My grandfather, Fred Cranmer (1904-1991), had worked a variety of jobs throughout his lifetime. Farmer. Carpenter. Ditch digger. It was his days as a ditch digger during the Great Depression when he found this medallion celebrating the centennial of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He gave it to me when I was just a kid.
I hadn't seen the medallion in years and thought it was long lost. Fortunately, my mother saves everything, and as I was rummaging through some boxes at her house, lo and behold, I found the medallion where she had placed it with all my Army coins. A nice discovery.
This little treasure is one of the few items I have from my grandfather and that makes it priceless to me. Some day, I’m sure I will send it to the college, maybe for their bicentennial in 2032. In the meantime, I'll just keep a closer eye on it.
Original post: 11/24/08
PFF is the creation of Leah J. Utas.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
9 comments:
What a wonderful keepsake.
Loved this story. Thanks. My grandfathers were both farmers. I have a mustache brush from one of them. Which is ironic, because I always knew him to be clean shaven.
That's cool. What a find to dig up! My sister once found a class ring in a pond when she was swimming.
Leah, Thanks for allowing me to join in the PFF fun again.
Ron, Amazing how such small, insignificant items can take on such relevance as the time passes by.
Charles, I know this isn't right, but I’m reminded of Bill Murray in CADDYSHACK and the pool scene.
It's funny how over time, the only objects which have any value to us are the ones that trigger memories.
A pair of dog tags, an old Zippo lighter, a hand mirror, a ring. These small things can carry great weight.
Great picture, great story. I have nothing from my grandfather but stories about how much of an asshole he was.
So true, Mark. Hey, you're blogging. I will check out your site.
You made me chuckle, Chris. Well, maybe, it is a good thing you don't have any mementos.
I am delighted to see that people are in fact writing about this subject in such an elegant way, presenting us all diverse parts to it.
Psychotherapy, Yeah I wouldn't want me to write about my family any other way but elegant.
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