Grandpa Seaman's desk...

Dear Diary,

I have been working on printing pages of the family chronicle for four days now.  I am nearing an end to the project, well, I use the word "end" loosely.  I doubt it will ever truly end but I am determined that I will finish all the printing of the pages I have done so far in the next couple of weeks.  Today I will be taking a sabbatical from that task and just enjoying a peaceful Sunday with warming temperatures.

This is the old desk that belonged to my great-great grandfather William Henry Seaman.  It always resided in my home growing up and I loved sitting and writing at it. It always made me feel so grown up.  My grandmother never believed in treating family heirlooms as sacred objects, they should be used and this desk was.  It is now in the possession of my nephew who does cherish it I am glad to say.  I hope that some day my family chronicle will rest in it.

Family heirlooms are a tangible link to a family's past.  They allow us to touch what they touched, to connect with them on a foundational level.  The old wood and the dull brass are bridges into their world.  I love seeing the carefully cut dove tails and keyhole and the tiny cut nails.  A couple of the drawer fronts have been replaced, as I said, this desk was used continually for 150 years.  I include a photograph, circa 1959, which shows the desk with the old phone on it.  No dials back then and we had a three party line.  I still remember our number, 361R!  

My mother wrote a little note about who made the desk and slipped into a drawer where it stays.  It is so important to record these things because over time the powerful connection to these artifacts in the family story can be lost.  I will frame the tintype of Grandpa Seaman so it can stay with the desk.  I think he would like that.