Memory Lane

The clean-out of Mom's & Dad's house has continued, which is why my presence has been rather scarce on the Steem–Discord continuum lately. In my parents' attic, we found the crib that I slept in as a child, as well as the vinyl-covered mattress that had a variety of cute, colorful designs printed on it. Of them all, I especially liked the one of the little girl sitting in a chair doing embroidery, with her faithful poodle asleep on the floor beside her. Simply adorable!

We also found quite a large stash of baby clothes that belonged to my brother and me. My favorite piece of all was the adorable little dress that appears in the following photos! Bear in mind that I just turned 64-years-old last month, so this little dress is at least in the 63 or 64 years old! I am not sure if it was new when I wore it, or if it had been handed-down from a cousin of mine who might have worn it before me.

It is in surprisingly good condition for its age, as most of the clothing is. The photo at below-right shows the wonderful pintucking detail that adorns the bodice, and the teeny baby-buttons on the placket. What tiny little buttons! 😁

The lace on the hem of the dress is slightly frayed in a few places, but still holding up well, all-in-all. If you look closely at the photo below, details of embroidered stars can be seen, stitched with white thread. Delightful details! I think I am keeping this darling little dress! 😊

There are plenty of other items in good condition, little baby-overalls, sweaters, and the super-cute little jacket shown below, which belonged to my brother. I've been washing and drying all the baby clothes this week, since they had been in storage for so long. My brother will probably keep a few pieces, as well as list some of the items for sale to collectors of vintage items.

We also found the Instruction Manual to my mother's first sewing machine, which she sold long ago (back in the 1960s or 1970s) when she bought a more current machine. Her later machine is the one I have and am using now.

We found other old items, too — one prime example was the following Freight Bill among a huge stack of papers from a box in a closet. It is dated May-1956, and contains the shipping details from when my parents ordered their first washing machine from Sears Roebuck & Company, which had to be transported via train from Jacksonville, Florida, to a railway station in Georgia near where my parents lived at the time. This was back in the days when the railroad was king of the cross-country shipping industry, before large trucks with semi-trailers were common on the roads. My father's father worked for Georgia Southern Railroad as a Station Agent for most of his life.

We also found many old photos! Among them were two of my parents, made during their senior year in High School, circa 1949. They were a good-looking couple!

Some of the other photos I remember seeing long ago, but there were some which I don't recall ever having seen. There were photos of cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and my parents from long ago. My brother kept most of the photos and hopes to have time to digitize some of them with the scanner attached to his computer. I carefully photographed many of them with my cellphone and have transferred them to a couple of thumb-drives for safekeeping.

And, the clean-out continues, with much more to go through, especially my own things — which desperately need to be pared-down.