What with Veterans Day being celebrated in the USA on November 11th., and all the family histories being talked...
What with Veterans Day being celebrated in the USA on November 11th., and all the family histories being talked about here, I thought I would share a story with you from my life.
On April 6th 1917 America entered the First World War. It had already been raging in Europe since November 11th of 1914. So there were no illusions about what could happen to a young man going off to fight.
One such young man was in love with my Great Aunt Rosa Elizabeth. This pin, and the Poem by Poet Robert Burns “Red, Red, Rose” was his gift to her as he boarded a troop train, pledging his love and that he would return to her.
Below are the words that were had written on paper and placed in an envelope with the pin and given to Rosa Just before Robert had to board his train. On the envelope I am told he wrote either “My Promise” or “My Pledge” however neither the handwritten words nor the envelope survived...
Red, Red, Rose by Robert Burns
O my Love is like a red, red rose, that's newly sprung in June:
Oh my Love is like the melodie, That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in love am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear, Till all the seas go dry.
Till all the seas go dry, my dear, And the rocks melt with the sun;
And I will Love thee still, my dear, While the sands of life shall run.
And Fare-thee-well, my only Love! And Fare-thee-well, awhile!
And I will come again, my Love, Tho' we are ten thousand mile!
No the envelope and note are gone long ago, perhaps from being taken out and read so many times by Rosa while he was in pearl in that far away land.
But, what of Robert?
Robert did return. He was wounded while fighting in the trenches. Spent a good deal of time in a hospital somewhere in England and was finally sent home because he had only partial use of his left arm after. He became Great Uncle Robert when he married Rosa in 1920. Truly a romantic history for this pin.
Thank you for reading this far. I am sure Rosa and Robert are looking down and are pleased to have shared their story.
I am so glad he made it! So many fine young lads did not, or wished that had not. It is a blessing. A story of how love endures. Thank you for sharing. :-)
ReplyDeleteOshi Shikigami Thank you. It does sound like something out of a movie doesn't it. I have often envisioned the train at the station, and his giving Rosa the envelope. The tears she must have unleashed when she did open it. Quite a story.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. So poignant, true, and universal.
ReplyDeleteOshi Shikigami I am sure it is one that had happened thousands of times in all the wars. And thus why all wars should end in my mind.
ReplyDeleteSuppose they gave a war, and all of age said, simply, NO. Wouldn't that be nice? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOshi Shikigami You read my mind as we posted at the exact same time above.
ReplyDeleteYes. True enough!
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret for this poignant story. I didn't expect a happy end, Seventeen millions of other soldiers did not have the same luck...
ReplyDeleteAs to another war, we shall see what tomorrow brings if you see what I mean !
Beautifully touching story Margaret Siemers. Hope this finds it's way to another loving family.
ReplyDeleteWow Margaret Siemers. This is a beautiful story and I had convinced myself that he didn't return from the War. I was a bit blurry eyed before I read that he had returned and that they shared their lives together :-) What a romantic soul.
ReplyDeleteThis Robbie Burns poem is often read at funerals and weddings in the UK (especially Scotland)- it suits both occasions. Thank you for the share- I'm off to find a hanky, must have something in my eye....
What a touching story.
ReplyDeleteLaurent Truillet I do know what you mean, I am afraid that as long as there is want and averous in the world, we will have wars.
ReplyDeleteThank you for appreciating the story.
Pam WhimsicalVintage It already has, and this is why I felt I could post it here. (whispering) you know we aren't allowed to sell things for sale here. lol
ReplyDeleteDarran Hughes Thank you. I appreciate the comment.
ReplyDeleteOh I know Margaret Siemers :) I meant the home it was already sold to...we're a couple of rule followers from way back!
ReplyDeletePam WhimsicalVintage Oh, don't I know that. :)
ReplyDeleteMullard Antiques and Collectibles Aw, somehow I missed your post earlier. How nice of you to say you felt moved. I wish all the young men that went off to war had come home to the wives and sweethearts, but at least he did. And I am happy for that as I have some rather cool relatives because of it.
ReplyDelete:-)) Margaret Siemers
ReplyDeleteI love the story and I love the pin. Half way through I was saying to myself, "Oh please let Robert return safely and let there be a happy ending!" I'm so grateful for both! Whenever I'm on a train, looking out on a rainy day, I imagine this type of story:-)
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy Thank you Ann. My customer received it just today and wrote me to say how thrilled she was with the pin, and that she will cherish it always.
ReplyDeleteIn my own children's defense, I have given them many cherished pieces and memories from our joint past. But as my one daughter said to me "Mom, you kept a museum. We just can't take on that kind of family history so it's good for you and dad to benefit."
I suppose we are, how delightful to know what I can't pass on is in the hands of folks that will appreciate the history and the item.
Margaret Siemers I think you have found a very good solution to the issue of "the burden of my mom's museum" :-)
ReplyDeleteMargaret Siemers
ReplyDeleteWhen your children say " We just can't take on that kind of family history", it means in plain English "We couldn't care a damn about all the rubbish that you have".
That's also what I understand from my children's unspoken attitude.
"From Dust We Come and to Dust We Shall Return" also applies to family memories...
There is another saying in French that says "Après nous le déluge" (After us, the Flood !)
Laurent Truillet Sometimes I feel that way too, but it may be a lack of comprehending their own mortality.
ReplyDeleteI know when I was their age I wasn't as keen on all the dusty boxes and trunks we had stored. I kept them out of a sense of duty back then, because others had intrusted them to me whether I wanted them or not.
It is a large responsibility to be the caretaker of generations. How do you store this thing? How do I preserve that? Is keeping it all locked away in boxes honoring anyone it belonged to?
Both a joy and a burden for me in my later years, but I can't be upset with my children as they have been given so many precious photographs, books, letters, and items of everyday from those years that I know they do care. They just can't care to the quantity that I have had to deal with. And that is OK, as I have said above, this pin and it's story have now found a new home. It may not be with family, but it will be cared for and spoken of and isn't that the best way to honor those that we shall meet again sooner than later?
When I do pass, I will do so knowing that even though the "museum" was dismantled, it was done so by me and so much less information has been lost to time. I think that is important.
Business, History, or or not. Most all wait until they are at least one generation, to be interested. Even if it was after expeditious purging, and it is the mood of the day...
ReplyDeleteI have items from two generations back. and am labeled a 'pack rat.' So on it goes...
Margaret Siemers
ReplyDeleteMy comment was a bitter one, but your comment, Margaret, is good sense and I agree with all you have written.
Keeping loads of family memories stacked up in sealed boxes takes a lot of volume and we cannot expect our children to dedicate a spare room for the purpose. But we are lucky now that we are entering a new age in preservation : digitization. We can now take photos of anything and everything and write stories about them. We can also multiply those testimonies at will and give them not only to our children, but also to cousins who have had the same grandparents.
I remember that some time ago, we have been worried about the reliability of electronic data. Personally, I have no worry. File types like "jpg" are so widely used that if the standard changes, there will always be a method for recovering the older standard. Google estimates that over on trillion photos will have been taken in 2016 !
So let's be confident in this aspect of our future (as for the other aspects, we shall see !). Let us scan, take photos, document, classify and write stories, and hope that our descendants will always spare a little place in some drawer to keep a mini HDD or a memory stick, and finally forward to further generations.
Amen !
Oshi Shikigami
ReplyDeleteYour comment is also an idea to which I have given some thought.
It is true that the recent past has no interest for anybody. But if it is carefully downsized to the essential, labelled and boxed away, it may survive one or two generations as such and then be interesting for the next one, who will probably purge it a little further.
Oshi, you may also be interested by my reply to Margaret.
Wonderful comments all around. I do believe that vintage souls are vintage souls, no matter the age but I also agree that for the majority of people, it is as you said Oshi Shikigami , there is a generational skip.
ReplyDeleteIt always gives me hope when one of these pieces is sold in the way that Margaret Siemers 's was...to a caring a family who will give it new life as a family heirloom. I have had many young customers looking to replace something that their mother or grandmother had and that is always a touching sale.
Laurent Truillet your comment is tremendously valuable and spot on. We do need to photograph, scan and save. This can be quite an undertaking for our generation, as it just seems odd (at least to me) but down the road, I know how important it will be. I have some videos of the kids that I was going to convert to CD's about 5 years ago, now I realize that I need to put them on some type of flash drive since I doubt CD's will be around much longer. Scanning letters and old family documents, is something that I hadn't thought of, thank you!
Laurent Truillet And I do understand how you felt when you made your comment above, however your latest comment is the best. Preservation, in any form is imperative to save our past.
ReplyDeleteI have read that more photo's are taken in a SINGLE day today digitally, than all of the photo's ever taken on film. That, and your information boggles my mind.
Pam WhimsicalVintage nicely said, as usual.
Running out to vote now. Hope you all have or will do the same here in the USA.
It's all such interesting conversation and it furthers the bond among us. While I am glad we can digitize and record details, to hold in my hand an object that that I associate with a loved one or experience from the past is more precious than anything. It's the reason I try to use these things when our children are present for holidays, special occasions and even ordinary visits. In doing so I hold out a little hope that the object of my affection might become one of theirs as well:-)
ReplyDeleteMargaret Siemers Oshi Shikigami Pam WhimsicalVintage Ann Kennedy
ReplyDeleteWe have had a very interesting conversation on this subject which is important to us all. We can of course go on much further, but that is probably the very reason we are all on "Vintage Life"...
Laurent Truillet Well said! Intelligent conversation is cherished and digested here by many more than we see clicking and joining in. And the wisdom imparted by all of you dear commenters is priceless.
ReplyDeleteWe may joke and have a very good time, but on threads like this people like you, Oshi Shikigami Pam WhimsicalVintage Ann Kennedy Mullard Antiques and Collectibles and Darran Hughes bring it to life even that much more.
I can never thank you folks enough for sharing your opinions and knowledge on any post we find here.