Sugar Bowl and Creamer

I have come home to the family farm due to my father’s recent knee surgery. Mother is not able to do the lifting or keep up with the maintenance on the old homestead. Coming home to the country is a nice break from living in the suburbs of a city. There is always something that needs to be done. 

On rainy days there are not many chores I could do outside. Inside work is always waiting for you. On today’s agenda was indoor chores due to the rain.  I decided the overstuffed built in china cabinet need to be dusted and possibly have some items given away. After an hour I had all the items removed except for a couple of items on the top shelve way far at the back. They are a small sugar bowl, small silver thongs and a small creamer jug. They had yellowed with age and the finished had many hairline cracks. As long as I can remember this set was always in the same spot.  

I took them down and placed them very carefully on the counter closest to the pile ear marked for give away. Mother comes around the corner into the dining room. She spies the bowl and creamer. Her eyes grow large staring at them. “Be careful with those. They have been in the family for years and I would hate for you to be the one to break them.” she says point at the bowl and creamer.

“Why are they important?” I replied.

“Not really sure. Your grandmother and her grandmother before her always said they were special and made a huge different to our family heritage. “

“Is there anyone in the family that knows the story of why they are important? Did someone write it down somewhere?” now I am intrigued.  

“I remember someone mentioning a great grandmother mother from way back use to keep a journal, mostly about the weather, crop status and needlework projects. I do not know if it true or where those journals would be. Maybe we should take the set to an antique dealer and see if it the value of the set that makes them important. Maybe one of our great grandparents were a famous potter?”

“Yes that would be a good idea.” I said very vaguely. My mind is racing with thoughts of where these journals could be. I am not really listening to my mother talk.  

A few days have passed since finding the sugar bowl and creamer set but they were always on my mind. My mother`s words about the plain little bowl and creamer making a difference to our family kept swirling in my mind. 

Out in the barn moving hay down from the loft to feed the pigs, it hit me. Maybe the journals were in the attic of the house. The house is more than two hundred years old. I would check the attic first thing after supper.

Entering the attic is like entering a different time zone. Items had been added from each generation in no particular order. It appears if there was a space at the time of bring an item up that is where it stayed. Since I was looking for something really old I guessed it would be the farthest place from the opening in the floor that I had just come through. Dust is everywhere and thick. The light from the flashlight only illuminated the dust I stirred up as I move along the makeshift aisles .Cardboard boxes were filled with books, decorations, toys and pictures. I knew I was not looking for cardboard boxes. If my mother’s story is correct, the journals would not be in cardboard boxes. They would be in a chest or wooden box.

I spot a wooden box labelled, “Isabella’s”. My heart skipped a beat. My mother’s middle name was Isabella but it was too old looking to belong to her.

I dragged the heavy box into an open area and opened the lid. Inside is news clippings from the 1800’s, books and journal notebooks. My mind raced to the thought, “Could this be the journals mom had spoken about?” First item out of the box are news clippings about a Princess’ visit to Canadian Maritimes. The font is the old type set and the paper is brittle. I gently placed them on the floor. Removed books, some quilt patterns and made it down to the two journal books. At the very bottom is an old four inch metal spike. “That is an odd thing to keep.” I said out loud as if there was someone with me.

The first notebook has 1835 – 1840 neatly hand printed on the cover. The second one has 1841 - 1845 same printing as the first one. I opened the first one and started to read. The writing is old and faded in places. It took a few pages to get use the language. The language is English but very proper and words used in different context than today’s writings.  Each year started with the date entry only in the middle of the page.

Most of the writing is about the weather, crops, which were not doing very well due the amount of rain the last two weeks. August 10^th, “Horus went to town today for supplies. He commented the roads were soft and ruts were getting deeper.” August 12^th, “Horus went to the neighbors to help with stooking hay.” August 14, “Quilting bee came for tea and biscuits.”

August 15^th, “Big Day”, this was written is capital letters. “Horus had left early morning for town to drop off potatoes at Colemen ‘s store. The weather had turned foul just before noon. Heavy rain not fit for man or beast. Rounding the corner just before our lane, Horus noticed a very handsome carriage stuck on the side of the road. One wheel was broken; the metal rim had come lose and a spoke was cracked. Horus hammered a spike into the cracked spoke and offered to fix the wheel but the driver would have to bring the carriage to our barn.

Horus guided the carriage down the lane towards the barn. When I saw the two carriages coming down the lane I knew we had company.  I quickly put on the kettle and rush to find biscuits, butter, jam, cheese, cookies, sugar, cream, cups and teapot. They would need to warm up and no guest in my house would leave hungry. 

When the carriage was beside the house a passenger dismounted and her driver lead her to the door. She wore a beautiful overcoat of soft grey wool and matching big hat. The driver went back to the barn where Horus had taken the carriage.

She stepped through the door dripping water on the floor and looked very cold. She apologized for the mess on the floor. I told it was no trouble and the floor had seen worst. I hung her coat and hat on a hook closest to the door. She wore a green satin dress with velvet accents. It was the prettiest dress I had ever seen.  

I was about to pour the tea, when Horus and the driver entered the house. Tea all around and they told us about coming from Great Britain for a visit. Night was fast approaching and the driver wanted to leave because they need to be at the dock before dark. The ship was leaving early morning for Great Britain. ``

The rest of the journal enters in the notebook are about the weather, crops and odds and ends of information. As I closed the book, I saw the newspaper clippings again. Date Aug 16, 1838. “Princess Adelaide visits Charlottetown.” My mouth dropped. That was Isabella’s visitor. Quickly scanning the article the words `` wife of William IV king of Great Britain`` popped out. Isabella had tea with a princess.

I opened the second notebook not too far in the, when another big letter day journal entry appears.

November 16, 1841. “Today our lives and all of our future generation’s lives have changed.  We received a letter from Princess Adelaide. She is so grateful for us coming to the aid of her driver and our hospitality. Fixing the wheel, the tasty tea and biscuits was above anything she expected to happen. She was impressed; we would not take any payment for our kindness. She had contacted the land title office for our property and paid the deed in full. She enclosed the document showing the farm is paid in full.”

November 17^th. “I have placed the sugar bowl and creamer jug in the china cabinet on the top shelve. It is my most prize procession.”

I closed the journal and tears are streaming down my face. I am so proud of my great, great, however many great grandparents they are back.

I race downstairs with the journal in my hand, yelling at the top of my voice, “I know why the sugar bowl and creamer are important. We can never take them to an antique dealer.”