Show and Tell . . . . Hidden Treasure

Ok, so I will show trash. At least it was supposed to be trash. It was thrown away. My father picked it out of the trash and brought it to me after his mother, my grandmother, died. He said that his mom had wrote in it and he thought surely it was more important to me than to the ones that threw it away. It had lost it's front and back cover in the process. Looked pretty rough, but then diamonds aways look rough at first. And this was a diamond! Pure treasure.

As you can see it is in very bad shape. Very delicate. But it did survive.
She used this book like a scrapbook. She wrote in bubbles about her family. From accidents and illnesses to births and deaths. She recorded the day of the week everything happend, not just the date. Every space is utilized. The last entry was in 1973. It was the birth of my first child.
But that wasn't the only treasure inside. I now own several one of a kind original photos, clippings, her notes on her family tree, copies of their wills and even handkerchiefs she had taken to church to have annointed in prayer for my grandfather after he had a terrible accident at work. The photo above shows only a small amount of things she had tucked away in it.
I don't take it out very often because I don't want to aid in it's demise. I scanned everything at first, then put it away safely. When I do get it out, I want to cry with sadness and with joy. I miss her very much and my dad saved her most precious treasure.


Submitted to the Carnival of Genealogy for September 1st edition, "Show and Tell".