Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday Stills - Vintage

This week's challenge was to compose a photo with whatever I considered vintage.  I am not much of a collector of stuff , but I do have a few things that are both old and have personal value to me.  One of the most useful antiques I own is a hand-made woodworking bench that came with an old house I used to own.  The top is a single board, 12 feet long 4 inches thick and 3 feet wide.  It even includes a hand-carved vise.  Driven into one end are the remains of rusty nail heads spelling out 1886...


Last year, an elderly woman I know gave me an old 1946 Willy's jeep.  She and her mother, Mildred, bought this jeep in 1952 and it remained on their farm until Mildred passed away last year at the age of 96.  It was kept under cover and meticulously maintained all of these years.  I spent all of one summer a few years ago helping her daughter, Norma, stack 35 face cords of firewood.  I had stopped in to talk with them about maybe keeping some bee hives on their farm and found poor Norma contemplating a solid mountain of firewood.  I asked her if someone was helping her and she said "oh, I'll manage somehow...".  I decided that she really needed some help and started stopping by every afternoon to move wood.  I think she was a bit suspicious at first, I guess not too many people take it on themselves to stack firewood, but over time she started looking for me and we got to be good friends. 

One of my fondest memories of Mildred and Norma, is of a time I stopped in to stack wood and found Norma laying under the jeep with an oil can and a grease gun.  Mildred stood at the fender leaning on her cane and shouting terse directions regarding the proper lubrication of the jeep's old joints.  I believe that Mildred was about 93 and Norma 72 at the time....



Stacking wood with Norma and my friend Elva who came to help a couple of times...


My most treasured antiques though, are 3 toy trucks that were part of a small collection that my mother had.  I don't know where they came from because they have always been in my life and I never thought to ask when I had the chance.  My mother died of cancer when I was 18 and she just 45.  These are some of the only things of hers that I have.  We moved around a great deal when I was younger and these trucks have been in more houses than I can remember.  These toys say "home" to me more than any house or place, even this house which I built with my own hands...




15 comments:

  1. Really cool old stuff...love the toys.

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  2. These are great examples of "vintage", and a wonderful story as well. :)

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  3. This yellow jeep,ans toy trucks are just gorgeous!!!!!!!! Old vintage stuff becomes very special, when they have a family story, if you by them in a shop,it's never the same.

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  4. I was really admiring that Willys, then I saw that steamroller....drool!

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  5. I had to read the part about the Willys aloud to my husband (who doesn't do blogs)! We have had a 1960 Jeep in "storage" (at our daughters) ever since we sold our home in Oregon (he can't bear to get rid of it). You are obviously a good neighbor and the story of the two ladies was lovely. As are all your vintage photos. Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. A 46 Jeep, no wonder its a little cantankerous at times!

    12 by 3 feet and 4" thick, how do you move the bench!?!?

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    1. I think it has been moved exactly once since it was built and I don't think it is getting moved ever again:)

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  7. I love the old toys. I'm going to have to show them to my fiance. He'll go nuts over them.

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  8. The Willy Jeep is totally my favorite as it brings back memories from my childhood. I learned to drive in a 1949 version and my family spent many weekends driving around in the hills in that jeep as a kid. I guess maybe now I'm vintage! LOL All nice shots.

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  9. Great photos and stories of the items.

    I messed up my scheduling, but finally got mine up.

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  10. Oh your old toys are wonderful! So is that Jeep! Great photos:)

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  11. Now that's the way to haul and stack wood! I need a jeep : )

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  12. Great shots, I really liked the nail heads and I have always wanted an original Willy's..:-))

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  13. Wow, that's a very unique working bench! Wonderful vintage shots & stories!

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  14. I loved your trip down memory lane and I enjoyed FINDING your blog!

    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

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