Nana

I'd planned on posting about this last February, but somehow never got around to it.  At the time, I'd just been back to my parents' house and had spent some time looking through some boxes of my grandmother's things.  I didn't have a scanner, and the pictures here aren't all that great but, because I've realized that she was was the truest of romantics, and since it is Valentine's Day today, I thought I'd share all this now anyways.

Nana was born in 1904 and lived in Seattle, Washington.

Throughout my childhood, most Sundays, she came to our house for dinner, although I'd have to say that I'm not sure that I really knew her very well, nor much about her life.  I guess maybe you just don't ask those kind of inquiring questions when you're young, and she died when I was in my early twenties.

What I do know is that she was the only daughter of German immigrants and, like me, was the youngest of three children with two older brothers.  She, like me, also had two sons.  I never pieced this together until recently.  Of her six grandchildren, I am the youngest and the only girl.

She married my grandfather in 1930.

Photos from that day.  Check out the flowers, and all those bridesmaids, and their bonnets!

Newspaper announcements:

Meticulously typed records of their wedding and honeymoon expenses, their wedding announcement, a little card with the design of her wedding ring, florists' receipts, a small box with grains of rice thrown at the wedding (click for a closer look.  Really.  You just have to see all this stuff close up.):

Pamphlets and menus gathered on their honeymoon, and cards received for her wedding shower and for their wedding:

My grandfather died sometime in the 1960's, before I was born.  She kept EVERY single birthday, anniversary, Valentine's, Easter, Christmas card that they exchanged with eachother every year throughout their married life. 

It's interesting to see the way the styles of the cards changed as they spanned those years:

She worked as a secretary for Zellerbach Paper Co. during the 1920's  and then, all the years that I knew her, for a heavy construction equipment supplier, even into her early 80's.  Those were still the days of typewriters and dial tone phones and employers who kept people on until they were ready to quit working, regardless of the bottom line.  She always said she'd keep working until her boss was ready to retire, and that was what she did.

When I think of her, I think of her taking photos of us, always asking for just one more, "just in case."  How she would have loved digital cameras!

A handful of pictures of her and her homes, over the course of her life:

 

She was one of those people that saved practically everything.  You know, the ones who are called crazy old ladies because they can hardly get around in their own house by the time they're in their 80's?  To give her the benefit of the doubt, she lived in a pretty small house by that time, but it was chock full.  One might be tempted to attribute it to her having lived through the Depression but, really, they weren't wanting for money during that time, possibly because my grandfather was employed as a butcher, so there couldn't have been a lack of food or income.  They couldn't have been even remotely bad off seeing as there are piles of photographs and even home movies from when my dad and uncle were very young, in the early thirties, not to mention piles of presents under the Christmas tree in those pictures each year.

Letters sent by her and received by her from friends and family around the country, both near and far:

I know that all her collected stuff has been a bit of a burden for my parents to have to deal with and go through, and likely were a burdern to she herself over the years.  But, I have to say that I'm quite grateful for at least some of what she, and my parents, in turn, have kept.  I know my dad enjoys going through it all, and has whittled it down some over the years.

An album filled with postcards sent to her between the 1910's and 1930's:

Each year she would take each of her six grandchildren, alone, for a special day, "Our Day".  We would take the bus into downtown Seattle together, get on the monorail to Seattle Center, spending the day there on the rides and playing the games and having lunch in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, which we would always make last at least a full hour so that we could stay through the whole rotation of the restaurant.  We'd stack a pile of sugar packets on the windowsill, in some certain special way that we'd be able to recognize when it came around again.  One year that stands out from the rest is when she broke the heel off of her shoe while stepping off the bus so that we had to hobble around downtown until we could find someone to fix her shoe before continuing on our way.  Adventure!

Palm readings, dated  9-13-'24 :

Another year, instead of individually having their day alone with her, she took all five of her grandsons together for the weekend on the Princess Marguerite to Victoria, B.C. to see things like The Wax Museum and Minature World.

Some of my dad's things, including his Boy Scout bandana, his diplomas, and a little note they used to put by his plate at the dinner table that reads, "Remember. Eat More Slowly":

As far as I know, she didn't play any instrument but there was an organ that maybe her mother played?  

Sheet music, some from movies, exclusively love songs:

I do know, from a diary of hers from then, that she regularly saw silent films in the 1920's.  There is also a diary of hers somewhere, written entirely in shorthand, that's never been translated.

These, for some reason, I actually do have, so these are scanned.  Newspaper ads for some of those films, that she clipped out:

 

When I think of Nana, I also think of flowers and wigs and china dolls and travelling and the Rose Milk lotion that we bought for her every year for her birthday at the local drugstore.  I think of sitting and drawing a picture for her while waiting for her to arrive on Sunday evenings for dinner.  I think of actually going to the grocery store with her sometimes while she picked out a birthday card for someone.  She'd typically read almost every card on the rack looking for just the right one. I think of the cards she would send to us on our birthdays that always, ALWAYS arrived on our actual birthday, signed in her meticulous, curly handwriting.  Only, there were always two cards, one signed by her, the other signed, "Guess who?".

A tiny notebook she'd filled, in even tinier handwriting, with the lyrics from love songs, interspersed with little pictures she'd cut out, pasted in, and embellished. Dated 7-26-'28:

One more thing I think of when I think of her: her ringing our doorbell on Halloween night, dressed in a costume that always incorporated a mask to cover her face.  Then, when we answered the door, she'd step slowly and silently into the front hallway while we watched, holding our breath and wide-eyed, and not really sure if it was her or not, for those first few minutes before she revealed herself.

Card, dated 1928.  Exhibit Sup. Co., Chicago:

OK.  If you've made it this far, well, Happy Valentine's Day.  : )

Some of Nana's vintage Valentines, scanned last year, over here on Flickr.

 

 

Comments

[Sarah WG]

Wow. Amazing story and what a gift to have all of these treasures and pieces of her life. I love her 'song' notebook. The embellishments are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing. It definitely inspires me to pour over some of our family photos next time I am at my parent's.

[Sofia]

What a beautifull post! Such a way to honor your grandomother! I'm also a romantic person, loving anything from past genarations, particulary old movies, where everything was gorgeous! Thank you for sharing, I loved it!

[Georgia]

What a fascinating story about a wonderful, beautiful woman. Thanks so much for that. I love looking at old cards, letters and post cards and even lists and bits of paper. I have collected every letter and postcard I have ever received...with email that is very few these days. There's something about a personal history like that which is so much more telling than history books. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Cheryl]

Just wonderful. I wish my grandparents (or even parents) had left behind little pieces of their own stories like this.

[Angie]

Wow, thanks for sharing such an incredible history. How nice that you have such a wonderful record of you grandmother's life.

[Diane]

What a great story for today. She sounds like she was a great lady and a great grandmother, lucky you!

[melody]

What a great story about your gram... now in my late 30's I think the same think about my gram. I wish that I knew her better or more completely. I don't think mine was as organized as yours but she also saved everything, she would stick all types of memorabilia in her books. It's kind of neat to look at some of her books now and try to figure out what year she was looking at them. I love the note to put next to your Dad's plate that said. "Remember to eat more slowly" that cracks me up!

[Rosa]

That is such a treasure!

[Chery]

You are blessed to have these in your family. What a wonderful story they tell of your grandmother. Happy Valentines Day.

[Senja]

What a lovely tribute to your grandma. Enjoy your memories and her momentos.

[Claudia]

What an absolutely wonderful post! Very very sweet! :-)

[Susana]

WOW! What an amazing tribute!

[Brandy]

Thank you for this post! How fun it must have been to go through all of her possessions. It reminds me of how nice it is to hang on to things like this from my own life.

[kate]

This is a BEAUTIFUL post! I was teary several times reading it. What treasures all these things are. Also, the family resemblance is very striking.

[gr8aunt]

Thank you for sharing your Grandmother's story. I know you treasure your memories of her, and isn't it wonderful that she saved so many things?
Both of my Grandmothers passed away before I was born. I have always missed knowing them. But, like you, I do have some small pieces of their past that I love to hold on to. Sometimes holding a card or letter, that I know a Grandmother held in her hand, gives me goosebumps!
I really enjoy your blog! :-)
Amanda ~ Gr8aunt

[Melinda Gonzales]

What a wonderful post! She really was a true romantic. I loved seeing the records she kept of her wedding and all those wonderful cards.

[Nancy]

What a treasure to have all of these memories preserved. Some people may call your Nana a packrat, but I call her a historian. We have valuable antiques today because of individuals who saved everything. This was a beautiful post. Thank you for taking the time to share her story.

[Heather]

What an interesting experience it must be to get this kind of peek into your Nana's life, now that you are an adult and thinking of her as a woman, not just Nana. I would have loved to have the opportunity to see my Nana and Grandmother in that way. My Nana also used Rosemilk, a bottle of it always sat behind her kitchen sink so that she could use it after dish duty. I didn't know that it was still available. I think I will head to the store to see if I can find it and sniff some, to bring back memories. :-) Lovely post.

[blair]

Siri, this is so beautiful, all of it. My maternal grandmother was the one who passed on her love of crafting, gardening, cooking, to me and I only wish I felt I *knew* her as well you can know your grandmother from all the treasures she left behind. So priceless to have these.

[Kathy]

Such a wonderful post! Thanks for sharing.

[Krissy]

What a lovely tribute to a woman that meant so much to you. I think that it is lovely that your Nana saved all of those things and now you are able to share in her life even after she is gone. Thank you for sharing. and Happy Valentines Day

[Peg]

Thank you for that beautiful story. She would be so pleased with her granddaughter and her little family. You look like her, Siri

[Hege]

What a wonderful story!
Thanks for sharing.

[Toby]

That was a lovely post. Thank you for sharing the memories and photos.

I often wonder about what to keep and what to pass along. It seems difficult to know what will be treasured until too many years have gone by.

[michelle]

All I can say is, WOW!