Sober find in the Antique Cabinet 🍂

*Trigger Warning for Family*

This post may be upsetting to read, so fair warning.

     Anytime you decide to dig through history, you are bound to find some sobering items. I wasn't sure what I was going to come across in the cabinet, but I wasn't prepared for this. It even threw Mark for a loop & he had to take a few minutes. And to the naked eye and uninformed person, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Some might have just boxed it up to get rid of it or even thrown it away, which is what I was originally going to do until I looked it over.

    This is a wick that is used in oil lanterns and lamps. And as you can see, it contained asbestos. Most everything did at some point. It was considered a "brilliant" construction material. Not only was it cheap and widely available in nature, but it was also Fire Resistant. So naturally, when using a flammable substance like Oil, it's smart to have something that would keep that fire under control. And since Asbestos is very fibrous, it could be woven into just about anything that needed to be fire-resistant.

Photo from Ebay listing of the wick outside the box

    But of course, as most of you know now, asbestos was also very dangerous to use. It is known as the "hidden killer". It is what took my dad's life. So of course, my first instinct was to trash this deadly box, as it did still contain the wick. But then I turned it over to read the side of the box.

    My heart just sank and I couldn't breathe for a minute. Now, while most of you know that my dad had passed from Mesothelioma, what you probably didn't know is that he worked at the factory Tallman-McCluskey, along with his mom (my grandma). They were an asbestos manufacturing factory. Raw asbestos would come into the factory, and they would turn it into all kinds of materials; one of them being this wick. 
    Really it was just a reminder of the reality I currently faced. Here I was processing through my dad's antiques from his cabinet, as he was no longer living, because his life was taken from him by Mesothelioma, a cancer that is caused by asbestos fibers getting trapped in the lungs (fibers that float so lightly in the air that it was used as snow in movies) that he contracted in his life from working many jobs where asbestos was used, including Tallman-McCluskey of whose product I am currently holding in my hand and wouldn't have found if my dad wouldn't have died from being exposed to a product like this. I can hear Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic" playing in my head.
    So instead of throwing it away, I wrapped it up in plastic and placed it inside of a box. As a reminder. Not that I really need one. But with all the companies that are trying to cover up and have been trying to cover up the fact asbestos kills, or trying to hide the fact their products contain asbestos, I want proof. I'm saving the proof. For legal reasons, I can't discuss details of his lawsuits with the companies responsible, but we are still fighting with a few because they want proof. Proof asbestos was used and they are responsible. So yeah, after dealing with that, I plan on keeping this. 
    I was doing ok going through Dad's cabinet until I came to that. Like I said, it hit Mark hard and he had to walk away. But we kept on. And we did find some really neat things in Dad's cabinet. See my other post, Exciting Finds in the Antique Cabinet. I really have been waiting to go through this cabinet for many years because it is just so full of history. Good and bad. So I will do my best to preserve everything I can, including the stories behind the items. So when it comes time for me to pass these items down, my child will know and not wonder like I am with my dad. Because these stories need to be shared. And never forgotten.

Miss you Dad...

Exciting Finds in the Antique Cabinet 🍂

     Well, we finally finished going through my Dad's antique cabinet in his basement. I'm happy to report nothing fell about when we opened the doors. But let me tell you, I was scared. As you can see in the photo, it was filled to the brim, ready to just burst out. My daughter likened it to a game of Jenga. 

    I don't know how long Dad had been collecting these pieces, but I do remember as a kid looking at this cabinet dying to go through it. Yes, even as a kid I viewed this as a treasure hunt. So to be able to go through this was something I'd been waiting to do for 30 years or so. I just wish Dad could have been here to go through it with me. I'd asked him multiple times about this cabinet and the significance of the items inside, but he just said, Oh it's just stuff I collected over the years.
    Well, after going through it, I can say some of it is not "just stuff". I found a few interesting and exciting items buried deep in this cabinet that I REALLY wish I could talk to Dad about. And a few items that I was just so happy to find. So I wanted to share a few of these items with you. While they may not be of any monetary value, they have significant value to me.

This is a clipping of a newspaper article sent in by Aunt Patty
George is my grandpa

This little picture appears to be a birthday gift from Clemantine to Anna.

It's possible this was from Great Great Aunt Clemmie Strawhun to my Grandma Ann Fuchs, but that's unconfirmed at the moment. 

This I was most excited to find!

This is my Papa Fuchs taken during WWII in Ventura, California

Coral Court Motel Matchbook

My dad lived at the Coral Court Motel for a time

    Now obviously these are just a couple items out of hundreds of items I looked through. There were a ton of collectible Beer Bottles, some coffee tins, old beer cans, soda bottles, kitchen items, and some other odds and ends. I found a couple things that made me smile, some that made me laugh, but also others that made me sad. It was like opening up a treasure chest of items that my dad considered special. There were some items that I made in school growing up, some gifts from people, and lots of sports memorabilia like posters, scorecards, schedules, etc. I still wish I could have done this with dad, but that's not the case. 

    I don't plan on keeping everything, but I do hope to share items with family if they will have them. I will have to sit down with some of my dad's siblings and ask them about some things. I'm not a huge antique collector so I know nothing about a lot of these. I just know that dad kept a lot of these for a reason. I just wish I knew what that was. 

So have you gone through antiques that belonged to your family? What did you find? What meant the most to you? Let me know in the comments. 

Year of Firsts - Mother's Day

      Today is Mother's Day in the United States. A day to celebrate the women in our lives that have raised us, supported us, given up their lives for us, whether blood or not. Their sacrifices have made us what we are today. So for that reason, we celebrate them. 
     Today is also the birthday of my Grandma Ann Fuchs, a wonderful woman I never got the chance to meet as she died about a year and a half before I was born. But the way my Dad, Mom, Aunts, and Uncles talked about her, I knew she was definitely an amazing woman. Unfortunately, her life was cut short as she passed away from Mesothelioma in 1980; the same cause that took my dad's life this year. So this Mother's Day is particularly hard. 
     Usually, for Mother's Day, Dad would take mom and let her pick out a whole bunch of flowers to plant in the back yard and pick out many hanging baskets as well. They both enjoyed working on the back porch, planting flowers, and making it look beautiful. Mom's favorite pastime was just going out to water the flowers. She found it peaceful and relaxing. So I know Mom is definitely feeling Dad's absence this year. I plan on taking her to get flowers soon, but it's not the same I know. And with the temps fluctuating so much, Mom said it's best to wait until after Mother's Day; their usual rule of thumb. 
     There was one thing Mom did request: She wanted to go to the Cemetery are put flowers on Grandma Ann's grave and a picture. So I said, let's do it. She hadn't been to the cemetery in years what with her working so much before. Now she is retired. A time that should be happy, but all it does is remind her dad is not here to enjoy it with her. 
     The weather was not supposed to be very good this weekend, so we went on Friday to the cemetery. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the feelings were bitter-sweet. It was hard not to cry as we placed the flowers and photo at Grandma Ann's grave, knowing this year she gets to spend her birthday with her son in Heaven for the first time in almost 40 years. We are happy Dad is with her and at peace, but we miss him so. Like I said, bitter-sweet. See the photos below from our visit to the cemetery.
     Mom is coming over today for a bbq and we will just enjoy each other's company. We will reminisce and have a few laughs. We will talk about how at end of dinner, Grandma Ann would ask everyone, "Ok what do you want for breakfast?" as everyone would groan cause they were so full. Dad loved telling that story. Or the story about how dad's hands were dirty and he shook them letting mom know he needed a napkin and his mom jumped all over him. She told mom, "You sit down and let him get his own napkin."  She then said to dad, "What are your hands broken? Get your own napkin! You are a big boy!" So now to tease, we all do the "hand shaking" when we need napkins. Even Sancia's friend Bella has picked up on it haha!
     Today we celebrate Mother's, but also mourn the family not with us on this day.  Happy Mother's Day Grandma Ann. Happy Mother's Day Grandma Ruth. And Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. I know this day tends to be harder than others, but know this, you are special, you are amazing, and you are worthy. You are more precious in God's eyes than you will ever know. 

Miss you Grandma and Dad!

Me, Sancia, and Mom

Oak Hill Cemetery

Kirkwood, Missouri

May 7, 2021

Grandma and Papa Fuchs

Oak Hill Cemetery

Kirkwood, Missouri

May 7, 2021

Dad and His mom, Ann

abt 1944

Happy Mother's Day & Happy Birthday

May 7, 2021

Photo Friday

     Like everyone, I'm trying to do what I can to keep myself busy. On Monday, April 4, 2020, the governor of Missouri issued a Stay-At-Home order to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. There are many other states in the US that have also issued Stay-At-Home orders. We are all trying to do our part to help reduce the spread of this Covid_19. So this is the perfect time to just dive into your research.
     New newspapers are being added all the time to Newspapers.com, so I check there often for new articles. This time I went searching for my Strawhun Family. Robert Strawhun to be exact. I've found articles about his Father and Son before. Well, this time I found something a little extra special. Check this out.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat

St. Louis, Missouri

Jun 24, 1958

     I found this newspaper article mentioning Robert & Louisa Strawhun's 50th Anniversary. They are my great-grandparents on my dad's side. They celebrated their wedding anniversary on June 20, 1958. They apparently hosted an open house party on Sunday, June 29, 1958, and this article was published to invite whoever wanted to come. How wonderful!
     After I found this article, a thought crossed my mind. Didn't I have something in my office mentioning this event? Low and behold, I did! My Aunt Patty gave my dad some collectibles and knick-knacks that my Grandma had in her possession. This was one of them.

Golden Wedding Anniversary

1958

Robert and Louisa Strawhun

"The Lord's Prayer"

on the front: June 20, 1908

      They were married for a total of 62 years. Grandpa passed away in 1970 and Grandma passed away in 1971. Here is a photo of them and their family. This photo was taken about 1927 or so.

     According to the newspaper article, the open house was held at their residence at 329 Rose Lane in Kirkwood, Missouri. That house is actually still standing to this day. After my great-grandparents lived there. my Grandma and Papa lived there. Then when my Papa died in 1998, the family fixed it up and sold it. Here is a recent picture of the house.

329 Rose Lane

Kirkwood, Missouri

2019

     I emailed my Aunt Patty about this event since she is the family historian and she was present during this event. Here is what she told me: 

     "They had an Open House for their 50th. We were all little at this time. Sandy and I had matching

summer dresses. Grandma let me and Sandy pick a gift from their gifts. I picked a beautiful candy dish and I still have it. Sandy picked a set of alabaster bookends and she has them in her bedroom. It's impossible to know who gave them the little commemorative gift. I will ask Sandy if she knows if we have a book of who attended and if there is anything about the gifts. You wouldn't believe the kind of "gold" themed gifts they received. I remember one of them being "golden wedding" coffee in a 1lb. can. Their neighbors created a proclamation about this event. In their professional picture that day, you can see the little money trees. They had two tables set up for all the gifts they received. The little thing that you have was probably one of the gifts they received. When we distributed dishes several years ago, there were other "gold" things that sibs picked that were from the distribution. Plates, candy dishes, glasses, and vases. Your Dad has a whole box of the dishes he picked that day."

     This year will be their 112th anniversary. I never got to meet Grandma and Grandpa Strawhun since they passed away before I was born, but I've heard they were really great. Anyway, that is my exciting find for the week!

Grandma and Grandpa Strawhun

50th Anniversary Open House

Sunday, June 29, 1958

Kirkwood, Missouri

What Will I Find Next??

Bonus:

I put together a special collage memorizing Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Strawhun. Watch the video now from my new series, Craft Time with Auntie Jen.