Thursday, January 9, 2025

Poetry Friday - Finding Old Things

        It's Poetry Friday, and Kat Apel is hosting HERE at Kats Whiskers with a poem to read, then laugh, meow and bark.   Thanks for hosting, Kat! 

   

           I've been organizing and cleaning out the last of Christmas things. This time, it's a paper bag full of past Christmas cards, some blank ones, address stickers, various holiday stickers and some old holiday quotes I like. Also, placed there last year from another box of old family papers, I added a group of newspaper clippings, all appearing to be from the Kansas City Star, 1948. I think they're from my maternal grandmother because of other things in the box. I found one lovely poem, not about the holiday itself, but about winter, which we in Denver had a big taste of this week! We had a very dry December, and this snow, while not a huge amount, felt truly heaven-sent. I posted on FB that I was positive the trees were dancing.

         On the fronts and backs of these clippings were also ads, and you might like to see a few of those prices! Of course, salaries 77 years ago were much smaller, yet they are still surprising!

Enjoy! 



my side yard

        I researched Anobel Armour and found three books, and the picture books were illustrated by Bill and Bernard Martin, whom I recognize. I couldn't find a photo of any of the books! 



Wishing you all a lovely week ahead, weather-wise or otherwise! I want also to show my concern for those who are losing homes and lives in the terrible California fires. 


31 comments:

KatApel - katswhiskers.wordpress.com said...

What treasures! I had to look too - for the picture books by Anobel Armour. Here is one; https://www.amazon.com/Little-Shepherd-Anobel-Armour/dp/B000AXE36E
And this link shows you some internal pages.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1649334819/little-shepherd-hardcover-january-1-1951

Linda Mitchell said...

Snow-storm tufted is fun and lovely. I liked visiting with your grandmother for a bit. The prices are amazing! What a fun time you must have had with that box of stuff.

Linda B said...

Thanks for the great search, Kat! I loved seeing the information about the books!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Linda, I so enjoyed looking through everything, probably did a long time ago, but now some were new to me again!

Anonymous said...

Hey Linda, who is wonderful for such rich sharing - the delight of a winter scene poem *in a newspaper!* the ads & your idea of the winter trees dancing - I luv it all.
*As a newspaper writer & editor in days past, I wish of course, they were flourishing as before & I wish they hadn't been so hasty to abandon publishing small poems. Maybe readers would have continued on...
WinterTime Wonders to You!

Anonymous said...

Anon. above is Bookseedstudio.Jan

Linda B said...

Thanks, Jan. I agree about the papers, have some good memories of a breakfast table with pages shared among the family, eating breakfast, saying things like "Look at this!"

TraceyKJ said...

Wow, such fascinating finds – a dining room set for $189 (or $59.50 if you go modern – All Metal!). Hurricane lamps for $1.99. I love stumbling across pieces of history like this. Thank you for sharing, Linda!

Carol Varsalona said...

Kat, I also love the Anobel Armour book you found.

Carol Varsalona said...

Linda, it is pure delight to read the ads you shared from the past since I am a lover of ephemera. I have a cozy feeling from your post that shares life in winter. The poem was a wonderful small poem and your backyard in black and white reminds me of building an igloo with my sister and friends in our backyard. The amazing part is that we actually got the snow to stay together. Thanks for sharing the wonders of winter in an nostalgic way.

Sarah Grace Tuttle said...

That poem is a sensory delight Linda. Thank you for unearthing it and sharing it with us!

Linda B said...

Thank you, Tracey, Carol, & Sarah! I'm glad you enjoyed what I shared. The winter poem feels just right for January, especially what I'm seeing on the news about this recent winter storm, & the prices will always amaze me!

Susan T. said...

I like that one, Linda! Old newspapers are fascinating. I have found all kinds of treasures (and some real doozies) while doing family research.

Michelle Kogan said...

I also love the "Snowstorm-tufted in blue-white, charming and slows us down. Lovely poem Linda and fun to look at the old ads too. Hope you stay warm and cozy throughout the Colorado winter wonderland, thanks.

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Time-travel on Poetry Friday! Linda, her grandmother, the curiously-spelled Anobel, furniture prices of 1948! (they didn't seem so low to me, proving that my sense of when I should have been born in this poem https://www.instagram.com/p/DEnEo95RXfm/ is correct.) Thank you, Linda. Ephemera. Think how much of it has gone up in flames this week--oh, I can barely bear it!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Susan, Michelle, & Heidi. I love seeing what you all took from this post!

Carol Labuzzetta said...

Linda, I'm glad you're gettins some snow in Denver! The trees were dancing! I love that sentiment and am sure they were! Did I mention to you that my eldest son moved to Fort Collins in August. He was excited to see the snow this week too - however small the amount. I'll be watching for "old" things when we clean out my Dad's home after he's gone - there's so much there to go through and we didn't want to do any more than we did after my mom died a couple of years ago when we were there on our recent visit. Seeing your things go out the door has to be extremely hard, so we just put it off for now. I hope you share what I find in the future. Thanks for the idea! Enjoy the snow!

Tabatha said...

What a treat to run across your grandmother's paper clippings! I like the singing wind making the branches chime. Enjoy the snow!

Rose Cappelli said...

It's always such fun to find treasures. Thanks for sharing yours with us!

Marcie Flinchum Atkins said...

I love looking at old newspapers. I recently went down a research rabbit hole of want ads from World War II. So interesting.

Linda B said...

Yes, I do remember about your son, and I hope he's loving his new city! We really did need the moisture! I know it will be bittersweet when you do that cleaning, but finding old treasures can be heartwarming, too! Thanks for sharing!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Tabatha, Rose, and Marcie. Wintertime is when much happens "inside" and brings some good things, right?

Patricia Franz said...

Such a gift to find these notes and bits of history, Linda! I'm pretty sure I grew up in a kitchen with "All Metal!" table and chairs - lol. Enjoy the white!

Linda B said...

Thanks for sharing, Patricia! Yes, one of my grandmothers had one, too, with red vinyl-covered chairs - delightful!

Karen Edmisten said...

How fun to wander through the past with you, Linda! Thanks for this delight!

Linda B said...

Hi Karen, glad you enjoyed the trip! Thank you!

Jane @ Raincity Librarian said...

Oooh, that chrome dinette set! I'm such a sucker for anything vintage, especially old books and magazines, because I find myself daydreaming about all the different people who held them, and the lives they might have led.

Robyn Hood Black said...

LOVE all of this Linda, thank you. And hard to believe our yards here in the South resemble the picture of yours! Or did til today, when the sun is warmer and melting some of the last hide-out patches of snow. Warm hugs from here!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Jane & Robyn. I remember that my grandmother had one of those sets, and Robyn, hope you were able to stay in being cozy!

Mary Lee said...

I've been doing some sifting, sorting, and pitching, too! I found a gem of a memory from my 40th birthday, and the diary I kept off and on in elementary school made it (once again) to the SAVE box!

Linda B said...

I have an early one that I kept, Mary Lee, but the one from college was too private, just for me for reminiscing, then I shredded it. It is fun to read the earlier one! Thanks for sharing!