Yesteryear Treasures - pretty re-purposed paint pails

Things were different back then. Since money was often tight, people tended to make-do with what they had, instead of going out and buying it. It's almost like they lived by this New England proverb as a mantra: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

Do you know someone who took the time to re-purpose pails? Syrup pails, paint pails, any kind of pail, really. I had a grandma who couldn't see a perfectly good pail go to the nuisance ground, so she gave them a new life. She turned paint pails into practical works of art. Grandpa must have helped her cut off the top ridge. Finally grandma added her own creative touch: After applying a coat of paint to the outside of the pail and allowing it to dry, she added the pretty floral design. These pails were used as knitting 'baskets' or to store stuff in.

The pail featured here is one my Grandma Anna gave to my Grandma Susie. She used it as a knitting basket for many years. After she passed away, my aunt had it for a while. I'm not sure what she used it for, I'm guessing for some hobby like crocheting. Then it was passed on to my sister, Joanne, who uses it for knitting, just like grandma did.

There's something to be said about reusing things, instead of going out and buying them. I know, with places like Dollorama we all seem to think it's not necessary. But now and then we should borrow a page from our grandparents and let our creativity go wild with re-purposing something you are tempted to throw out.

When I see grandma's pretty pail, it reminds of a book we had in our school years ago: Syrup Pails and Gopher Tails: Memories of the One-Room School. During those one-room schooldays, children brought their lunches to school in syrup pails. Does syrup ever come in pails nowadays?

How about you, any syrup pail tales in your family? I'd love to hear them!

A Stroll Down Blogpost Memory Lane

"Every now and then my heart wanders back in time and all those old feelings awaken the memories in my mind." Unknown

 Before creating this new look here, I decided to go through all my previous posts, (there were around 500) and delete some. Now I'm down to 379 posts. Sifting through all of them, was like a walk down memory lane. I thought I should highlight a few of my favorite posts you may never have seen before, if you're a relatively new follower. If you've followed from the beginning, March 2011, you may wish to read these again. I know I enjoyed reading and reminiscing about what I wrote back then.

Weathered Wood Lessons is one of the oldest posts on this blog. It's also part of a chapter in Hutterite Diaries and is one of the stories that readers deem one of their favourites.
A few weeks ago I got a call from a Mennonite couple in Wisconsin. They were in the area and after having read my book, they wondered if they and their four children could stop by for a visit. We spent a lovely Saturday afternoon together. We gave them a tour of our colony, and when we arrived back at my house, the mother of this family said, "Oh, I would have liked to see that desk you mention in your book." Since the face of the desk is not facing the door at this time, she didn't notice it. There's a picture of it in the book, which would have helped her realize it's the same one. Plus, I did say in the book that the desk is in my classroom. She loved the story of how old weather-beaten oak boards became a beautiful desk.

Share a Laugh - it's good for you reminded me of one of my favourite childhood books -a gift from my grandpa Maendel. After many years, I was able to obtain a copy, which today I love to share with my students.

Since we're just a few weeks from observing the Easter Holy Days, Historical Reflections would be a fine fit for this Lenton season. This piece was first published in our local Portage La Prairie newspaper, The Herald Leader and is also part of Hutterite Diaries.

If you've followed this blog for a while, you may remember my research regarding German prisoners of World War II, kept in Canada for years. My interest in that era stems from the fact that there was a farm labour camp near my colony during the 1940's and these Germans spent a lot of time here. One of my most intriguing finds was this story: German POW Update - Mystery Photo. I could not believe what I learned. To find out what that was, read this post:  Mystery Photo Solved. Included in Hutterite Diaries is the story about the POW becoming friends with the Hutterites.

This has been a fun post to work on; a lot of reminiscing! I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me. Perhaps we'll walk this way again sometime.