Today I am joining Diane's @
A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words blog party, 2nd Time Around Tuesday. Today I want to share with you my Grandpa and Grandma's China Cabinet. It is the first piece of large furniture that my Grandpa made. He made it from cherry wood left over from a job. Grandma wanted a pie safe style china cabinet with Hepplewhite legs. The cherry was wood for cabinets and moulding in a house. When the job was finished, Grandpa asked his customer what she would like done with the left over wood. She asked him to ..."haul it off..." He asked her if he could have it, "I can make something nice for my wife out of it." She told him to take it. He made it in 1931.
Grandpa had a hard life. Orphaned and abanded at age 8 with a 2 1/2 yo half brother to raise. After nearly starving to death, he began whittling wood into little things he could sell. A carpenter saw his work, took him under his wing,gave him a job, apprenticed and journeyed him.
As an adult, my Grandpa became one of the most sought after Carpenters/Designers/Construction Formans around. In winter months, people with 'means' would bring him photos of furniture and he would custom build it for them. If Grandma really liked it, guess what? She got one too! But this china cabinet was always a prized piece b/c it was his first large furniture. If you look close you can tell it is scrap wood. But that is OK. Does not decrease the value in my eyes a bit. :-D
A 3rd grade education, my Grandpa read everything and anything he could get his hands on. Encyclopedia books, dictionarys, practiced spelling, etc. One of the smartest men I knew.
My Grandma died when I was young so I did not know her very well. But I was very close to my Grandpa. I still miss him. This is one of the pieces I received from his estate. I used to love hearing all the stories he would tell me about his furniture. Almost every piece had a story with it.
To see more 2nd Time Around Pieces or to participate in Diane's 2nd Time Around, please go to
Diane's Blog.Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Melissa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Addendum~~~~~~~~~~~~
I need to get that 3 in a row linky thing everyone else is getting. If you like this post, read this one. You will love it. It is one of my first posts....
Grandpa's Chair
