Something Special
There are several items that I remember from my Grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner’s things that she had in her house. I was able to collect several or to find similar items.  Most are not expensive or rare, but remind me of her home. A deep green fez-shaped bowl was one item that she owned. She always served a salad of vegetables fresh from her garden. I found several other smaller ones and keep them resting like nesting dolls inside the original.
She had several ruby and crystal pitchers and cups. I loved to see their colors in her rounded curio breakfront cupboard. I have a ruby cup and crystal saucer of hers. I think that is why I have collected more ruby pieces. When the sunlight pierces them, it looks so beautiful.
An item that wasn’t my grandmothers was a paste-ware creamer pitcher. The white with blue design belonged to Gram’s neighbor. When Mrs. Witt passed away they had an auction. When everything was sold and everyone had gone, my mom Sybil Miner Beck looked under Mrs. Witt’s porch where she sometimes stored things. Mom found the pitcher and claimed it. It’s been passed down to me.
Another item that impressed me was also in the breakfront cabinet. It was a white and pink cup and saucer trimmed in gold leaf. What caught my attention was that it wasn’t an ordinary cup. It was a mustache cup. A mustache cup had an extra piece of porcelain across the rim. It allowed a gentleman to sip tea through an opening without wetting his mustache. Often a gentleman’s mustache was shaped and held in place with mustache wax. Hot tea would melt the wax and allow the whiskers to droop and well as ruining the flavor of the tea.
I remembered several wire and mirrored glass bead ornaments that hung on Gram’s Christmas tree. There were stars, crosses, and even a birdhouse. This past Christmas I was able to purchase a beaded star. It was smaller in size, but it still keeps thoughts of my Grandmother alive at Christmas.
I guess the largest and most prized item that belonged to my Grandmother is her photograph in an oval frame. It hangs in the entryway of my home. I’ve written before of its history and how a fast talking photographer enticed her into buying it. In a time when money was scarce and the fact that my Gram was a frugal lady, it’s a miracle that it exists at all.