Shutting Down the Grandparent's House

[manaheim]

So I spent some time this weekend shutting down my grandparent's house with my dad and my aunt. I haven't been to the place in quite a few years, so it was kind of surreal going back. Interestingly, my grandmother is actually still alive. She's 94, but she's basically gone as her mind is pretty much not there anymore. (she's in a home)

My relationship with my grandparents has always been a little flaky, so it wasn't a huge emotional event, but it was still a little challenging. Fact is that my parents moved every couple years, while my grandparents NEVER did (nor did they ever change a scrap of the wall coverings, flooring, etc.) so to me, this house was pretty much as close to home as they come. Very weird driving away from it and knowing I would never EVER see it again.

These are all crappy pictures from my phone, but I felt like sharing....

The garage... who knows what wonders it holds... I've always been curious what was buried in here...



It turned out to be about 95% boxes with random Christmas crap. My dad and I started to laugh every couple minutes when we cracked open yet ANOTHER box of Christmas crap. "Oh, hey... Dad? Yeah. I don't want to alarm you, but... I found a box of Christmas crap." Was pretty funny.

I did find this little gem...



I mean really... a home just isn't a home without a Jesus nightlight.

So there really wasn't much in there. There was an ancient old two-man logging saw, which belonged to my great-grandfather. A few interesting old tools. A couple pieces from my grandpa's work (he used to be a type-setter back in the days when that was all mechanical).

Then we found "the trunk". It was buried in the way back and sitting under a toybox full of all my dad's old SciFi books he read when he was a kid. It said "a.s.a." on it... which I later figured out meant "Army Security Agency". The trunk wasn't opening for some reason, and I didn't know if it had anything in it, so I stuck a pole through a hole in the top and felt ... something ... in there. Felt like a dead animal, actually, so I sorta jumped.

Anyway, I did manage to get it open and was met with a WALL of mothball smell. My grandparents put mothballs everywhere. Digging around we first turned up some REALLY old pictures. I don't have them all captured on my phone, but here's a couple...

First one is of my grandfather and his dad. This, I believe, was taken in Italy where my grandfather was born. (BTW, these pictures are huge... like over 1.5' tall). (they also REEK of mothballs)



Next one is of my grandmother's family. My grandmother is on the far left. Amazingly, I instantly identified her by her eyes. The father is seated. The mother is the one holding the baby (my uncle Tony, who is now like 85 years old). Suspiciously my Uncle Frank and Uncle Charlie are missing from the picture. Not sure what's up with that.



There was also one each of the two parents of my Grandmother's family, and a picture of my grandfather's army platoon.

I'll be getting all of these framed and hung up somewhere pretty soon. Well, once they stop smelling of freakin' mothballs, anyway.

So we continued to dig in the chest and turned up a dress, which I identified from a wedding picture as the dress worn by my grandma when they got married. It was pretty destroyed for some reason. Not sure why. Essentially nothing to salvage there.

And then we turned up what is pretty much the thing that made the entire effort of cleaning the house out worth it...



My grandfather's WWII army jacket with his service "medals" (or whatever those things are called) intact and in place. (well, one bar was not secured for some reason- the other three were).

My grandfather was part of an anti-tank platoon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_destroyer_battalion_(United_States)

Pretty wild. Grandpa used to tell stories about some of the tactics of the squad. It was #@#$)* crazy-ass, but very cool.

I mean, sure, everyone's grandpa is a neat person, but seriously... how many of you can say that your grandfather dug a hole in the ground, waited for a tank to roll over his head, secured a live explosive to the bottom of it and then waited for it to blow up 30' away??? Hmm?

The patch was on the shoulder of the coat, and there were a couple spares in the trunk. My dad and I also have a couple of these each, as my grandfather gave them to us years ago. there were also two caps, a few extra "US" pins, etc. All in amazingly good shape and (shockingly!) moth free. lol

Anyway, I asked my Dad what he wanted to do with it and he wasn't sure. He's been trying to wind down his own affairs so I won't have to empty HIS house when he finally passes away. I offered to keep it and frame it and he thought that was a great idea. He suggested I also take and frame the flag that draped grandpa's coffin when they buried him, so I have that now as well.



The coat and pictures are currently hanging in the garage airing out. The garage smells like a mothball factory, but I suspect after a few weeks it'll settle down and I'll be able to bring everything in.



BTW, reportedly my grandfather had no idea where he had put his uniform and no one had seen it since his wedding. They had been in this house some 55 years, so we're pretty sure that none of these things had seen the light of day in at least that long. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

Anyway... that's it. Just felt like sharing. Hope it was interesting.

 

[pjaye]

These are really interesting, well except for maybe the Jesus light

But the uniform, flag and pictures are awesome . Glad your'e keeping those.

That garage is a little scary looking.

 

[IzzieK]

Wow! that was worth the travel going there...in my culture, grandparents are the mostest. I know -- I was raised by them. I am most interested in the uniform and the flag and like Barbie girl above, I am glad you are keeping them. I am sure your generation will respect the memories that came with those items.

 

[tirediron]

VERY cool Chris! Almost sounds like there could be the makings of a novel plot in there somewhere...

 

[baturn]

Nice to know and have mementos of family history. Very interesting photos and commentary.

 

[Warhorse]

I think you're very lucky to have found those old family photo's, and artifacts.

 

[manaheim]

These are really interesting, well except for maybe the Jesus light

But the uniform, flag and pictures are awesome . Glad your'e keeping those.

That garage is a little scary looking.

Ohhhhhhhh yes it was. lol We opened the garage and went "well... crap." lol

Wow! that was worth the travel going there...in my culture, grandparents are the mostest. I know -- I was raised by them. I am most interested in the uniform and the flag and like Barbie girl above, I am glad you are keeping them. I am sure your generation will respect the memories that came with those items.

Yup. I've spent some time explaining to my kids why it's important, and I think them seeing them hung up in my office over the years should leave a lasting impression. I don't think many folks fully appreciate how significant our involvement in the World Wars was, and what it meant. I sure as hell don't, and I've paid reasonably close attention to it.

VERY cool Chris! Almost sounds like there could be the makings of a novel plot in there somewhere...

ha... you know... that WOULD be cool. People who blow up tanks? Seriously interesting. I'd have to dive into military fiction though... hoooboy.

Nice to know and have mementos of family history. Very interesting photos and commentary.

Thanks!

I think you're very lucky to have found those old family photo's, and artifacts.

Yeah, I'm pleased to have a little something like this. It's amazing to think about how different the lives were of people just a few generations away from me.

 

[snerd]

Very cool. I was kind of the same.......... mom married 5 times, we moved a lot, but Grandma and Grandpa, on both sides, were the Rocks of stable living. (don't tell that robbins guy. he'll use it as ammo to buttress his position that I'm strange.) Thanks for sharing!

 

[terri]

I think it's wonderful. The photos and the uniforms are the most precious items, of course - so glad you got them out of there. The tools are probably great-looking, too. It will all mean a lot more to your kids as they get older, too. It's family legacy!

You might consider having those images scanned professionally. You could then clean them up digitally and make digital negatives and then enlargements in your darkroom and then sepia tone them or hand color them or, or.... oh, wait. That's the kind of crazy crap I do. :mrgreen:




...a bromoil print of the first one would look awesome, though. Just sayin'.

 

[manaheim]

Very cool. I was kind of the same.......... mom married 5 times, we moved a lot, but Grandma and Grandpa, on both sides, were the Rocks of stable living. (don't tell that robbins guy. he'll use it as ammo to buttress his position that I'm strange.) Thanks for sharing!

hahah... Thanks, snerd. I'll try to keep it quiet, but he lurks about a lot.

I think it's wonderful. The photos and the uniforms are the most precious items, of course - so glad you got them out of there. The tools are probably great-looking, too. It will all mean a lot more to your kids as they get older, too. It's family legacy!

You might consider having those images scanned professionally. You could then clean them up digitally and make digital negatives and then enlargements in your darkroom and then sepia tone them or hand color them or, or.... oh, wait. That's the kind of crazy crap I do. :mrgreen:

...a bromoil print of the first one would look awesome, though. Just sayin'.

I can box them up and send them right over to you.

I'd actually love to have a digital scan of each that I could work with, or at least keep as a "just in case", but truth be told, I love these the way they are. Actually... There are a couple stains on the one of my grandfather and his dad, but nothing serious, and the other one seems to be pretty spotless.

 

[otherprof]

Despite the mothballs, that was very moving. There is a Museum of Printing in California that has linotypes and other printing paraphernalia and might be interested in preserving and demonstrating the printing related items. They actually have old printers demonstrating the machines, and are trying to keep that history alive.

 

[manaheim]

Oh neat. Too bad I live on the opposite coast.

 

[terri]

I'd actually love to have a digital scan of each that I could work with, or at least keep as a "just in case", but truth be told, I love these the way they are. Actually... There are a couple stains on the one of my grandfather and his dad, but nothing serious, and the other one seems to be pretty spotless.

The stains will not improve, and will likely get worse. Once you have them in your possession and have some time, I'd strongly recommend you getting them scanned just for preservation's sake. If you like the way they look "as is," you don't have to do a thing to those files. You could always make copies and play with them down the road, but stepping in now to safeguard them is important.

And if I lived nearby, I'd be so all over them. :mrgreen:

 

[manaheim]

hehe... good suggestions. Any thoughts on good places to get them scanned in MA?

 

[terri]

hehe... good suggestions. Any thoughts on good places to get them scanned in MA?

Quite frankly, any place with a professional scanner that could accommodate the size prints you have should be fine. Try plain old print shops like Kinko's - see what they have and what they'd charge for a couple of high-res scans on disc. It's something I've had family members do when they wanted to send me images for re-working.