Aunt Thelma

Thelma and Wilbur Meet the Roby and Agnes Wall family. My mom is the cute little girl in the front. Thelma is standing behind her left shoulder.

Forewarning: This will be a long post.

Most of you know that I have tried to help my Mom and Dad clean out my Aunt Thelma's house. Thelma is my Mom's oldest sibling. It had to be sold so that Thelma could continue to enjoy her own, private room at the nice nursing facility where she is living out her life along with one of her sisters. My parents have worked non-stop for months trying to get it to the point of putting on the market. I have been with them several times just to lend a hand at this arduous task.

I wouldn't exactly call Aunt Thelma a hoarder although her house tells a different story. I personally think it's where she lived through the Great Depression, many wars, and many uncertain times. She is the first born child of my maternal grandparents. She is 89 now. 1 of 9 children. She lost her husband Wilbur many, many years ago. She never remarried (although she had a suitor named Pearlie that meant a great deal to her but he too has passed). She never had children. She is a modest woman....and worked and retired from Lorillard along beside of Wilbur.

It is never easy to go through someone's things. I can remember being with my parents as they sorted through their parent's personal belongings. I personally think you must begin the task with the utmost respect for the things they have collected. These things were important enough for them hold on to them......for whatever reason. It has been a sobering task to watch my mom relive some really good and some not so good family memories. There have been several bittersweet moments for us all.

Aunt Thelma's house has been shut up for many years. You might can imagine the musty smell that comes from lack of air circulation. We have sat there and gone through every little book, boxes of pictures, vintage clothing, you name it. Piece by piece. The things my mom felt most important have been boxed up and taken to Thelma's for her to sort through. Thelma kept EVERYTHING... Her house was a maze of newspapers, magazines, receipts, mail....and everything else. She is of the generation of waste not, want not. Again..I do not think she is a hoarder....I am sure she had reasons for all of the things she kept.

I had to post some of the things that caught my attention. Trust me when I say that I am not dishonoring my aunt. I am not...I would never do that. Each time my mom came across something that we were unsure as to which pile it should go....She would always say... What do you think Thelma would want me to do with this. Please know...we entered the house each time with respect and love for Thelma because this was her home...her safe haven. I am sure it's hard to let go of so many of her things.....but mostly her home. The things that couldn't be sold we donated to help people in need.

Some of the things that brought a smile to us:

*Herbal healing books - Yelp she was a believer in natural health. So far it's worked for her.

*Egg cartons....hundreds of them neatly stacked.

*Pantyhose....millions!

*Greeting cards to send out...100s of them.

*An unabridged dictionary. Who has that? It's a big as a bushel basket.

*Dozens of baby blankets for shower gifts. I'm sure she really missed not having children.

*Decades of Blums Almanac books - She was an avid gardener.

*3 huge freezers filled to the brim. One was dedicated only to garden seeds that she had saved.

*Cases and cases of home canned food. I can not imagine the work she put into that.

*A loaded .38 in a shoebox. Ry found...when he opened the box..it was pointing at him. Wow!

*Sear and Roebuck catalogs. I was so thrilled to see those....I used to love them as a kid.

*Bibles, hymnals galore

*An interesting book about 'relations'. Go Thelma! :)

*Hundreds of letters and cards that her friends and family had sent to her.

*Letters from my grandmother....it was so heartwarming to see her handwriting again!

*Every piece of clothing she ever bought or sewed. Even Wilbur's...she couldn't part with.

*Thelma-made Quilts - used so much they were falling all apart.

*Canned ham containers...even the lids!
*Books and novels of all kinds. My mom said a lot of folks gave her things to read.

*A vegamatic! :)

*Flour - many, many bags of flour with vanilla flavoring and coconut. She must have made a great coconut cake. My grandpa's favorite....and mine too. I believe she was baking him a coconut cake the day he died expectantly.

*Shoes....many, many shoes.

*MANY Purses...all empty except for 3 common items - Bandaids, tissue and Dentyne gum.

*Christmas ornaments make from fabric softener lids.

*A rustic stool... we think that might have been used as an outhouse item????

*Monthly calendars that went back many years. She had handwritten on the date the bills were paid. Guess that was her record keeping or the equivalent of Quicken.

*Money order receipts. Seems she paid her bills only w/ money orders.

*And lastly....the white bedspread that my grandmother had on one of her beds for as long as I can remember. It has the knots all over it to create a design. I loved that old bedspread. I slowly ran my hand across it as I had done for so many years....and it still made my palms feel numb....just the same as it did when I was a kid. It's worn and tattered now...but I recognized it the moment I saw it.

Thank you Thelma for trusting my parents enough to take care of your things. We handled it all with the love and care we think you would have wanted. Thanks for a chance to relive some memories. It's almost done now...about the only thing left....is for Thelma to meet the gentleman that purchased her home that is located on Hwy 62 in Julian. May he love it as much as you do.