O.k., now I see how it's set up.

For those who don't want to go back and read all of Part I (which I HIGHLY recommend,) this whole thread started rather innocently when Cat Who Laughs asked me to tell her how Art Thieme and I became friends (which I responded to in the Is It Just Me? thread, and also asked me to tell her how I came to write Handful of Songs. I responded to that question too, in the same thread, and then Spaw suggested that I start a seperate thread about family keepsakes. It was a wonderful suggestion: Thank you again, Spaw! I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, and expect that there will be much more yet to come.

So, this thread is really a request from me to everyone. What have you kept to remember family by? Why did you keep them? What kind of memories do they recall? Those who responded in the first thread have shared their reasons for keeping tools, watches, pocket knives, quilts, furniture, even two belly button rubies. I built the first lines of the song I wrote on things I've kepot from my Grandparents:

"All that I have is my Grandfather's hammer
And his old railroad watch, with the casing all worn
And the bible my Grandmother bought her last Christmas
That she gave to my Mother, now she's passed it on

As this thread has evolved, many of us have been reminded of more things, letters, writings, values that have been passed on to us and came back to share them. I've been moved by the writings of others, and keep thinking of more things I've kept. My Father had a square block of iron about two inches thick that pre-dates my earliest memories. I don't know where he got it, or what it was originally used for. But, he used it to crack hickory nuts. Every fall, he'd go out in the country and collect gunny sacks full of hickory nuts. I think that he knew every hickory tree within a fifty mile radius (as well as where all the wild plums and asparagus grew.) He'd sit down in the basement, cracking hickory nuts on that block of iron, and you'd hear him down there by the hour. He took great pride in producing many gallons of hickory nut meat, which he'd share with family members, once my Mother had her share for baking. When my Father died, that was one of the oddities that I lugged home on the plane.

So, tell me what you treasure from your family. I'm having a wonderful time reading everyone else's memories. We've also had a few songs posted, which are always welcome. I've kept a lot of memories of my family in songs, and often it's a way for me to talk about the things that I value.

If we need a part III, maybe I'd better learn how to do it. Thanks again, Jim!

Jerry