Saturday, June 11, 2011

Foto Finish-Something old

What to pick, what to pick?  I am surrounded by old things that I collect and I find and I love.  It is something I do.  Finally I decided to share this.


This is a log chain.  My dad has used it for years.  He got it from my grandfather who used it for years.  My grandfather got it from his Uncle Lee, his mother's brother, who used it for years.  Supposedly it belong to their father, my great great grandfather Adam, who used it for years. 

Adam who was reported to not be a nice man to his family.  His children all ran away or were helped to run away when they were very young.  I think my great grandmother ran away when she was around 12.  Uncle Lee was born with a deformed back and this chain was reported to have been used to beat him once so severely he almost died. 

Why do I have a picture of it?  I was working on a genealogy project for a class during my Master's program.  Stories I never knew were told and incorporated into the project.  Frank stories I never knew as a child but ones that filled in the missing pieces of my families life.  This picture became part of it. 

I think this is a beautiful picture.  I see the wall and the pink phlox of one of my parents gardens that I helped to create.  I see the chain that represents to me not pain but the continuity of a family and a family work ethic.  This is a tool members of my family have used for more than 4 generations.  That is a cool thing!

keep dreaming...Colleen
On my patio fence-an old furnace cover from PA with a Moravian star on it. 
A galvanized pail for collecting weeds.
I'm a little addicted to old cookware too.

9 comments:

Kate said...

Interesting photo with an interesting story. I did some family geneology many years ago. It's amazing what you can learn when your are an adult about the stuff that happened before you were born or when you were little.

LuAnn said...

Great photo. Love your story that goes with it. Makes me think that I should get back into my genealogy again.

Barbara said...

Very cool indeed. I did a similar project for my masters program in social work. I too learned a lot about my family. Great shot. Thanks for sharing.

Gmama Jane said...

Very interesting post!! Loved it!
Blessings
Gmama Jane

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I think it is a fitting photo - finding links in your family - like the links in the chain.

Pat said...

It's amazing the stories that turn up in a family when you start asking/looking around.

Miss Hillbilly said...

We have things in our background that shock us. Now-a-day's I would not be real happy with your great great grandmother for staying there, but I guess at that time, you didn't leave or he would hunt you down and you would be punished. How awful for her to see her children being abused and not be able to do a thing about it!

quiltzyx said...

What an interesting photo & story. The newish, but still weathered wood, old chain & new blossoms. All connected.

Thanks for sharing.

Irina said...

very interesting story! nice photo