The Silverware Mystery 2.0

It has been almost six years since Mom (Betty) passed and we still miss her every day. But every once in a while, little things sneak up, deeply reminding us of her absence and catching us off guard. An arrow to the heart if you will. And that is exactly what happened recently when Big Sis came across a piece of jewellery that brought back vivid memories. It prompted her to reread a blog post from 2020, reliving a special tribute to Mom.

The 2020 Silverware Mystery

When an elderly person passes away, there are usually memories and memorabilia left behind. Mom was no exception. There were boxes and boxes of photo albums and boxes and boxes of slides to deal with. There was Carnival Glass and Cranberry Glass, teacups and ornamental plates. And there were some “mystery” items that we had never seen before, the most puzzling of which was a small collection of random silverware. It was ornate and definitely old.

There were 8 butter knives in one pattern, 8 dessert forks in another pattern, 1 sugar tong and random serving spoons in 2 altogether different patterns still. We couldn’t figure out why these pieces didn’t match and even more puzzling was the question of where they came from. It was truly a mystery, although it made sense that they were our Grandmother’s and Mom had simply kept them for sentimental reasons. They were too beautiful to discard but certainly they were of no practical use. Who used butter knives and dessert forks in this day and age?

Little Sis Has an Idea

It was sheer serendipity then when Little Sis showed us a new bracelet she had purchased at a recent craft fair. It was beautiful and it was made of old silverware…… Presto! We had a wonderful idea for a Christmas/Memorial Gift for all of Betty’s granddaughters:

The necklaces were lovely and brought tears to the eyes of the recipients when they opened their gift.

Even then we still had pieces of silverware left, so with the help of our “silverware guru”we created other masterpieces and gave them to other relatives who were special to Mom

The beauty of these pieces is two fold. Not only did we repurpose several items, but we created a truly unique piece of jewellery that could eventually become a family heirloom, and of course a keepsake in memory of Mom. Some of us wear it all the time, some only on special occasions, some only on her birthday and some of us just keep it on display. The main thing is, that we all try to turn to it at some point during the year, especially on her birthday.

So, What’s the Mystery?

So, what’s the mystery here? Well, first of all, where did the silverware come from? We are reasonably confident that the pieces had belonged to our Grandmother and Mom inherited them because she was an only child. And as far as we know, she wasn’t in the habit of stealing silverware. 😉

Then one day, in conversation with an elderly friend, I mentioned that we couldn’t understand why there were only butter knives and dessert forks. To my astonishment, she replied that in the past, because families were often large, they chose to split up silverware sets rather than give one heir the complete set. This made perfect sense, as our Grandmother was from a family of twelve children. Mystery solved and a lovely legacy preserved!

We’re doing a new post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “Spring Has Sprung!”