Our Family Bible Project ...Treasure Chest Thursday

Some of my readers - and certainly my friends and family - will know I have a lot of books. Yes, some are now virtual.  I love having a 'purseful' of books to choose from, but most of my books are on the bookshelves, on the tables, in those boxes, on that chair....

A few shelves hold only older books, ones that once belonged to grandmas, grandpas, great grandmas, a great uncle, cousins... These are my family book collection.

I remember my brother looking at the old Bibles searching to see if anyone had entered family information in them. (See he was paying attention to his big sister's research.) 

But alas, that my mum had already noted. She thought there were almost a dozen Bibles, and was sure not one person had ever written on any of the 'Family Record' pages! During her later years, these were all boxed up and stored in a closet. 

When I inherited them, I made a basic Excel list of these books (title/date/good or poor condition/whose books they were) and over the years, I've tried to keep them together on their own shelves.   I've certainly read a few from time to time! As my family research prompts me, I've written about a few and taken photos, usually at least of the covers, title pages, and any dedications and written what I know of their history.

This spring, since time was a bit heavy on my hands, I decided to do an inventory of all the Bibles. I intended to put them away for safekeeping but first I wanted to check their condition and to make better notes about each one. So here is a little case study to show what I've been up to. 

My first step was to EXAMINE & ASSESS the books for additional information and condition. In the future, I may have a conservator look at some. 

World Bible Dictionary.

The first thing I remembered while doing this was that they aren't all Bibles! There are other religious books, one quite an extensive Bible Dictionary which I've used myself, so I may want to keep that handy, and a few hymnals. Those are in poor shape - meaning to me that they were used a lot, most by my Na who sang and her sister who played piano and organ. 

One thing I had remembered was that several contain little treasures (like some of my older books)  - clippings, notes, bookmarks. Or did - most of those I had previously made notes of with the page found, and tucked them into small acid free envelopes. In cases where bookmark ribbons are attached to a book, I've noted those page numbers too. They could have been significant. (No photographs were found in these books then or now.)

 And some of the Bibles include nice old maps and even photographs which I may want to scan for my own use.

Next, I set up a pretty basic spreadsheet. But there is room to add extra detail. I may, for instance, later add the URL or title of any articles about these written either by me or someone else. 

And if someone else lets me know about a Bible related to our families, or if I find a reference to one somewhere, I would certainly add that to my list with a bold note about who has it and where and how to reach them. I might use a separate section. So far I haven't had to worry :-)

Here are the columns I'm using: 

TITLE;

PUB. DATE; 

AUTHOR, if applicable;

PUBLISHER; 

PUB. PLACE;  

CLUES? if signatures or dedications, I've written those here. Any price tags, stickers are noted. 

OWNER(S);

DETAILS [incl maps, photographs in the book]; 

CONDITION, ETC.;

NOTES. Photographs or other available & where [if I've done photos or scans] &/or storage area

And I've included this note: "Unless otherwise noted Bibles are all 'King James' version(s) with both New & Old Testaments.  All measurements approx."  

If there was a mix, I think I'd add another column and reference them with an abbreviation (like KJ), adding a list of those. 

I do have two of the exact same small New Testaments. These were given to Canadian military people during World War II. "Presented by the British & Foreign Bible Society in Canada & Newfoundland. Message from the King, dated Sept 1939."  One was found in Mum's things; so I have noted that I think the other must have been Dad's. He also had a larger Bible given to him by his mother, I believe when he was bring sent off to the USA by the Canadian Army. I never saw the Bible Society ones till it was too late to ask about them.

For the Clues column, if none appear in the book, I'm checking on-line to see what I can find out about the age or original publication of the book, e.g. the dates of Methodist Book & Publishing House.

Of course, this is the genealogists' perennial problem. One task leads to one entertaining rabbit hole after another. Given our present life situation, I haven't let that worry me at all. 

I spent quite a bit of time the other night happily chasing down on-line directories to date an address written in one of the books. And in order to read that address, I had already spent time scanning the erased address so I could make out enough to identify it. More about that story another day.

All time well spent! 

Now for STORAGE. I do not suggest following this unless you have a possible water problem. Since I'm still working on these books, I have them temporarily in a plastic (!) box. They are stacked but carefully and have lots of room. And the fragile items I have now in acid free envelopes. I'd like to have these all in acid free folders or boxes, but at the moment, I don't have enough materials. I do have lots of acid free tissue which I am using. 

Now about that plastic box. I don't mean to give any conservators the 'shivers'. I live in a building which has had leaks. That's why the plastic even though it might foster moisture or insect or other damage. Anything special I have in plastic boxes, I do open up regularly. We are being 'repiped'. Soon things may feel very different. 

Interested in learning about looking after your family treasures?

Watch for webinars and articles featuring Melissa Barker, who blogs at: A Genealogist In The Archives

The Canadian Conservation Institute has a wealth of information online: https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute.html

As does the Library of Congress. Here is one of LOC's pages with guidelines about books: https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html

Some conservation supplies are available in scrapbooking stores and the like. And online. Read and compare product specifications carefully. In Canada, Carr Mclean has all kinds of conservation supplies: https://www.carrmclean.ca/

Why Athena? - Treasure Chest Thursday

Among my mother's things, and now my own, are several representations of the Greek goddess Athena. This little wall plaque is one Mum brought home from a trip we took to Greece in the 1980s. Why Athena?

Mum and I were both always interested in archaeology and ancient times so you might think that was the reason. But no...

During World War II, Mum was a member of the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) and a helmeted head of Athena, goddess of war, among her other attributes, was chosen as the symbol for CWAC buttons and collar badges. And there was the CWAC "March Athene". That's why. If you visit, you will see some owls too, closely associated with Athena, as with wisdom.

The Governor-General of Canada shown presenting commissions as second-lieutenants to 4 Manitoba CWAC cadets in Quebec. The Winn[ipeg Free Press, July 1943?], page 10. Clipping, personal collection. 

The cadets shown here were: Lois Gordon of Winnipeg, Muriel J Scott of Winnipeg [and Newdale], M. N. Herman, Swan River, and Ruth E Culbert of Winnipeg. 

Canadian Women's Army Corps, button, World War II. Personal collection.

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Hair Cut - at last

For fun today, since hair cuts have become a luxury, here are photos of me the night before I had my first hair cut.

This was my own decision, not mum's. She 'did' my hair almost every morning - in  a bun like this, or french braids, or one long braid.


I am sure that was 1961 though, not '62.  In the olden days, sometimes it took a while to fill up a roll of film and mum would take it in long after the first photos were done.

I'm wearing a favourite outfit, my Chanel-style suit, sort of a pinky tan colour, as I recall.  And this is before I had my ears pierced. Don't tell the dear daughter but I still have my cut-off braid. (She thinks it's creepy).

And below here I am in 1963 I think :-). I can't think where I'm going or where I've been, unless it's Sunday and we've just come home from church. I suspect dad's beautiful roses were the real reason for the photo! That's our neighbours' house in the background, on Yukon Street in Vancouver, BC. 

 I'm wearing a seersucker suit, blue stripe, I remember, that mum made for me. And a chunky white necklace, and although I can't really see them, earrings to match, I'm sure. And high heels. By 1963, I was wearing the highest ones I could find and the shortest skirts I could get away with. And teasing my hair as high as it would go. I haven't dressed like this since about 1966, but look at my cat's eye glasses. I might go for those again. 

These photos are from an album that's not been all scanned. I'm planning on doing that next week so to get new tips, I'll be attending Thomas MacEntee's  SCANDEMIC A Facebook LIVE Photo Scanning Event, Saturday, June 20th at 11:00 am EDT / 10:00 am CDT / 9:00 am MDT / 8:00 am PDT at the Genealogy Bargains Facebook Page. 

Follow the Scandemic link above to like the page and get a reminder. This is sponsored by Vivid-Pix RESTORE.  I'm interested in their software. 

If you're working on your photo collections, don't forget to take a look at the new MyHeritage Photo Enhancer too along with the MyHeritage In Color™ feature. 

Treasure Chest Thursday - Visitors to Washington DC, 1941

Photographs taken in Washington, DC, USA, 1941.

Dad sent these photos home; his mum put them in her album. He helpfully numbered people and put some information with the numbers, but not the names! I believe that Vic must have been a friend from Vancouver, BC, possibly he'd moved to the USA. My grandma would have known who he was, but perhaps not his wife or son.

The photos are stamped with a photofinishing logo and the date Sep 3 1941.

If anyone knows any of these faces, or recognizes the name Vic, who likely had a connection to Vancouver, BC, Canada, please do get in touch with me.

Or if you recognize where these photos were taken, that could be helpful too.

I'm sure there was a letter or card that came with the photographs, but my grandma kept very little. And she did complain to mum that he didn't write home enough!

Above, your left: #1 #2 - "The two girls at the Legation. One is 19 and the other 20"." #3 "Yours truly (George W. Rogers).

Above, your right: #1 "me" (George W. Rogers) ; #2 "Vic". "This was a candid Camera shot - we did not know that the picture was being taken."

 .

#1, #3 "Two girls working at the Legation." #2 - "Vic's wife" #4 - "Vic" #5 "Vic's Son - Martin: #6 - "me" (George W. Rogers). 

My dad, a Canadian Army officer, worked at the Canadian Legation. later the Embassy, in Washington, DC from 1940 to 1946. 

 Canada had a Legation in Washington beginning in 1927. Not till November 1943 did we have an Embassy in Washington and the USA an Embassy in Ottawa. The Honourable Leighton McCarthy was Canada's first ambassador to the United States.  

Treasure Chest Thursday - Day 15 - 21 Day Family Connections Experiment

Today is Day 15 of my 21 Day Family Connections Experiment.  

And it's Treasure Chest Thursday. 

Appropriate as today I'm writing about a few of my treasures - but likely for these ones my heirs are wondering "Why ever has she hung on to those old things?" Here's the answer. 

An old taped together box - some weird thing that spins - and a REMINDER stamp? 

The answer is first, that these are things I remember from my parents' office. And I didn't play with them then, but, second, I used to 'work' for my parents so these do hold special memories for me. I rescued them many years later, thinking... third, hey, I can use these for my scrapbooking. And there you go. All perfectly understandable. 

All its letters and numbers and symbols accounted for. The stamp pad isn't original, I know. But somehow I couldn't turf it either. (Adding ink to stamp pads was one of my tasks.) I think Dad last used this set in the 1980s when he, Mum and I were selling stuff on weekends at a Vancouver flea market. 

The spin around thing holds stamps with various size handles, and the REMINDER stamp originally was used to 'decorate' any overdue invoices that had to be sent out in the mail. 

I don't know how old this set is, or if Dad bought if new or used. I hardly remember the first office on Broadway when I was really little, but I do know that they had to buy more furniture for the Cambie Street office they opened in the 1950s. Some of that was new, but much was not. And I may have mentioned before, I still have four chairs that were in the office. Two would likely have been dining room chairs. The other two may have been meant for home or office. (I should browse in some old catalogues or store ads to see if anything looks familiar.) My tiny Christmas tree was not always a 'Charlie Brown' tree. It was the office tree and had its own ornaments when it was in use there. 

What I didn't know in the old days was that this stamp set was made by an historic Vancouver company -The Geo. H. Hewitt Co. Ltd. as it says on the seal design inside the box. Mr. Hewitt began his business in 1885 in San Francisco, but in 1898 he and his wife followed the Gold Rush trail not to the gold fields but to Vancouver, BC, where he set up shop. The company is still in business here. 

Check out the old photographs on the Geo. H. Hewitt Co website, including a Con Jones "Don't Argue" token. (We could use some more of those!) And if you collect old vehicle plates, see Christopher John Garrish's website BCpl8s.ca: https://www.bcpl8s.ca/Bicycle.html  Hewitt manufactured license plates for commercial trucks, bicycles and chauffeur badges too. 

Treasure Chest Thursday - WOOD, SCOTT; FURLONG - Nottawa, Ontario, Canada

This is a photograph of my great grandmother, Mary Janet Wood and her friend, Minnie Furlong. This is the earliest photograph that we have of Mary Janet, I believe.  Minnie was a witness to Mary Janet's marriage to Walter Scott in 1883. Walter's nephew, James Walter Scott, born in Nottawa, came from Detroit to be the second witness. I do not have any photographs of him (that I know of). 

The photographer was James Asa Castor of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. The matting and the image are not in great shape, but I've snipped the photographer's signature and striking logo (initials) below. The museum in Collingwood has a large selection of his photographs.

J. A. Castor, Collingwood, Ont.   -   JAC

Grandma Scott and Minnie Furlong, Nottawa. 
It seems this is written in my mother's hand.

Here you can see the size of the image with mat as compared to a Canadian dime.

Mum's Secrets - Treasure Chest Thursday

Long ago, when I was a youngster, this book of my mum's was in our house. At some point, like most of the books in our house, it ended up in my room on the bookshelves Dad made for me. As far as I remember, it was in poor shape then, and at some point was taped together as you can see now. (Not by me, I swear!)

My Mum was already 31, almost 32, when she had me, and I never heard many stories about her as a young woman. Her possession of this well worn book on palmistry added a bit of mystery to her personality for me. I always knew her as quite a practical, clear-headed, little nonsense type person, although we did have a Ouija board - all for fun - and I remember we had our fortunes told in the tea leaves at a tea room on Granville Street in Vancouver once when I was a child . Now I don't even remember what was said. I just remember us having tea out together, maybe as this was something a little unusual.

The pressed flowers were hers. Now I wonder what they meant to her...

Cheiro's last words of 'Advice To The Student'

Lastly, do not be for ever on the look out for faults and failings in the subject whose hands you may be examining, remember no one is perfect, and that faults and failings may in the end be as stepping stones "by which we rise from our dead selves to higher things."




Palmistry For All by Cheiro (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, Limited, 1920).

Cheiro, aka William John Warner, Count Louis Hamon, biographical information at the Astrologers' Memorial, developed by Donna Cunningham.

Some of you know me; I just have to look people up. I took a quick look, but didn't see a mention of where Cheiro was buried (or not). I wondered if he had an interesting gravestone. Does anyone know?

Fountain, Stanley Park, Vancouver - Treasure Chest Thursday

The Fountain, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 'Linen' postcard; coloured, unused. The Coast Publishing Company, Vancouver, BC. (C.P. 128). Late 1930s? Private collection.

The Stanley Park fountain in Lost Lagoon was opened in 1936 to celebrate Vancouver's Golden Jubilee. The coloured light displays were an original feature. The fountain was restored in 1986 - for Expo, the World Exposition on Transportation and Communication.

The Tacoma Public Library has another Stanley Park postcard [ID # Fleming-131] showing a different view of the fountain - from the same company and likely from about the same time period. For more about The Coast Publishing Co., see Postcards of the Coast Publishing Company, Vancouver, British Columbia by Lee Dowsley and Roma George, with Chris McGregor. For more information on this book, see the Vancouver Postcard Club website.

This postcard could be a submission for the 17th Edition of A Festival of Postcards as the theme this time is LIGHT! If you'd like to enter this on-line Festival, see the details at the Festival headquarters at A Canadian Family, Deadline: February 28th, 2010.

And if you need to start to scan your family postcards, or want to scan more postcards, why not join the first 2010 ScanFest on January 31st. Details and tips for scanning are up now at AnceStories The Stories of My Ancestors.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Sweet Memories

This was all my Mum's. She loved costume jewellery and had colourful sets of bracelets, earrings and necklaces to match many of her best outfits. I remember as a little girl watching her get 'all dressed up' to go out. She'd make sure I had some powder on my face too.

Both of us wore pins a lot at one time, so I did keep a few of hers. Mine are mostly cat pins, but she loved frogs - and this glittery frog is one that I gave her.

The necklace though was from 'the olden days'. I only remember her wearing things like this when I was little. I think it must be from the 1930s or 40s.

My mother wasn't very sentimental, so I wonder why she kept it all that time. Now I keep it because it reminds me of her. I am sentimental! She did have a long dress from the 1940s and let me wear that as a costume when I played Boadicea (now called Boudicca or Boudica) at school. I know I wore some jewellery then, bracelets and a brooch for a cloak, I think, but I'm afraid they weren't memorable enough.

Maybe this necklace was a present - from my Dad or another admirer - but if so, she never mentioned it. (Yes, you may well say 'Why didn't you ask?' but I didn't.)

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Mystery Item from my Na

For Treasure Chest Thursday, here's a mystery item which apparently belonged to my Na. I've been meaning to ask about it, so here's my chance.

The case is about 16cm long with the top on. It appears to have been simply decorated by scoring out part of the wood in strips by hand after staining it. It holds these 5 pins - there's no room for many more - maybe one or two extra would fit.

Can't be hairpins, surely there aren't enough? I thought these might be for some kind of needlework as Na was very handy with a needle, but any ideas ??? Don't worry, I'll laugh if the answer is really obvious.

Treasure Chest Thursday - 'Natural History' Postcard

Front: From "Punch" - Natural History

Eva: "Mother says I'm descended from Mary, Queen of Scots."

Tom (her brother): "So am I, then."

Eva: "Don't be silly, Tom, you can't be - you're a boy !"

Back: Juvenile Jokes from "Punch." ...

"After the black & white drawing by H. Corbould.

Since October is Women's History Month in Canada, I'll be featuring a few women's history related items this month.

This is from my postcard collection and quite neatly (for me, anyway) combines both my women's history and genealogy interests. (Sister Eva was partly right after all - thinking about Mary, Queen of Scots DNA...)

This is a Tuck's Post Card, divided back, printed in England. #9192. Unmailed; name written across the card in pencil -
Miss Blanche Caldale(?)

By the way, there's a new Festival of Postcards coming up - the theme is QUADRUPEDS. Enter by 20 October, 2009.

Treasure Chest Thursday - James's Chair

Here's a look at the not too far distant past - my son, James, in his wicker chair 'sometime' in the 1970s in Burnaby, British Columbia. Just look at that big old TV behind him.

I still have that chair - it's not for sitting anymore as it's a bit fragile. Sometimes it holds a plant now and sometimes books!

James also played on the same small table that I used when I was little. My dad put a new top on that when James was born and it was sturdy enough then to last through two more children. You can see a photograph of me in my own little chair at my own little table on my BookCrossing shelf. (Just scroll down on the page a bit.)

Treasure Chest Thursday - My View-Master

Who remembers View-Masters? I do!

Mum used to look for the rack of View-Master slide sets wherever we travelled. These were 'educational' - that was always her preferred kind of souvenir. Some were cartoons though, and I do have one of 'Knights in Armour'!

I have a box full here. In fact, not long ago I bought a newer viewer. But, I still have the old one here. And, I'll still buy sets showing British Columbia scenes, if I don't have them already.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Schoolbook, 1928

Since school's just in again, I've picked an old school book from my collections for this Treasure Chest Thursday. This is one genealogists will appreciate.

Neighbours Unknown, with short stories, by Charles G.D. Roberts. (Toronto: The MacMillan Company of Canada Limited, 1927.) Authorized for use in the Province of Manitoba.

Roberts is sometimes called the Father of Canadian Poetry. This book was originally published, I believe, in 1911.

What makes this interesting to me is that my Mum used it. I know that because she has written right though the book - something, I assure you, that she never allowed me to do. To this day I don't doodle, scribble or even highlight in books!

You'll see the book is damaged and, especially inside, discoloured. That's mainly because it still has its plain brown paper cover, likely made by my mother, glued to the corners of the book, and certainly written and doodled on by her.

On one of the front blank pages she's written a date, Jan. 17, 1928, and her own name, her birth date, her parents' names and when they married, and then their parents' names as well. Elsewhere she has 'doodled' the names of other family members. Not in sketches, that's all in writing.

Found in the book were some pieces of paper - a spelling 'mistake' practise list and a double-sided sketch of a house plan.

On a back of a book blank page is also a sketch of a 'bungalow'. Now that one looks like something she's copied from another book (especially since it has a title) but the little sketch looks suspiciously like what she told me about the family house in Newdale, Manitoba, Canada, particularly the 'shelf' on the stairs. Perhaps I will never ever know for sure.

In the meantime, I can enjoy this momento of my mother's misspent youth. There are people who collect 'Forgotten Bookmarks' and 'Found Bookmarks'. I wonder if someone has begun collecting examples of family related bookmarks like these?

Treasure Chest Thursday is a regular Genea-Bloggers activity. Join in!

See Geneabloggers for all the recent Treasure Chest Thursday posts.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Mum's Flowers

It always seemed to me that my mum had a lot of china - 'millions' of teacups, cake plates, serving bowls, little bitty ornaments. After she was gone, I divided things up and sent my brother half, including half those tea cups.

Yes, I still have my half. At one point, I did spread a whole lot on the table and asked my kids to pick some things. 'Nothing, thank you very much, Mum', they all said. Way too old fashioned for them. But someday these will be back in style, I'm sure.

In the meantime, I do have these two little china flower ornaments out though. I think they are sweet. My mum had them on display, I remember, on the living room side tables in our old house. (But maybe not when we were really little.)

The smaller one, about 6 cm high, is marked as Adderley Floral (?) & Figurine Co. Ltd. Bone China Staffordshire England. The basket is marked 1819 with a point down down < shape. It's about 10.5 cm high.

Now they are in a display cupboard in a bedroom. With them is a little pottery vase that my very favourite daughter made when she was young. It's complete with its own egg carton flowers. Her 3 initials are on the bottom of the vase. Funny - as I know she doesn't like her whole name - which I gave her. Maybe she signed it that way knowing she was making it for me!

Geneabloggers now has a widget displaying all the recent Treasure Chest Thursday posts. If you're a genea-blogger, why not join in? I'm finding participating means I'm paying more attention to my family treasures. Some now do have a written story or two and photographs. Even this week, when I hardly had time to turn around, I remembered Treasure Chest Thursday!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Na's Chairs

Both these chairs were my Na's. Both were used by the family in Manitoba, then came to Vancouver with her from her and Grandpa Scott's last residence in Hamilton, Ontario.

You will notice that the focus of these photographs is not the chairs, but the cats on them - Odette above and Gilles below. That's the way it is here at our house! Na wouldn't have minded; she would have liked that we are still using them every day.

Odette's chair is very comfortable for reading and Na kept a little bookshelf style table with a lamp attached to it just beside this chair. My brother has that now.

Na picked out the light beige fern pattern 'plushy' fabric the chairs are upholstered in. I remember when they were reupholstered this way in Vancouver, but I don't remember what colour or pattern the chairs were originally. I'd like to find something very similar to this fabric and have them redone now.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Happy Holiday Souvenirs - California - 1958

Treasure Chest Thursday was the idea of Leslie Ann Florida over at Lost Family Treasures. She's invited other genealogy bloggers to join in and so I decided to use my Treasure Chest Thursdays to blog about some of the wonderful (to me) and the odd (to them) 'family treasures' around me so that my kids will know more about these things and so that some of the information that's only 'in my head' will be preserved.

Today is just for fun really, but someday my daughter may wonder why this lone sea lion or seal charm is in my jewellery box. Yes, I used to have a silver charm bracelet - they were quite the thing in my day. When we went somewhere, even to Vancouver Island, if things were good, I was able to add a charm to my wrist. Somewhere the bracelet was lost, but the seal had fallen off some time before, so it's all I have left.

The charm was a souvenir from San Francisco, California, one of the many cities I'd like to see again, although it must be very different from when we were there in 1958! San Francisco has its own interesting history, of course, but it also has many historical links to British Columbia where I live and even in 1958 I was very keen on history.

As I looked at it yesterday, I did wonder how the sea lions and seals are doing in the San Francisco area now, and found these articles if you are interested. In my day, I don't think we went near enough to disturb them too much, but they were a tourist attraction all the same. I can imagine that they have been under many environmental and other pressures since, the same as populations in B.C.

Back to souvenirs. Luckily for me, my mother was a saver and my father was a stamp collector. I think it was Mum that hung on to this, but Dad would have appreciated the cancel on the back of this postcard my brother and I sent home from our California trip. (He rarely went on vacation, but stayed home to look after 'the business' and 'the cat'. No doubt, he enjoyed some quiet time while we were away. )

I especially like this card.

First, the front shows the Capitol Record building and in 1958 I was very into the latest music - 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes', 'Maybe Baby', 'To Know Him Is To Love Him', 'Hard Headed Woman'!

But secondly, it's obvious, at least to me, that I wrote almost the whole thing. My brother contributed one 'D', that's all!

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Penny Saved...

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned.

Today's choice from the Treasure Chest is this 'piggy bank'. I do have a couple of others still, but this one is a bit different.

First, it's obviously a Canadian design (or meant for Canadians anyway). However, our dad collected coins, including Canadian pennies, so this one was always a bit special. In fact, I'm sure he must have picked these out for my brother and me.

Both Dad and Mum would have approved of the 'improving message': A penny saved is a penny earned.

On the bottom is a mark, perhaps a stamp - "Hand decorated Shafford" (Shafford is in script.) This bank would have been purchased some time in the 1950s in Vancouver, BC. It's in very good condition - no chips, no scratches. And Her Majesty certainly looks a lot younger.

I see lots of vintage Shafford items on-line, but I'd be interested to know more about the company. There's a bank just like this for sale at $4.99 ($US), but mine's worth more than that to me. And anyway, think of how many pennies must be inside there still!

In looking around on-line I see so many other Shafford things, some dated, some marked as 'made in Japan'. I may have some Shafford tea cups; I will have to look.

There's a condiment set with maple leaves and squirrels for sale? (At first I thought that squirrel might be a beaver, but surely not!) Must go find my credit card...

Treasure Chest Thursday - Na's Music Box

This music box which plays 'Somewhere My Love...' from the film of "Dr. Zhivago", used to belong to my Na, my maternal grandmother, Amy SCOTT, née IRWIN. My children gave it to Na when they were little - because it has a blond little girl and a brunette little boy, just like them. I know she treasured it and I remember she used to wind it up to play when they were around.

She died when the children were nine and twelve, so they do remember her. This music box now sits on one of my bookshelves. It's a bit faded but otherwise in good condition. I hope someone else will love it 'someday'...

Treasure Chest Thursday - Great Grandmother's Rolling Pin

Although I was never much interested in practising the domestic arts when young, I loved my Na's baking. She always seemed to have cookies or perhaps jam tarts for our afternoon treat. Among her treasures was this rolling pin which both she and her mum told me belonged to my Great Grandmother, Janet (née Carmichael) Irwin. Na also had a glass rolling pin, but I don't know what ever happened to that. (If it broke, it wasn't me, I swear!) Mum had a 1950s (?) rolling pin, but I think my brother may have that now.

I've had this rolling pin for a long time, but I've never used it myself. It appears handmade - all one piece - and it certainly has the marks of a lifetime or two of use, although it's really not in bad condition. I have it displayed on top of a cupboard in my kitchen along with some tins and old cookbooks. The cookie tins hold my cookie cutters - both old and new ones.

I once had a nice collection of vintage and antique kitchen/domestic items, but most of the non-family items have been given away now. Even rolling pins, I know, are quite collectible, but I was a bit surprised to see an article about displaying them. Perhaps I can find a better way to show it off.

Cookie cutters are very collectible. In the United States there is a Cookie Cutter Collectors Club. Is there one in Canada?

Here are a few of mine - a vintage cowboy complete with guns, a small round vintage cutter, a modern pottery Canada maple leaf heart cookie press and a handmade woman's symbol cookie cutter (bought at a woman's group sale in Vancouver in the 1980s, I think. I don't believe I ever knew who the maker was).


I do have a number of recipe books but none that I know great grandmother Irwin would have used. I always heard she was a great reader though, and so I found this simple cookie recipe in a local 1893 newspaper.

FOR THE LADIES Useful Recipes, including

Thin Cookies—One cup of butter, one cup of sugar and three eggs. Beat together to a cream, add flavoring to suit, then just enough flour to roll out very thin. Cut out with biscuit cutter, and bake in a quick oven to a very light brown. Watch them constantly as they burn very easily.

Portage La Prairie Weekly Review, 8 March, 1893, page 2.

Na and Great Grandmother would have known a quick oven should be about 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit. (I had to look it up to check.) The hard part, I think, would be keeping an wary eye on these cookies while attending to all the other usual household work, like cleaning, cooking, sewing and washing. Perhaps 'watching the cookies' was sometimes a young daughter's task.

In the same Ladies section of the paper, were other recipes, household hints and decorating ideas. Among these is a long description of the ideal kitchen floor which says that:

"A clean floor is a delight to the tidy housewife, and a soiled one an annoyance which must be removed at the first opportunity."

I'm afraid I remember still how much flour ended up on the floor when I did 'help' Na and Mum too with baking cookies.

Some of you will have noticed that this recipe was published on the 8th of March in 1893. Since 1909, that date has been International Women's Day, so when I saw this poem in the same Ladies area of the same paper, I just knew Mum and Na and Great Grandmother Irwin would have wanted me to mention it here. No author's name is given and a search through some historical newspapers didn't provide any more details, so if you know who wrote this, please contact me as soon as possible. I am reading through the 1893 issues of this paper, so may come across a name or clue.


A Hard-Working Woman

All day she hurried to get through,
The same as lots of wimmin do:
Sometimes at night her husban’ said:
"Ma, ain’t you goin’ to come to bed?”
An’ then she’d kinder give a hitch,
An’ pause half way between a stitch,
An’ sorter sigh, an’ say that she
Was ready as she’d ever be,
She reckoned.

An’ so the years went, one by one;
An’ somehow she was never done;
An’ when the angel said as how
“Mis’ Smith, it’s time you rested now,”
She sorter raised her eyes to look
A second, as a stitch she took;
“All right: I’m coming now,” says she,
“I’m ready as I’ll ever be,
I reckon.

Portage La Prairie Weekly Review, no author shown, 8 March, 1893 page 2.

Located on Manitobia.ca – a website devoted to historically significant documents and publications, including newspapers, from Manitoba, Canada’s past. Manitobia is a project of the Manitoba Library Consortium and its partners (French & English): www.manitobia.ca