The Remington Typewriter

This dear little Remington Typewriter is with my sister Doreen.

She remembers Mom using it and I was wondering if it originally belonged to Nan.

Most of Nan's letters are typed and she was a typist too.

I can just picture her, folding her paper lengthwise, getting comfortable and typing up the news for Mom.

Looking at the typewriter got Doreen and I interested in seeing the precious pieces of jewellery she has inherited and who they had belonged to.

Mom, just like her mother, was meticulous. She made a special effort to pass on her treasures to us while she was alive and she also shared the story behind each piece.

This letter that Doreen showed me is quite remarkable.

It is dated 12 November 1974 and Doreen would have been 4 years old. This was the year Mom had her fight against ovarian cancer and she was getting her affairs in order.

Nellie van der Veen's brooch.

The little note had been folded to fit into the brooch box so when the time came Doreen would know the story behind the brooch.

Mom writes 'Nanny had the brooch as a young girl so it is very old now'.

Last night I had a look at some of my pieces and was amazed to see that I have a brooch that was made up for my mother using one of Alice Wedderburn's (nee Cawood) jade earrings, she was my father's paternal grandmother.

I am inspired to document what I have inherited to make sure Shawni and Barry continue to be custodians of our family heritage.