Time Travel with Grandkids

NANA’S HOUSE by Teresa Kindred

My time with my grandchildren is often spent in groups, although I do sometimes get to have a grandchild alone, just the two of us. For one reason or another I seldom have my ten-year-old grandson, Knox, all to myself, but one day recently I did.

Often I get caught up in the day-to-day business of life and I forget to time travel with my grandchildren. And that’s what I invited Knox to do with me that day.

What do I mean by “time travel”?

It’s taking a stroll down memory lane and inviting someone to join you. It’s transporting to another time and place by sharing photos and other mementos. And it’s something I try to do regularly with my grandkids.

For that day with Knox, I showed him an old photograph and asked if he’d be interested in some time travel with Nana, and he said he wanted to know more about it.

In the picture are Charles Emory Shirley and his wife, Gertie Lee (Neville), my great-grandfather and great-grandmother, along with two little girls. One of those little girls would grow up to be my grandmother. Charles and Gertie were born in Kentucky, but after they married they moved to Washington State where Pa Shirley became a logger. The San Francisco earthquake had destroyed so much of the city that lumber was in great demand.

They lived in a tent, which is also where my great-grandmother gave birth to her three little girls. My Grandma Layne (Nettie Lee) was the youngest and wasn’t born yet when the picture was taken.

As I told Knox, I can’t imagine how hard their lives must have been. From what I have read there weren’t that many women in a camp. Most loggers were single men who made a decent wage for that day and time but didn’t have many opportunities or places to spend their money.

Logging camps were rough and rowdy places that weren’t the best places for three little girls, so my great-grandparents didn’t stay in Washington long after their third child was born. Not long after that, my great-grandmother Gertie became ill and died. None of the little girls had any memory of her. I always thought it was the flu pandemic that killed her, but I’m not sure.

After her death my great-grandfather had no choice: He packed up and they all moved back to Kentucky where he bought a small farm. The three little girls learned to cook and clean early, and aunts and cousins came over to help with things the girls weren’t able to do.

Many years later, I knew Charles as Papa Bear, although I have no idea why I called him that. I have only a few memories of him playing solitaire and watching wrestling on television. He had snow white hair and seemed very big to me. He died when I was eight years old.

Just a few years ago I smelled pipe smoke at a crowded restaurant and more memories of him came flooding back with goosebumps and chills. Papa Bear also smoked a pipe, and that smell grabbed me and sent me back in time.

By now I was sure I was boring Knox to tears with my reminiscing, but he kept looking at me intently. I remembered that I had one of Papa Bear’s pipes, so I found it and handed it to my grandson and told him I’d like him to have it.

What happened next caught me off guard and is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life: He threw his arms around me and hugged me as tight as he could as he burst into tears. Which of course made me cry. The pipe is in a glass case in his room now and I plan to get a copy of the picture soon and give it to him to set behind the pipe.

More than a thousand words.

I have more old photographs I plan on sharing with all my grandchildren. They may not all be as interesting as living in a logging camp, but I can think of a few that should keep them entertained.

Do you take out old photos and share them with your grandchildren? If you don’t, you should try it. You just might be surprised at how rewarding time traveling with your grandchildren can be.

If you don’t tell them the stories of their ancestors, who will?

How have you had similar “time travel” experiences with your grands? Share tips with other grandparents on our Facebook Page. And be sure to follow Teresa on her Facebook page here.