Over the past six months, I've had the pleasure - and indeed, the luck - of finding several historical treasures throughout my grandfather's house. No longer able to remember where or when many events happened, each item I find is a unique artifact that comes with many questions that can't be answered. It's frustrating, but yet very intriguing.
One item I found in my grandmother's hutch was a ledger from 18XX. This small notebook contains line items and costs that to me, seem like a farmer's log of purchases. Andrew thought differently; after inspecting it, he believes it to be a person credit monitor, that maybe a family would keep so they know how much they owe for household items purchased.
I've also found letters to my grandfather from his girlfriend in the early 40s. She wrote to him several times throughout the war, and the letters are pretty much intact. It may be his diminishing memory (or perhaps my grandmother just never told him that she kept them), but my grandfather was surprised that my grandmother kept the letters. There are others too. A letter from a shipmate describing the conditions on his destroyer. The friend had written it to family, but for some reason, my grandfather has a copy. Why, even he doesn't know, and therein lies the frustration. What's also interesting is that the letter is typed. I have a hard time believing that someone brought a typewriter on board back then, when they would have handwritten it.
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