Opening Up The Past

It is a generally accepted principle that Grandmothers are “the best.” (Full Disclosure: I am a Grandmother) But this post isn’t about me. It’s about our Grandmother, Lena Matilda, better known as Tilly.

There is no doubt that Tilly was one of “the best”. Her sleepovers were legendary! She would let us stay up late, and a breakfast consisting of cinnamon toast loaded with sugar, and “sugar” tea was always on the menu. She would sing songs with us and let us bang out ridiculous musical compositions on the piano that were likely cringe inducing. And when we got restless, she would entertain us with silly stories that captivated us. In short, she loved us and the feeling was mutual.

Beyond that, however, we knew very little about her personal life or her background. Unfortunately, she and Mom both passed before we had an opportunity to delve into the details, but many of the items she left behind can fill in a few of the missing blanks.

The Cedar Chest

Let’s start with her cedar chest. This is a beautiful piece of solid wood furniture that we view as an heirloom. Middle Sis is lovingly caring for it.

When Tilly passed, Mom used it as storage for several of Grandma’s precious items until they could be distributed. Although not all of our questions will ever be answered, there are several clues in the chest and many are hidden in the numerous old photo albums we found. They were almost a pictorial diary, with pages and pages of newspaper clippings, letters, cards and of course, photos. And there were some delightful surprises.

The Entertainer

One of those surprises was that from an early age, Tilly was apparently an entertainer. She could play the piano, sing and she was an elocutionist. Not sure what an elocutionist is? Neither were we. Turns out the best answer is someone who recites dramatic readings. They are usually very funny poems. Hidden away in those old photo albums, we discovered several programs from her early days as both a music student and teacher, and an elocutionist.

Later on as an adult, she pioneered an entertainment group of women known as the Friendship Club. They would perform at charity events, banquets and gatherings wanting light entertainment. Not only would they sing and to a certain extent dance, they would perform skits. Grandma would also routinely do a reading. There is no doubt she was a driving force and the star of the show.

The Nurse

We know that Tilly grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from the Norwegian American Hospital Nursing Program in 1922. She was unmarried at the time and in fact, was considered a spinster. Again those old photo albums were very useful. They gave us many pictures of Tilly’s life as a young nurse. Her photos show us a serious nurse but also a young “fashionista”.

The Jewellery

As it would happen, there was very little jewellery in the cedar chest, but there were two pieces of great significance. One was the ring that every graduate of Grandma’s nursing class wore. It is a beautiful and unique filigree design with a tiny solitaire diamond in the middle.

The other piece of jewellery is a beautiful gold locket with elaborate engraving on the front. Big Sis has taken it to several jewellers to see if they could interpret the engraved initials but alas it is extremely old fashioned script that today’s jewellers aren’t familiar with. It is no doubt an heirloom but its history remains unknown.

The Keepsakes

If you read our blog, you already know about the unusual pieces of silverware that we found and their conversion into wearable jewellery, but there were other equally beautiful items that we regard as keepsakes.

Apparently embroidery was a pastime for Grandma, and Middle Sis has some beautiful pillowcases and table cloths displaying Tilly’s attention to detail and vibrant color. She was also a collector of fine china. We found an elaborately decorated jug, a hand painted small plate, several beautiful tea cups and an ornate engraved small platter, all beautiful and surely quite old.

So Many Questions….

Yes, there are still a lot of questions. We don’t know anything about Tilly’s childhood in Chicago. We do know that she was one of 11 children but other than that, know nothing about her family. We don’t know what brought her to Canada, how she met our Grandfather and when they got married. There are no wedding pictures or marriage certificates in any of the albums.

But the cedar chest contents do reveal that she had a vibrant social life, was a committed member of her church and active in many charity endeavors. Again those invaluable photograph albums helped round out some of the story, and the jewellery and keepsakes were the finishing touches.

It’s very frustrating that we didn’t think to ask more questions when Grandma was still with us but perhaps it’s best to be satisfied with what we do know, to treasure those cedar chest contents and simply appreciate that they help us keep her memory alive.

We will be doing a new blog post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “The Long and Short of It”