The Legacy of History

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement
The Legacy of History

My paternal grandma demonstrated her love with hours upon hours of playing card games with me. Looking back, I wonder how she summoned up the patience to play the card game we called Battle over and over for what must have seemed endless to the adult mind. At the same time, she was playing games with me, she slipped in the importance of family history. She made sure to tell my me and my cousins about life on the frontier of Kansas. She wanted us youngsters to know about the historical times which people before us experienced. I remember sitting on the floor by her feet while she told us about the famous Oklahoma land rush of 1889. As a girl, wearing her fancy hat and carrying a parasol against the sun, she witnessed the event. Afterwards, she heard tales of murder because of land disputes out of sight of the beginning line. She never forgot the opportunity people of all classes had to acquire land, and she wanted to make sure we didn’t forget either. She appreciated the privilege of living in the United States of America.

I wish I had asked her more questions. While your loved ones are alive, ask then to tell you their stories. Where were your family’s most senior members when J F Kennedy was assassinated? Where were your family members when 911 occurred? People always remember what they were doing when those dreadful events shook the world. What are the historical events your oldest family member remembers? Is anyone old enough to remember the great drop of the stock market in 1929 when the great depression hit the United States? Do they remember when President Reagan was shot? Ask them questions. When did they first watch television? Did any family member ever live without indoor plumbing? They will be honored you asked, and you will be enlightened by their answers. We can thank God for our family members who lived in those by-gone times. The fourth of July is a good time to consider blessings our family has enjoyed instead of any difficulties we’ve encountered.