Grandma's Teacup

Quite a few years ago now, my mother decided she was going to pass down a good portion of her teacups to my sisters and I.  She always had a story about where her dishes came from, and for the most part, I remembered what she told me.  "This bowl was used for shiny red apples on Christmas morning" ... "This vase was made by my mother's friend who used to work for Wedgewood in England" ... little snippets of family history, that really doesn't matter much, except to family.

Mom told me that teacups were a popular gift for young women.  They were inexpensive, pretty and a useful gift.  They were often given for birthdays and wedding showers in her circle of friends.  The day she showed me her teacups, they were lined up on the kitchen counter.  She wanted us to choose the teacups we would like to have.  I picked up this little teacup, "Gingham Rose" by Paragon to have a closer look.  I don't really remember anyone using this teacup.  The one I really wanted had been broken just a little while previous by two rambunctious dogs who took the moment when tea cups were sitting on a tippy little Indian table to go at each other, and the table was bumped, teacups flew up and crashed down (admittedly my dog caused the disaster).  It was a dark green teal with gold trim, and I always remember my dad drinking from that cup ... well, no longer :( 

Mom saw me admiring this teacup, and she told "My father gave this teacup to my mother as an anniversary gift one year".  A simple gift and a simple story.  I never met my grandfather.  He died of a heart attack long before I was born, before my parents even married. 

But from what my mother told me of him, I think we might have been friends.  He was a "bit of a naturalist" in the way he cared for animals.  He or his two sons would find wounded animals, bring them back to the farm and raise them.  The farm at one time had a pet crow and a pet great horned owl "Solomon".  He would take in any stray dog that needed a new home.  And my grandfather loved to read.

My grandfather was a market gardener and raised a variety of crops to sell at market on his small ten-acre plot of land.  Money was always tight, and my mother grew up during the Depression and a world war.  They lived on credit during the winter months, and paid up once the crops came in.  So when Mom told me this teacup was his gift to his wife one year, it touched my heart. 

This is the one that came home with me.  When I looked up "traditional anniversary gifts" on the internet, I find that china is the traditional gift to give for the 20th anniversary.  My grandparents, James & Violet were married in 1923 in Hamilton, Ontario. 

So Happy Anniversary to anyone celebrating their 20th today!

... and thank you for stopping by ;)

Wendy

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