Three Little Jewells

Ornaments

I’ve been trying to do the occasional post on family heirlooms.   These ornaments are not anything old but they are some of my favorites and someday my kids will inherit them so I thought a few notes on them might be useful.

I’ve got lots and lots of bird ornaments on my tree because they remind me of Gramma Mary and that gives me joy.    This one in particular reminds me of her, she loved Cardinals.

When I was 18 years old my parents took us on a two week trip to Europe.  Rothenburg, Germany was probably my favorite city we visited. I bought this ornament and the one below in a fabulous Christmas shop right on the town square.

I bought two of these Nutcracker ornaments the first time I took Mary to see the Nutcracker ballet.   One for her to have on her tree as an adult and one for me to keep, to remember when I’m old & gray and my children are all grown & gone.

I bought this beauty in Rome, in a little shop on Piazza Navona.    Mom & I went to Rome in January, 2003.

Mom cross-stitched a set of 3 or 4 of these when I was around 6 years old.  This one was always my favorite and she gave it to me to hang on my tree when I was an adult.

Another little ornament that used to hang on Mom’s tree when I was a kid.  I always liked it so Mom gave it to me.

This sweet angel was a gift from my college roommate, Yoo Kyung Lee.   She sent it to me shortly after she returned home to Korea.   I think she made it herself- she is very artistic like that.   There is a handwritten tag on the back from her.

Heirlooms: Carmen Catania

My maternal grandmother, Marvel Rose Barcomb Johnston has had a pretty hard life.  She was abandoned by her mother when she was a baby and raised by her father’s mother.     Her first husband was Tommy Keale.   She and Tommy were headed home one evening with the baby, Tommy Junior, in the car with them.   There was an accident on the side of the road so Tommy stopped to help out.    In the course of helping those involved in the accident, he scraped his leg on the car’s rusty license plate.   When the police arrived, they insisted that Tommy stop at the hospital for a tetnus shot.    The nurses gave him the shot and said he would have to stay overnight for observation but could go home in the morning.   Gramma left to take the baby home and put him to bed- she’d be back in the morning to pick up Tommy, Sr.   The hospital was just a few minutes from their house- as she was walking in the door with the baby, the phone was ringing.  It was the hospital.  Tommy was having an allergic reaction to the tetnus shot and she needed to get back quickly.  He was dead before she arrived.

A few years later, she married her second husband, Carmen Catania.   They had a little girl, Sharon.  Carmen was a Marine during World War II.   He was killed in action on May 10, 1945 at Okinawa.

Marvel later married her third husband, Lyle Johnston.   Marvel and Lyle had three children- Tammy, Joanne (my mother) and Ricky.

For some reason my Aunt Sharon was never much interested in her father or his medals.  In fact, I believe she sold his medals at a garage sale.  As a Marine, I felt badly that his service was not being  honored.  I was interested in learning more about his service so I filled out the required paperwork and sent it in the the Marine Corps requesting information about his time in service.   For some reason, they mailed me all his medals!   I had them framed along with copies of pictures of  him taken while he was in the Marines.   The lefthand picture is just of him but in the righthand picture he is holding a photograph of Marvel and their daughter, Sharon.

Heirlooms: Restored Barcomb Picture

My Mother gave me this picture of her maternal grandparents several years ago. There was no frame and half of the picture has reversed itself- so one half is convex and one half is concave.  I looked into having it restored and the estimate was $500-$600. OUCH.   No can do- that’s a  lot of money.    So, I ended up having a copy made and having the copy restored.  Cost- $60.    Ahh, much better.

Pearl  Mullen and Hubert Barcomb

This is their wedding picture- she was 14 years old  and he was 16 years old when they married sometime around 1914? 1915? 1916?  Not sure of the correct date off the top of my head but I do have it written down somewhere.

THE ORIGINAL (now stored carefully away in the top of my closet)

THE NEW COPY- Doesn’t it look great?

“Bert” and Pearl had one child- Marvel.   Marvel Barcomb went on to marry three times.   Her first husband died after getting a tetnus shot.  Her second husband ( Corporal Carmen Catania) was killed in action at Okinawa on May 10, 1945.  Her third husband was Lyle Johnston.   Marvel and Lyle’s second daughter was my Mother, Joanne Marie Johnston.  So Bert and Pearl are Mary, Nathan and Savvy’s Great Great Grandparents.

Heirlooms: Swans

Heirlooms

I’ve decided to start doing occasional posts on family heirlooms.   In our family I am the one who has always been interested in family heirlooms and stories.   If something ever happened to me, much of that knowledge would be lost.  My grandmother only has one sibling left alive and none of my grandfather’s siblings are left.    I worry too- that as I get older, I’ll forget where each item came from and why it is special.

So, these posts are really more for my own memory and for the children than anyone else.

SWANS-  Gramma Mary Caster Fairchild gave me these little swans when I was still a little girl.   She and Grandpa Sam Fairchild bought them on their honeymoon to Niagra Falls in June, 1942.