Growing up on a small poultry farm with parents who worked in town during the day we all had to share responsibilities after school and work. My brother and I stayed with our Grandparents who live a short distance down the road after school and during the summer when our parents were at work. We were very fortunate to have parents and grandparents who taught us the true values in life. My parents took the time to share with us and teach us right from wrong. We didn't have automatic feeders so all the chickens had to be feed and watered by hand, all 10,000 of them! We would take box lids or whatever we could find to use that would hold feed and half gallon cans for water. We had to use our imagination allot. Lots of time to talk as you worked before supper and bedtime! Fun family time, no TV or telephone to take up our time. Then at grandmother and paw's house we farmed in the garden, picked up whatever we could find and made something of value from the items. Grandmother didn't throw nothing away, if a spoon bent to badly for eating or cooking could be used as a hook in the kitchen, coat hanger, or something. Out to paw's shop to find the hammer and pliers along with our imagination to make whatever we could design. We lived on a dirt road and it was amazing what people would throw out along the way. As I was taught, nothing was thrown away so on our journey each morning Grandmother pulled a little red wagon(sometimes it carried me) to place our Treasures someone had thrown out along the road side. Mother didn't complain but she made sure I took all my vintage collection with me when I married.
My husband loves nature so of course we collected rocks! Travel to several mines to dig for gems - most of our vacations were spent looking for something in nature. We studied together at the college taking several classes on gemstones and a two year course on Lapidary (cutting and designing gemstones).
With my vintage collection of silverware and 49 years of collecting gemstones I decided to complete my dream of sharing with others. The value of what our ancestors designed, created and left for us to enjoy are beyond our imagination. These vintage items cannot be replaced by reproduction. People have tried, but our ancestors used hand tools and materials which designers of today would not consider using in their work. It is my desire to share with others and their ancestors what was shared with me as a child!