Heirlooms carry treasured memories

Dear Editor,

Many people save special items that become treasured heirlooms.

Gary Hobbs of Trenton, Neb., saved some ash from the volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State at Yakima.

My oldest son graduated from McCook High School in 1980. Some of that ash blew into McCook and landed on the graduation gowns of that class of 1980.

I carefully padded a small container of it and mailed it to my son, Matt, in Denver for a special heirloom from his graduation almost 28 years ago.

Gifts of the past are more than souvenirs. They preserve special memories and events. They include journals and diaries and treasures from the periods prior to the 21st century.

My father, Ted Hancock, was a missionary in New Zealand and Australia in the 1920s.

Many interesting sea creatures are found near the coast of Australia.

He found a seahorse in the ocean and preserved its skeleton in a tin container. My son, Dan, has it now in 2018.

I have a powder blue sweatshirt with a seahorse on it that I wear to preserve the memory of that unusual heirloom seahorse.

Several friends of mine in McCook and the surrounding area have purchased coins with U.S. presidents on them that are uncirculated.

Many farms in our area have valuable antiques that are heirlooms.

These include fabulous grandfather clocks, pianos with iron soundboards, furniture and farm equipment.

Someday, we even might be selected for an antique roadshow event on television.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.