What Have You Acquired From Family?

[AtomicEraTom]

My Height. My parents are both 6 feet tall.

 

[Drappa]

 

[Drappa]

Also, this stool that hides a sewing box inside!

 

[Silver Dollar]

All I ever got from my father's side of the family is arthritis, high cholesterol and male pattern baldness. From my mother's side, more arthritis, more high cholesterol, spinal chyphosis (spelling?) and acid reflux.

 

[Shangas]

First: I wanted to find a thread where I could share something really special. Something I inherited from my grandmother.

Second: Drappa, that is a beautiful sewing machine.

Anyway, I recently acquired something very special. This is my grandmother's belt.

My grandmother was Peranakan, or Straits Chinese. This means she was the descendant of the Chinese who migrated to southeast Asia (specifically the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia) between the 15th and 19th centuries. Grandmother was born on the 7th of May, 1914 in Singapore, from Chinese Peranakan parents. The Peranakan people were Chinese at heart, so while they never returned to China, they stlll upheld many of the old Chinese crafts, customs, habits, traditions, cuisine, attire, jewellery and so forth. This developed into a rich breakaway culture in Southeast Asia during the 18th-20th centuries.

The Peranakan were famous for INTRICATE DESIGNS. In their clothing. Furniture. Decorations. Jewellery. Even their FOOD (having prepared Peranakan food myself, I can attest to the fact that it is VERY labour-intensive to produce!)

The Peranakan women (like my grandmother) were well-known for their bright, floral traditional garb. called Sarong Kebaya, which was made up of a Sarong (a wraparound skirt), slippers, and a Kebaya - a close-fitting jacket or blouse.

To hold the Sarong up and prevent it from unwrapping, they would wear BEAUTIFUL metal belts, made of gold, or silver.

Granny was probably never rich enough to own a gold belt (that'd be awesome), but dad recently handed me her antique silver Peranakan belt. Here it is:

The buckle is removable. If you were rich enough, you'd have a collection of belts and buckles. Then you could mix and match them to dress things up.

Here's some close-ups of the links, the belt and the buckle:

I have no idea how old this belt is. It could be 70 years old. 80. It could be well over 100 years old. But I'm pretty sure it's silver. That it survived this long in the one family is incredible, considering what our family has been through.

 

[1mach1]

This 1960s Craftsman/Atlas 12" x 58" metal lathe. What a blast to work with this thing. Now, I really am unstoppable.

 

[Stearmen]

This 1960s Craftsman/Atlas 12" x 58" metal lathe. What a blast to work with this thing. Now, I really am unstoppable.

Oh, that is a beauty! I have a small lath, they sure do come in handy.

 

[1mach1]

Oh, that is a beauty! I have a small lath, they sure do come in handy.

Thanks! Handy indeed. I never knew what I was missing.

 

[rjb1]

I have often wondered how people can live without a lathe. No kidding or sarcasm intended - I have three and am negotiating for a fourth.

(Actually lathe number four fits this thread exactly. My dad had it in his shop and (unfortunately) sold it to another guy years ago. I am trying to buy it back.)

 

[fgradowski]

I got a bunch of jewelry and scarves from my great grandma. I also got a matching set of porcelain lamps from the 60's. Both are people in Victorian dress, but one is a man and one is a woman. I also got a really neat 60's lounger from her too, but I gave it to my cousin when it no longer fit with my bedroom. The lounger moved up and down sort of like the beds that bend for sitting up. It also had a vibrate setting.

 

[Bugguy]

This 1960s Craftsman/Atlas 12" x 58" metal lathe. What a blast to work with this thing. Now, I really am unstoppable.

I had a slightly smaller Atlas from my father that I sold before I moved. What a mistake - I could have since used it quite a few times.

 

[Bugguy]

My 93 yo mother is beginning to prepare for the next phase of life... decluttering. I was up in Chicago with her two weeks ago and came across two items that piqued my interest (I'm easily amused).

The first is this 1950's-ish arithmometer (?) a.k.a. mechanical calculator.:



We were "gifted" this used adding machine from an uncle in the late 50's. At the time it was a big deal. We placed it next to the B & W television.

The second was this 1918-1920 Czech vase/pitcher:



Just my luck, the collectable pottery from this company is after they merged with a good potter in 1921.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Acquired from family? Work hard, help your kids get started but teach them to pull for themselves, love the grand-kids.*



*and by that I mean stop everything when the third generation comes over, pay unbroken attention to them, and spoil them shamelessly.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I got a package from my Grandmother yesterday.

She told me that she was sending me these canisters, they have been in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen so long as I can remember. Unfortunately, big changes since Grandpa's passing has lead to almost everything Grandma owns leaving that house.

They were her Aunt's, then her Mother's, then hers. They are Czech and I believe from the 20's.

What I wasn't expecting were these dishes:

I never saw them before, but Grandma sent me a letter saying that they were a wedding shower gift to my Great-Grandmother, married in 1923.

 

[Shangas]

I just love how the largest two jars are Tea and Sugar. The two most important household dietary staples!!

 

[esteban68]

Great Jars there Tom! Agreed Shangas, get some tea in sheepish, good old English breakfast tea or Assam at a push.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thank you for the kind words!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

These cars belonged to my Grandpa Nakielski. Come Christmas, he'd get one, and one for me. Dad put up a shelf in my bedroom to keep mine on. He told me not to play with them, to leave them in their boxes, but of course, a 7 year old kid doesn't listen and I played with and beat up all the ones I had over the years of my childhood.
These were in the "train room" which is where Grandpa has his Lionel Train collection set up. These were on shelves on one wall and he'd always tell me "Those will be yours someday." I remember thinking that was really cool, but you don't think of what someday is.
When I went and visited Grandpa when he first went into the hospital, I'd say not even five minutes into the visit, he stopped mid-conversation with Dad and turned to me and said "Hey. Those cars in the train room. They're yours." I, of course thanked him, and before I could finish, he was calling to my Grandma, "Hey, hon. Make sure Tommy gets those cars, they're his, now."
I told Grandma I wasn't comfortable taking things out of their house and to hang onto them for me.
Grandpa went into hospice and we would go visit him. Every time, we had the same conversation. He would ask me "Hey, did you take your cars?" and I'd tell him "Grandpa, I want to leave them here, so we can go up to the train room and enjoy them together, once you're better." He'd just nod, or say "okay."
I think it was a mixture of feeling it was disrespectful, and feeling that taking them home would be admitting I was going to lose my Grandpa that was making it so I had to refuse.
In attempt to shorten up a very long story, here they are, all safe and sound. I also have the original boxes.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Very nice Tom..and great personal story about your Grandpa...
HD

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thank you. I love him more than words could ever say. Even with him gone, I constantly weigh what I do against whether or not it would make him proud.

Very nice Tom..and great personal story about your Grandpa...
HD