REMEMBERING GRANDPA

For all those who read my past blog about getting my attic cleaned out, I now am going through tote boxes and finding treasures.

Today I went through a box that had my mother's things in it. After she died, a lot of items just got boxed up and set aside because I couldn't go through them at the time.

It was ironic that today is when I found a small white box and when I opened it, it brought back many memories. In the box was the "In Memoriam" signature book from my grandfather's funeral. I sat down to read it and inside the front cover were several items my mother saved, like newspaper clippings and a photo of his headstone. I kept starring at the photo, and I finally figured out why I was so transfixed. My grandfather died June 5, 1967 and today is June 5. I found his funeral memorial book 46 years to the day after his death. I was at the funeral and memories came flooding back.

Under the white box I found an old wooden cigar box. It is marked "Webster Tobacco Company, Inc., Albany - Mild as Mountain Air" cigars. My grandfather smoked cigars - this brand. He used to buy them at The Club, where men used to gather to play cards and buy smokes uptown. The Club was located next door to the Courtview Restaurant. I remember he took me in there once when I was a little girl.

Also in the tote was a photo of my grandparents house on Hinde Street, where I spent a lot of time growing up. The photo was taken back in the 1940s when my father purchased the house for my grandparents to live in after they sold their farm on S.R. 41 South, where they had lived for many years. Grandpa was a farmer most of his life. After they moved into town, he became one of the first real estate brokers in the area and had an office at 105 1/2 East Court Street. The paperwork I found stated that my grandfather was one of the organizers of the former Tri-County Real Estate Board, where he also served as president. The board included Fayette, Clinton and Highland counties.

I think back over my working career and remember when I was living in South Carolina some 40 years ago. I took a real estate class, passed the state licensing test, and got my real estate sales license, which I held until I moved to Ohio. I was associated with a real estate office and worked that job part-time.

I guess I followed in grandpa's footsteps afterall. A second example of doing so was when I ran for City Council in 2002 here in town, but I didn't know it then. Many years ago, someone was renovating a house on Market Street and a friend contacted me because they found a business-type card that had fallen behind a mantle piece many years earlier. It was a pass-out card for my grandfather who was running for City Council somewhere in the late 1940s or early 1950s. I never knew that about him, until I was given the card. I still have that card.

Memories. Good memories! What treasures will I find next?