I feel so very blessed to have been able to save my great-grandmother's kitchen table! Yes, I use it as my office desk now, and it makes me proud. It is heavy, solid, dinged up and scarred, but I love it.
My great-grandmother Emily was born in 1886 and was married to a man 16 years her senior in 1903. I have a romantic notion that she was in love with someone closer to her age that her parents did not approve of, so they matched her with great-grandfather William.
Together, they farmed 100 acres given to them by her parents and raised four boys, one girl and later a grandson and granddaughter. One of the boys was my grandfather.
Even though this table was small (though originally it did have one more leaf), it stood the test of time through all of the family meals, celebrations, canning and butchering sessions, and the somber times (like William's early death in 1933).
My mother fondly recalls all of the Sunday dinners great-grandmother and our aunt prepared. Since everyone couldn't fit at the table, the men ate first, then the ladies, then the children. Mama said that was okay, because her sister and cousins could always find plenty of fun out at the farm!
And the food this table held. Most everything was made from scratch using ingredients raised there. The fresh fried chicken, homemade noodles, fresh green beans, sauerkraut, dewberry pie...yum!
This, to me, is why I love antiques. Every piece has a story, a memory, a unique purpose, a representation of a feeling.
Please share what your favorite antique is and why. We look forward in hearing from you!
