I have the mantle clock from my paternal grand mother, hand embroidered table cloth and aprons from my maternal grand mother, train whistle from my dad (he worked for the rail road, it's an official train whistle), and all gets used all the time. ;)

Moni

I have my mother's whisk, that I use often and remember her when I do.

I have the potato peeler that my Mother gave me when I got married 53 years ago, it was an extra one she had and I still use it, better than any other I've had over the years.

Have an old mantle clock that my Father bought at an auction in Boise,ID over 70 years ago and also have the bugle that he had in WWI, he was a bugler.

Two set of quilt blocks, Sun Bonnet Sue, appliqued, and the other set is embroidered with figures, made by my Grandmother and given to my Mother and she gave them to me. Never did put them together in a quilt but am thinking about framing some of them and giving to my DDs and DGDs, and I think some of the boys would like them.
They have to be at least 100 years old.

Probably have many more things but can't think of them right now.

I have a pair of corn husker's picks. These are the ones my dad and I used in the 1940s for hand harvesting (shucking) corn.

A stand for shoe lasts and set of lasts. These were used for setting shoe sole nails.

A weight driven, 8 day shelf clock built in 1830. It belonged to my wife's grandfather. It ran ok when we aquired it, but was worn. I am taking a clock repair class and am repairing the pivots and bushings to bring the works up to like new condition.

My husband has lots of tools that were his dad's, and I have my mother's iron skillets which I use a lot. I gave one to my DIL when she got her new gas stove. I have my aunt's KitchenAid mixer from 1925 which is a workhorse that I frequently use. It has many, many attachments. I also have my grandmother's china which I use, although not frequently as it must be hand washed.

I have the Spork that my aunt bought for my mother, and I have the hand held potato masher too.

I have many that have been in our family for years and years, including the cast iron skillet my mom used for over sixty years. My favorite is a corn sheller that was bought by my grandfather in 1910.

I have my mom's dining room set and a wall clock that one of my uncles made for me.
Mary

I have an old ice cream scoop that my dad used in his cafe. He made homemade ice cream. It was a big hit in our little town! (This was in the early 60s). Also have his metal cashbox that I use for a small toolbox. Many memories of him counting out the cash register at night after I helped him close up. Remember scrubbing the grill and the putting chairs up on tables and mopping and waxing the floors, by hand. I was only 10 or 11... guess child labor laws were not in effect in one-stoplight Kentucky towns! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane Rhizo!

Oh, yes, I use my mother's potato masher all the time, and also have her bread tins.

I have a book of Children's Poetry that belonged to my mother, by the childish signature, she must have been maybe 10 years old. The book was published in the 1920's.

I also have a couple of very fragile pages from the VJ Day Edition of the Honolulu Advertiser. My father was stationed there that day.

I have the Seth Thomas mantle clock that was on my grandparents mantle.

I still use a couple of skillets and a pot that my grandmother used.

And, many, many other family hand - me- downs..

I still use my mother's heavy wooden rolling pin which I use infrequently now. My eldest daughter has already said she wants it, so it will be passed down. Don't know where it will end up after that as she has no children, but she will treasure it.

I have the hand made double wedding ring quilt that my paternal grandmother made for my parents when they married in 1940. I have two dining room chairs that belonged to the same grandmother and the buffet that my parents had. I also have a ceramic skillet flower pot with a philadendron in it that always hung in our kitchen when I was a child. It has hung in my kitchens since 1979. Since I was an only child, I kept everything that I wanted.

My mother's cast iron cornstick pan YES!!!!!!

I have an aluminum bowl my Grandmother had owned from at least the early 1930s. It was the "Dressing Bowl." Every Christmas and Thanksgiving it was used to hold the large amount of ingredients for the turkey stuffing.

When I was 10, after nine years of carefully watching her, I was pronounced "old enough" to make the Thanksgiving dressing. "Break the eggs in the bottom, first. Beat in salt, pepper, sage. Toss in...."I was so excited.

I took it out of her house when she died, along with three tin-plated "The Wonder" flat metal graters in fine, medium, and course sizes. I had to leave back to Spain and I knew the aunts would just toss them in the trash. Yes; I have a fancy-smancy food processor that works miracles for so many foods, but when I make cole slaw I use Grandma's graters.

I've drug it all over the world with me. I now have the time worn, misshaped, cracked-edge bowl in my cabinet. Every time I make dressing I pull it down and think of her and all the fun meals we made together.

That Sunbonnet Sue girl sure gets around!

I have a quilt that was 'made' by at least 4 generations:
My great-aunt Violet had a bunch of blocks, & we think she made them, but she could have inherited them from a yet older generation.

When she died, her kids threw the blocks out for the trash & my Aunt Pansy (Aunt Violet's niece) fished them out & took them home.

When Aunt Pansy died, her kids threw the blocks out for the trash, & her sister, my Aunt Ruth, fished them out & took them home.

Aunt Ruth took me to the fabric store back in the 1970's to pick out a fabric (Colonial blue calico with sprigs of pink & burgundy rosebuds) for alternating blocks since there weren't enough Sues for a whole quilt, & burgundy piping for binding.

Ruth's grandchildren drew chalk outlines of Sue on the calico squares for quilting guides, & Aunt Ruth made the quilt.

I have a spring whisk of my mother's that I use very often; also a potato masher, soup ladle, and some very pretty dessert plates (among other things). I love my grandmother's Magnalite, especially the cookie sheets! None better, in my opinion.

My favorite garage item is Dad's little oil can....the kind with the bendable spout...it makes little boinkie noises when you push on the bottom to administer oil to rusty bicycle parts. I just love that little tool...it sits on a bookshelf in the living room, next to his collection of books of poetry.

I also have several big rocks from his garden, some very old garden tools, much used in his lifetime and now by me, his only daughter. I think of him every time I hold his old trowel in my hand. It brings back all the times we knelt on the ground together, planting bulbs and plants.

I have my moms cookbook "the household searchlight" I believe from the 40"s. Alot of favorite recipes from my childhood, and many on recipe cards written by hand in Moms handwriting. Very precious to me.

Ooh, yes....the cook books and handwritten recipes! I have many written by my great grandmother, great aunt, grandmother, and mother. Some are very fragile and I really need to decide how to conserve them. One cookbook is Great Depression era, and another published during WWII, with hints about how to feed a family during rationing.

Mom was a messy cook, you can tell which were her favorite recipes.

Shoot, most everything in this castle. Still using some furniture, appliances, cooking utensels, cookware, cookbooks, tools, keys, and other stuff I can't think of. Happy not to have kept up with the Jonse's, or felt a need to must have the latest stuff. Do the best with what you have, at the time you have to do it with.

My home wouldn't be 'home' without the Ingraham grandmother clock ticking away on a shelf and striking the hour and half-hour. My maternal grandfather traded some Watkins products for it around 1910. He brought it home in his buggy, along with a collie puppy that became my mother's beloved "Beauty. The wood case is slightly blackened from sitting on a mantel over a wood fire. It's been repaired only twice that I know of. Keeps perfect time.

I have my maternal grandmother's old brown teapot. I see its' like in movies set in England in the 1800's. I have her wood-handled flour scoop.

The handwritten recipes are treasured -- and tattered!

There is a complete 'hot chocolate set' in the attic from the boarding house my great-aunt owned in downtown NYC; the UN is there now.

The glass Japanese fishing floats that my mom, dad, and sister gathered from the beach near their home in Japan when my dad was stationed there (before I was born).

The Mikimoto pearl necklace and earrings my dad bought my mom while they were there (still in original box).

Several pieces of art glass from various places around the world (my dad was USAF so they traveled quite a bit).

My mom's sewing supplies.

Rings - very sentimental because my mom wore them:
My mom's wedding and engagement room
My great-great-grandmother's engagement ring
My great grandmother's wedding band (a simple wide gold band with what I've always thought was a lovely inscription - "Wear This For Me"

one of the most fun things I have hanging on my wall is a very long-handled, hand made hay fork for that belonged to my grandfather.
When I say long....it is about 14' long!
I have a picure of my dad when he was about 10 and allowed to build his first hay mound.
The long fork was needed to get a nice, high round mound.
If done right, the weather and rain would cause the top layer to form a crust and rain would roll off and not penetrate all winter.

They took his picture, proud as he could be of his achievement ...he said the next day it was fallen over in a big heap and grandad had to re-build!

**not my pic, just an example. But my picture is very close to same era.

My grandmother was stationed in Iraq. She purchased this brass teapot, but I'd NEVER use it.....decorative only.

My grandmothers thread bare rug is being used by us every day...over a 100 years old now. It's in front of the garage door. Since the pile is so low, now, the door clears it without scraping. :0) I've used an ink marker to color in some of the warp threads.

This post was edited by nicole__ on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 14:45

Great topic! I have my great grandmothers (paternal) spinning wheel, a Seth Thomas weighted mantle clock, I think the date on the inside is 1832, this clock was my great uncles (dad side) mother-in-laws great grandmothers clock. (?). An elecrolux vacuum from my great aunt, it works better than any other I have owned. Various iron skillets and utensils.

I have heirlooms from my family and also from my DH's family, but I'll only mention this one today.

Over the years I have written stories about my family, and this topic reminded me of one of those stories, so I went back and read it, just now. I call it My Mama's Rolling Pin. I ended it with this:

"...many children these days have not known the pleasure and love that is generated by standing at their Mama's side and watching the dough turn into such a tantalizing treat. Worst of all, they will never have a treasure like I have . . . my mama's rolling pin. How sad."

Sue

my fil finally let go of a lady's desk/hutch, that belonged to mil's family...she wanted us to have it years ago but he wouldn't...even after her passing...but of course he tried to restore it, (stripped off all the old patina) so it's about worthless to antiquers...but we're finally enjoying it...

I have a incomplete set of nortake china (Nippon, instead made in japan) from ggmother, and several other pretties that not one of my kids want, sigh....I guess they'll have quite the sale when I'm gone!

oh do have an old meat grinder, I used t use, lol...dh has a few of fil's tools but not really that "old"...

I just remembered I have my husbands mothers old singer treadle sewing machine in the basement. While poking around in the basement I found 2 small cast iron skillets that were my mom's. I guess I have quite a few things from both sides of the family.
Mary

My dad passed recently and we've been going through the house. Mom's been gone for 11 years and I've had some things for a while but recently acquired a few new things....quick lists:

Books my dad had when he was a kid (couple of Oz books) as well as some of his uncle's school books from the early 1900s.
My mom's grandmother's "good crystal" that was a wedding present in the 19-teens (I've had this for a while now).
Recently got a bunch of stuff from the kitchen (rolling pin, baking pans, cookbooks).
Some jewelry; mostly costume but I have Mom's mother's ring and her re-set wedding set.

My brother has all my dad's tools and recently was gifted all my mom's father's tools. He was an auto mechanic for years and fashioned his own tools for certain things. All the tool chests as well. Tons of tools! They'll all get used!

I have a gate leg table, some kind of very dark wood (mahogany?) that belonged to my great-great grandmother. My mom was going to sell it, if you can believe that, to replace with a new Amish made Mission style console table. How can you think of selling something with so much family history?

I also have a cherry desk, not antique, but new, high end when my grandparents bought it 60 years ago or so for their house. My dad always hated it because he had to do his homework on it. I love it for that reason. That, plus it has a ton of storage for our bills and useful stuff.

I just hope one of nephews or my niece will want them when I'm gone.

When I was a teen, my great grandparents passed. My grandfather being the very practical man he was, thought no one would want any of their old stuff, so he got rid of almost eveything in their house.
He burned their furniture.
I was only 14 or so, but heartbroken that he'd destroyed the rope beds and feather stuffed mattresses I loved so much.

I have several utensils with wood handles that were grannys, her rolling pin, alumium ladle and spoon, my mom's rolling pin, great Aunts cast iron skillet. I wanted a pot hanger and would have put all these things on it, in spite of our dust, just to see them everyday. The memories of using my mothers Betty Crocker cookbook, circa 1949, which I rescued from the junk pile, are the most fond of all my memories. I rarely use the alumium ladle and spoon but they're in my utensil jar, just so I can see them. Always think of my dad, when I pull the cork off his ice pick with wood handle. So nice to have these few things, that bring back such great times to recall. I don't suppose anyone in the family is interested in them, a shame to think they will probably end up in the trash. Ahh.. the memories are priceless!

carolssis, actually, the reason I posted the excerpt from my little story was that I was hoping it would inspire others to put their memories in writing. I've found that the younger generations are more interested than we might realize.

Recently my DS told me he had been reading some of mine that I have on a website, and also my DD has been asking questions about different things that happened 'way back when, that I hadn't even thought of writing about. Guess I should get busy at that again.

Sue