The Small Pitcher

 One of the shelves of my curio cabinet sits a small pitcher.  It is white with blue trim and pink flowers.  It's about 6 inches tall and has a very delicate handle.  This was Grandmother's and it's among many of her wonderful treasures I possess.

Often when you think about children's toys, you think of things like dolls, games, toy trucks, etc.  Things children typically played with.  And in this day and age, these items are often made of plastic don't always survive the destruction of a child.  But that's ok because that is what toys are for.  To be played with.  I would not exactly call this pitcher a toy, but Grandmother received it when she was a child.

I can only imagine what a child's birthday party was like in the early 1900's.  I think they are probably a lot like the parties today:  music, food, presents, games.  No doubt that those things were different from their contemporaries, but the atmosphere of the parties was probably much the same as today.  Grandmother had a birthday party when she was about 8 years old.  So, we're talking 1917.  Considering that they lived in a small town and a huge farm, I often wonder how many other children lived nearby.  But none the less she had a party.

At that time, there was one place to shop in person in Wingate, NC.  It was J.L. Austin's Mercantile.  I'm not exactly where it was located in Wingate.  Probably on Main Street.  At least I think it's Main Street.  Anyway, that's where the post office is and I imagine that the store was nearby.  To me, it's not that far from the homeplace, but 100 plus years ago, I'm sure it was a little haul.  But, I digress.  That's where you bought everything...including birthday presents.

I don't know the details of Grandmother's birthday party and I regret that I never asked her about it.  But she had two beautiful pieces that were gifts to her that day.  One is a beautiful small glass plate with gold trim.  It's now in my secretary so I can see it every day.  The other one is this pitcher.  At first, you may think what kinds of gifts are these for an 8 year old.  But, considering that most of their play came from their imaginations, no doubt there would have been many tea parties where these items would have been used.

I've never used this pitcher for anything other than show and I'm totally ok with that. There are some things that are just nice to look at and have a story about.  This is one of those and one of the true antiques I own.  I will continue to enjoy it and hopefully pass this small legacy on to someone else who will appreciated it.

And I just realized that tomorrow will be Grandmother's birthday.  She would have turned 113!  So ends today's edition of "Around The House".

That is all.