True Family Heirlooms

[Anonymous]

I have knives I gave to my mother when I was 14. 30+ years later, they're too heavy for her, but still the best ones around. Not family collectibles yet, but they will be.

I also have some screwdrivers from my grandfather, with his initials etched into the head. I use them all the time; he's never have wanted them to just sit around.

Also, my grandparents cheap backgammon set, that they played on for decades. When I play with my daughter, I always think of them.

[Anonymous]

When I cleaned out my parents’ house, the first think I took was a wooden rolling pin that my grandfather whittled for my grandmother (probably in the 1930s). It is so smooth and beautiful. I don’t use it (because I really don’t bake) but often I take it out of the drawer and just rub my hands on the beautiful, soft smooth wood.

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily an heirloom, but when my father's mother died, my aunts split some of the flowers from her garden for replanting. I've got white irises that grow along the side of my house, and they remind me of her every spring when they bloom. From my other grandmother, I have a collection of felt Christmas mice. They're not necessarily something I would have picked for decorations for Christmas, but I love putting them out each year because they remind me so much of spending Christmas at their house during my childhood.

[Anonymous]

This thread is making me tear up at the office.

[Anonymous]

I have a few things that I love. One, a late 1800's American sideboard that, according to family lore, my great uncle's family moved from New York state to Wisconsin on a sledge in the dead of winter when they moved in the early 1900's.

Two, I have a metal egg container that my great aunt and my great grandmother would mail back and forth to each other. My great grandmother lived in WV on a farm, and she would send eggs to her daughter here in DC. It has both of their names and addresses on the front, and they would just switch out the return and send labels to mail it back and forth.

And finally, I have the old 1970's chandelier that hung in my parent's breakfast room in the house I grew up in. I always told my mom if they sold that house (which they did a few months ago), I wanted the chandelier. We're going to refinish our basement and I want to put it over a little table down there.

[Anonymous]

My grandmother died in 1940 when my mom was little. My mom was passed around to various relatives. Some how or another my mom ended up with 2 8" cake pans of her moms, which we know she had before she got married as she scratched her initials in the bottom. My grandparents were as married in 1926 so the pans are at least that old. My mom used those pans to heat everything in addition to using them for baking cakes. I've now had the pans myself for 20+ years and use them almost daily.

[Anonymous]

I've got my Grandmother's super thin gold wedding band. No one else in our family has the tiny fingers we share. I love it, and pull it out to wear on special occasions. I also have a painted portrait of the home she grew up in hanging in my dining room. But my most treasured heirloom is a magnet of a strange little doll with the wording "Jackie's kitchen" written on it. It was on her fridge since before I can remember, and was there until my Grandfather moved out of their home before he passed away. It has hung proudly on all my fridges since 2010, and I smile at it every single day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grandmothers garlic press. I will never part with it- works great and I think of her every time I use it!

I have my grandmother's citrus press! It works so incredibly well and I never see this particular style in stores. My grandfather was career army and my grandma bought it at the PX.