My father worked in a machine shop when my brother, Phil, and I were little. Well, actually, he worked there his entire working life. But this post is about when Phil and I were little.
Apparently, there was occasionally some spare time in the machine shop, because Dad made things for his children. There was a bracelet for me:
And there was a ring for each of us:
I would guess that my dad probably shouldn't have been doing these sorts of things while at work, unless he was able to do them during breaks and using scrap metal which would have been thrown out anyway. But I've always found it touching that he was thinking of his family and that he crafted these little items himself.
Of course, by the time I became aware of these baby things, I had already outgrown them. But there they were in my mom's little red cardboard jewelry box, keeping The Watch company, and piquing the interest of one little Linda Sue.
A relatively small selection of treasures from that jewelry box still survives, and most of those that I've kept have little monetary value. But, still...they are treasures nonetheless.
How wonderful to find these treasures...very cool that your dad made these for you and your brother...it shows how important you were to him. What a blessing to have these now!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lori. The idea for this post had been floating around in my mind, but Hilary's recent post about some things she had of her mother's motivated me to get working on it.
ReplyDeleteOh Linda, these and the watch are indeed wonderful treasures. How very touching that your father thought to make these items for his children. Beautiful gifts crafted with love. The watch is so cool. I especially love the photo of its workings... showing us what makes it tick.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary...for the nice words about my "treasures" and for the clever play on words about the ticking watch. Hope you and CA are coming along well with the packing up of her house.
ReplyDeleteOH how wonderful, Linda. Just having that jewelry is special --but knowing that your father made it makes it so much more special.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful treasures... Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Betsy
Thank you for your interest, Betsy. It makes it more fun to share when others seem to enjoy it, too.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing these and the knowledge that he made them for you. Since one good idea begats another, I'm thinking I may do some "treasures" posts too. ;)
ReplyDeleteSandra - The hardest part of doing the "treasures" posts is getting the photos. It's not as easy as you would think. But I hope you WILL do some posts about your treasures. I'd love to see and hear about them.
ReplyDeleteThat bracelet is so small. Part of his trade was being an artist so he diversified showing his pride and love for you children.I'm sure they compared things made at work.Very unique treasures.
ReplyDeleteOOTP - Actually, the machine shop that Dad worked in was part of a large truck manufacturing company; so crafting these tiny objects was totally different than the work called for by his job. It showed an artistic side of him that I never knew existed.
ReplyDeleteNice! I hope your grandchildren get them some day and if they do I hope they value them. Where we come from often determines in part where we are going.
ReplyDeleteGQ-My husband and I were in our forties when we married, and we have no children or grandchildren. My brother, however, had a son and a daughter; so these things will go to them or to their children, if they want them. Thanks for the visit.
ReplyDelete