Grumplestiltskin

So while Medium and I were working on that project about our family together, I was spending copious amounts of time online trying to get myself back up to speed on the research I’d done years ago. There was, of course, more information easily accessed now than there had been when last I dug in. Among the yearbook photos, newspaper clippings, google street view of our family’s old houses, I found this on EBay.



My great great grandfather started that lumber company. I bid on it, and I bought it.

That was pretty great in and of itself, but as much as it meant to me to get my hands on this tangible artifact, this physical bridge to my long gone family, it wasn’t the best part.

When I won the auction, I paid for the apron and I included a note to the seller to tell them how excited we were to get it because the lumber company had belonged to our family. I’ve got no idea how old the apron is, but it’s old enough that the phone number on it only has four digits.

She replied with:

That’s awesome! I was selling it for my friend’s father so I’ll let him know. He and his wife are in their eighties and just moved out of their house of 50+ years into a retirement community. You could imagine the stuff that they had saved all those years. Sadly, a lot of it ended up going into a dumpster, but some items he just wanted to get into the hands of their rightful owners. So…I’m helping him.

Thanks so much for letting me know. You’ll be sure to put a smile on a nice old man’s face :)

That last bit at the end? That was the best part.