Vintage Thingies Thursday and treasured memories

My friend Coloradolady's at http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/ has started a VTT, check out her site by clicking on the link above.
Today I want to share with you a very treasured item and some precious memories. It is a little chair my Grandfather made for my Mother when she turned 1 yr old, back in 1916. I don't have a picture of Mom then, but I did have one when she was a little older, but not in this chair. The picture of my Grandparents was taken in 1900. At this time they had buried 4 sons before they reached 1 yr old and only 1, Uncle Reggie (the child in the picture) had survived. Times where hard in the 1890s in rual MS. and it was not uncommon to lose children at a young age. In 1901 they moved from the small town of Silver Creek to a larger area of Brookhaven 45 miles west. In 1908 they were blessed with another Son, my Uncle Norman, he was very sickly and had to be carried around on a pillow for 6 mos., but they were closer to a Dr and he survived. And then in 1915 my Mom was born, my Grandfather was the happiest man in the world, he had his little girl and she was healthy. She became his little angel, he doted on her. Untill the day he died in 1950 she was his special little girl. And no one better mess with her. You didn't want to get that Irish temper stirred up....lol...I think he was a rather handsome man...lol...

You can see that the chair still has the original cowhide bottom and the rawhide strips used to sew it up. The bottom is in bad shape because it was in storage for years and the cowhide wasn't treat to keep it from getting dry. The little slats for the back have been lost along the way. I recieved this in 1985. And have cherished it ever since. I can just see him making this chair and the love he put into it. And I can see her sitting in it beside him in front of the fireplace in winter and on the long front porch under the big Oak tree in the summer. I forgot to mention when Granddaddy was 17, he jumped a train that ran through Silver Creek to Natchez on the west side of the state to visit his brother, (they had been seperate at an early age he was 5, when both their parents died.) And he slipped under the train and his left leg was severed. Despite the loss he still made a good living for his family, he was a Drayman and had several Employees.

I always loved to sit on his wooden leg.

I love this chair and will not redo it or change one single thing GD did. I have it sitting in my living room with a Baby Doll my Hubby gave me for my BD 5 yrs ago.