I’m spending two weeks this summer at my parent’s house in Illinois, going through the house, attic, and basement, sorting through 45 years worth of accumulated life’s possessions.
This is just a sampling of the treasures I’ve found in my mom’s attic. (And basement, garage, and house.)
My mom is recovering from surgery and my mom’s husband has moved into the next stage of Alzheimer’s and requires full-time care. My brother and I knew it was time to help my mom tackle this big job.
Jeff, my cousin and author extraordinaire on this blog, is helping us with this huge undertaking, and we couldn’t do it without him.
It’s amazing the types of things a person accumulates over a lifetime, isn’t it? Who would have imagined 30 or even 50 years ago, that I would be opening these boxes of items today, tossing some pieces away as useless, while others are seen as great treasures?
Here is just a sampling of what we have discovered.
Treasures I Found in My Mom’s Attic
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- My Dad’s Bible, from the 1950s, King James version of course. I remember him reading from it often. I was both fascinated and scared by many of the pictures inside, which are of famous Biblical paintings.
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- My brother Daniel and I used this Snoopy Bank to collect change all year long, which we used as spending money on vacations. There was no opening in the bottom so my dad had to cut the back of Snoopy’s head to get the money out, then he super-glued it shut again. Imagine our surprise to find it in the basement — full of change! Time to go on vacation.
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- I remember these hanging from our dining room light at Christmas time.
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- Lots of 1970s/80s toys. Some of these are classics. (All of these are for sale.)
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- Don’t we all wish we had bought 2 of every classic toy and kept one unopened? They are worth a fortune that way.
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- Daniel made this key hanger for my dad. It’s still hanging by the back door. This might be my favorite find.
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- Mom told me there was a pink bunny candle she put away when she started baby-proofing the house when I was a toddler. I looked through tons of boxes and never found it. I was just telling Jeff about it when I heard him yelling, “oh! oh! The PINK BUNNY!” Here she is, in pristine condition 40 years later.
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- This bell is part of my parent’s silver set and they rang it before all the special holiday meals to call us to dinner.
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- My great-grandmother filled out this book with her memories. We discovered she had a LOT of boyfriends (“beaux” she called them) and for the question, “How did you keep your soda cold?” she wrote, “What soda?”
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- GRANDMA’S STORY book.
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- Pages from my Dad’s Bible
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- Pages from my Dad’s Bible
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- This pretty tea set is one I had never seen before. (Currently for sale.)
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- I’ve been told wide-mouth canning jars are harder to find, and we found some, along with 1 blue jar. (All for sale.)
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- We were told this is an old French Chamber Pot. How it ended up in our basement, I don’t know? My brother’s response, “Good thing we didn’t eat popcorn out of it.” (Currently for sale.)
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- My 3rd Grade French class scrapbook. It’s me!
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- 1970s Baby bottles. Remember when baby bottles were made of glass?
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- My brother and I used these little cups for years.
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- Vintage bookshelf. (Currently for sale.)
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- Who remembers these? (Available for sale.)
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- Who knows what this is?
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- A rare find — Tin US Army Headquarters Training Center. (Will soon be available for sale.)
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- Old photos of my dad. He was the youngest of 8, and if you see a mischievous glint in his eye, it’s with good reason. 🙂
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- Handwriting always brings you back to a person. I’ve noticed phone numbers were only written with 4 digits. Were they dialed with 4 as well?
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- This week my kids learned how to use a record player. (Currently available for sale, along with MANY old records.)
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- Remember when Boom Boxes were this big? If you’ve got one, hold on to it. They are coming back in again, along with old cassette tapes and 8 tracks. (Yes, I’m serious. And this is currently available for sale.)
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- Remember when collecting spoons from vacations was a thing? Anyone still do that or have a collection?
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- Who remembers Viewmaster? (Currently available for sale.)
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- I had never seen one of these, but my mom says these make the best fried chicken ever. (Will soon be available for sale.)
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- Wear-ever Chicken Bucket
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- Pillow with poem to Mother
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- Old wooden army trunk of my dad’s.
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- Inside the army trunk were 2 wool blankets and this handkerchief, probably embroidered by his mom.
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- Old time radio
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- My mom’s husband LOVED his car magazines. Currently available — we would love to find someone who would enjoy these!
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- Years of old car magazines, World War 2 magazines.
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- Many tools from my dad and my mom’s husband’s collections.
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- My dad’s old tools. Many sold, some still available for sale.
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- My mom’s husband loved Wold War 2. (Some of this has been sold, some still available.)
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- Lamps, we believe from the 1950s. (Currently available for sale.)
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- 1920s German Child’s Rocking Chair, hand-carved with face of Santa. Currently available for sale.
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- Carving of Santa on chair.
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- Child’s Rocking Chair with Fruit (Currently Available)
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- Owl nightlight, my mom swears she’s never seen it before, but it was in the same drawer with the pink bunny. 🙂
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- Josiah’s having a blast making a huge ball out of Grandpa Dale’s rubber band collection.
Which of these do you remember?
Have you been through a parent’s or grandparents attic? What did you find?
My favorite thing found in my Grandma Feyerherm’s basement was a camel-backed steamer chest. Inside were the most amazing things! A set of vestments from what Mom figured were the 1940’s. Grandpa had parishes in Florence, Schuyler, Fremont, North Bend, Amherst and Big Springs, Nebraska. There were also, rolled up, large, ornate, BLANK baptismal certificates. Someday, I would love to duplicate these and perhaps sell them on Etsy. There was a jacket owned by my great-grandmother, and a doll set that was my grandmother’s. Such cool stuff!
Wow, that is really cool stuff. I would love to see a photo of some of those items, Christine.
Sara and Jennette, this is just priceless! I, too, recognized the hair dryer. I wish I could talk Lisa into a trip to Decatur, but she’s too busy. I can just feel all the emotions your having! God’s blessings on your sale. And I’ll be praying for you and your husband! Hope you make lots of moola! And, Sara, how much money was in the Snoopy? Hilarious!
We haven’t counted the money in Snoopy yet, but it was 3 plastic ice cream buckets full. 🙂
I remember the mystery item! I would sometimes have to sit under it after having my hair washed and put in rollers. A hair dryer!
Many items brought back memories for me, too! You do have some treasures- and should have no trouble selling them yourself. Where are you in IL? My parents have antique/resale shop near Godfrey, IL and sometimes buy estates.
Email me if you want more info on them.
Blessings on your work!
Deb
I had the same thought about the hair dryer. Recognized it immediately.
I thought people would get a kick out of seeing the hair dryer!
We are in Decatur, IL. We are having another sale this weekend (August 5-6) but certainly might be interested in connecting with your parents. Thank you Deb.
Nothing here surprised me, but some of it caught my heart off guard.
I know what you mean!