My grandmother died when I was in high school and she
left me, as her only granddaughter, her jewelry. At that time I couldn’t see past the plastic
and old battered remnants of days gone by.
There were a few good pieces that struck me as awesome, but the rest
was, well, old. It took me a few months
(okay years) to appreciate what I had because at 16, you really are dumb.
A few months after she died I went to my boyfriends (now
husband) senior prom wearing a necklace, earrings, and bracelet set of 1950’s
vintage rhinestone jewelry that she left me.
This all before the vintage rage took off too. I felt quite the trend setter and fabulous in
my rhinestones. Over the years I have
set down again and again with my grandmother’s jewelry boxes going through all
the pieces. She has several items that
my grandfather bought her when he was stationed in various places. Service pins from the Boy Scouts, American
Red Cross, and her Eastern Star ring.
Presents from friends long gone with hand written notes to her thanking
her for being a friend, plus so many more things including my most treasured
item, her charm bracelet.
Grandma's charms |
She told me she started her charm bracelet when she
graduated from high school. That would
have been 1936. The charm commemorating
that is a diploma. There are charms for
her wedding next. After that she added a
charm for every duty assignment and trip they took as a family until my
grandfather retired from the Army and they moved back home to Indiana. The charms are on every link of the bracelet
and to say it is overflowing with memories would be an understatement.
I don’t know all the stories, my mom and uncles have told me a few, but these little pieces of silver have always intrigued me. When I would miss her in the months and years following her death I would pull out this charm bracelet and think about her wearing it and collecting all the bits. Shortly after I was married I started my own bracelet. I have not been as dedicated to collecting charms as my grandmother was (can you believe that there are places that don’t sell charms?) but I try to collect ones when we take family trips that have a special meaning. Also on it are 2 charms from my wedding cake, one for each of my babies, and one given to me when I became a mom.
Best off all I discovered recently that my grandmother and I share a charm. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. We both have liberty bells from Philadelphia on our bracelets. Now I am taking a closer look at it again to see what other adventures I have shared with my grandmother.
*Image from unknown source
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