, mine has a different
tray and does not include the waste bowl.
My aunt also gave me Aunt Helen’s silver punch bowl. If
you’ve never drunk punch from a silver cup, you are missing out on an
extraordinary experience. Silver holds the cold like no other.
Yeeaah, hardly anyone loves silver anymore. Hardly anyone
wants to bother with polishing it. They should be happy with recent decorating
trends that celebrate tarnish. While I do not LOVE polishing silver, I do not
mind putting in the effort. All that sparkle is reward enough.
Wendy
© 2018, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
My grandmother and my mother had lots of silver. It was my job to polish it all. I hated the smell of the silver polish, I can still smell it just thinking about it! When I got married I said NO SILVER! I did end up with a couple of pieces of my mother's. Oh and we got silver goblets as a wedding gift!
ReplyDeleteYour punch bowl set is gorgeous!
My A to Z Genealogy Challenges
My wedding gifts included several silver pieces - a bon bon dish, bread tray, celery tray (!!), jelly server, candlesticks, large serving tray (from Aunt Helen), and of course my fine silverware. The smell of polish has never bothered me, but maybe it is a different brand or has improved over the years.
DeleteLovely punch bowl set. I can remember the smell of silver polish as well as Brasso when we had to polish those brass items as well.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah - Brasso is not pleasant!
DeleteOh yeah, Brasso was bad too, as was silver polish! *pinching my nose* hahaha
DeleteWhat lovely pieces! I like my silver polished, I am not fond of the unpolished look that a lot of people seem to like these days.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit I can let my silver go a long time before I break down and polish it. If nobody is coming to my house, I can put it off. But it gets a good polish at least 2-3 times a year for sure.
DeleteWhen my parents retired, Mom used her silver flatware every day. It can't go in dishwasher because it gets pitted. She gave lots of dinner parties and used her other silver pieces alot, but I was long gone and didn't have to clean it. Yaaay!
DeleteI enjoy your heirloom posts! I started mine a couple of years ago but recently fell off with them. If the kids know the meaning of them and where they can’t ftom - hopefully they’ll keep them! My daughter would love your silver but unfortunately she has none to inherit!
ReplyDeleteI remember you were doing a series on heirlooms.
DeleteThat is a lovely tea set! I like to look at silver but only own the 2 silver goblets we toasted each other with at our wedding years ago and they both need a good polishing!
ReplyDeletebetty
I hope you drag your goblets out at least once a year to toast your anniversary.
DeleteYou were the perfect person to inherit all the beautiful silver....one who appreciates it's history, beauty and value. I couldn't use it tarnished either. I received a silver platter on our 25th anniversary, but my favorite is silver jewelry...not that I do not mind polishing and wear it a lot. Good Use for letter 'U'.
ReplyDeleteYes - silver jewelry! Love it too.
DeleteNice use of the letter U! I have a mismatched tea set of my grandmother's - when her house was cleaned out it was in the "junk" pile and I snatched it up.
ReplyDeleteJunk??? Curses!! I'm glad you grabbed it.
Delete