Goodbye to an Era

After having been away for more than 30 years, it was an emotional experience to be at my Ohio grandparent's farm again, where many of my best childhood memories were made.

Nine of us grandchildren, along with spouses, and several great-grandchildren, gathered at the farm over Memorial Day weekend to finish cleaning out the house. During two previous visits in 2019, cousins began the laborious task of sorting through and purging decades of accumulation.

Grandma and Grampa raised five children at the end of this quarter-mile-long lane. My mother, who passed away 19 years ago, grew up here, the youngest of five children.

Since I'm the oldest of nine grandchildren, and lived in Ohio until I was 14 years old, I have good memories of several summer weeks spent with Grandma and Grampa who passed away in 1990 and 1975 respectively.

While sorting through the detritus of 150 years of family keepsakes (including books and Bibles written in German from the mid-1800s), we came across a scrapbook with pictures of the house being build in the fall of 1946. It was beautiful!

Until a few years ago, a bachelor uncle lived here, until the age of 93. The property was neglected for many years. My grandmother was known for her beautiful gardens - flowers, vegetables, grapevines, and fruit trees. The structure attached to the right side of the house was her greenhouse that was added later. Grandma's iris that were found blooming were dug up to be relocated near family.

As a kid, I remember running up the concrete walkway to this side door into the house. It makes me sad to know the house will be razed.

Though it may not look like it in this picture, the barn, which was built in 1948, is still in good condition.

It was constructed with sturdy lumber and hand-hewn timbers.

Now it's being dismantled to reuse in other structures.

I watched Grandma hand-milk dairy cows in this space.

This was Grandma's chicken coop... where I wasn't allowed to go because I might unsettle the chickens so they wouldn't lay! A neighbor stopped by and shared that she remembered Grandma, and paid $1 for three dozen eggs.

Two finished quilts were found in the house... and tossed on the burn pile! But wait. They were not burned. Because this one has holes, it was used to protect a piece of furniture removed from the house and put in a trailer to be relocated. According to the third edition of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks, this is Monkey Wrench (Ohio Farmer 1898 - seems appropriate!)

I convinced my cousin to take this one. Those indigo colors are lovely, and the design is very interesting - four patches set in a diagonal block. According to the third edition of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks, it's a version of the "Radio Windmill" block called "Arabic Lattice" (Kansas City Star 1941). Both quilts are tied.

She has already washed it and sent me a picture taken after soaking and rinsing it three times! She said, "It was brown with dirt!" 

So, what about those 44 items I made from Grandma's vintage scraps? See previous blog post. My siblings, spouses, cousins, and cousins once-removed took them all. They couldn't have made me any happier. 

I also gave away two quilts. This "Plaid-ish" quilt, made from my scraps, is for the cousin who has been dealing with legal matters over the past two years. We are very grateful for everything he's done.

Another of my quilts was given to this sweet one month-old from my dad's side of the family. She's technically my first cousin twice-removed... a little doll.

I didn't bring too many things home with me from the farm because storage space is at a premium. Thankfully, a shirttail relative is taking Grandma's Singer treadle machine.

But I brought home whatever fabric items remained - several pieces of old clothing (like children's embroidered rompers) and embroidery - that were in a very old trunk. All those things are being sent to a Texas friend who will appreciate and use them.

Among the fabric items were 91 embroidery blocks, 9" X 9". Some had been embroidered - mostly redwork - and some had not. 

This clothesline peg apron design tickled me. Check out the bright aqua color of those peg people!

I kept these few things. Nothing is valuable; only sentimental.   

Living in nine different states, us nine cousins will likely not meet again. So, I've said goodbye to family, the farm, and an era my family will not experience again. Linda