This picture makes me smile. I am the baby in the picture so I don't actually remember this occasion, but I'm willing to bet it is Thanksgiving 1964 or some special family dinner right around that time. The setting is Beebe, Arkansas at my great Aunt Mairee's house. She is on the far left, next to my maternal grandmother, then my mother holding me, and finally, my brother and sister are on the front. My mother's cousin sent this to me (Aunt Mairee's son). I shared it and some others on Facebook and had one comment from an old college friend on the "vintage glassware" pictured on the table. I too, appreciate vintage glassware, and have seen many of my grandmother's patterns for sale in upscale stores and antique shoppes. These red glasses in the picture though, probably aren't around any longer. My Aunt Mairee's beautiful Main Street two-story house was destroyed in the huge tornado that hit Beebe in 1999. They pulled her from the rubble and she lived, although not many of her belongings made it through the storm. She lived out the rest of her days in a small senior citizen's apartment.
Just as my friend noticed the vintage drinkware, I had just noticed the "vintage glasses" , as in eyeglasses, in the picture! How funny these are to me now! As a kid, I don't ever recall noticing or even remotely caring what people's glasses looked like. I didn't even notice when they were big cat-eye glasses!
I am not one of those people who wish they grew up in a different time--I wouldn't want to go back to the 60's or any other decade. I look around though and wonder, what of mine will be considered "vintage" 40-something years from now? (I know, everything!!) But will there be anything special enough that a younger generation will collect it? I do look back to my grandmother's generation and appreciate the way they "treasured" their belongings. They took care of things and were proud to pass them along to a younger generation. I am guilty of being part of the "throw away" generation, focusing on everyday use of what is easy, convenient and affordable. Trends change so quickly, but of course I've noticed using and wearing old items has become a hot trend in the last few years. Throw the word "vintage" on any old item you are trying to get rid of, and someone will snatch it up! Looking at this picture, I am reminded that "vintage" also means history...whether a family's history, a part of cultural history, or the history of a particular item that was well-made and well-preserved. That earlier generation valued what they had, and I think would love the idea that years and years down the road, someone else was collecting it, using it, or selling it in a store next to new, trendy designer pieces intended to make our homes beautiful.
I think I'll start my "Vintage" box tomorrow.....just a few items that will stay out of the garage sales or the trash...and instead be used or collected or shared with others by my kids or grandkids. Oh, my husband is gonna love this one!
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