Just wanted to share a few more images from Zane’s scrapbook and box of love letters.
And a few thoughts:
* I didn’t expect to stir up so many emotions last night and if I made you cry, I’m sorry! Although, I totally get it. I didn’t talk yet about the emotional side of this find, though I was planning to. I think it goes without saying, it’s so much more than stuff to me. I’ll never sell it, never try to turn a profit on it. Sure, these cards are pretty collectible, sometimes they go for $5-8 (or more) a piece in antique shops, but I’ll never break this collection up. It’s far too personal and very, very special. I quickly realized that morning at her sale, that I was not there buying things for Frecklewonder. I was there on a little rescue mission.
* I learned (via a facebook comment) last night that Zane died in her home at age 85. Her husband of 62 years died there as well, just a few months before her. I hadn’t thought to go to google, so thanks to Jennifer for this little piece of the puzzle.
* I was asked if estate sales ever make me sad. And the answer is No. At least, not from my perspective. Sure, the dealers show up and are picking to flip stuff and make money (and yes, sometimes I am one of those dealers). And sometimes when I go to estate auctions, it can feel a little bit like there’s a wild pack of dogs bidding and fighting over who gets what. I don’t approach these things with those feelings though. And sales like this are not very common… this one was so personal, that it’s impossible for me to not feel a connection with her, and honor all of these amazing treasures that are now in my hands. Does that make sense? I hope it doesn’t make me sound like a weirdo. I drink my morning coffee out of her mug (the beautiful franciscan one!) and my kids sit on her velvet sofa to watch their shows, and our family listens to records on her Zenith cabinet, how could I not feel some sort of connection to her? I consider her a friend. What would make me sad is if that scrapbook and that box of love letters ended up in a landfill. That would make me sad. According to the records (and from what I gathered at the sale) Zane was the last of the bunch. There was no one to leave her belongings to, so she donated everything to her church, and those are the folks who held the sale. Many of them were lifetime friends. There was a special kind of energy there, and it definitely wasn’t sadness. Tough to put into words. More like a celebration, as it should be.
* I was also asked if this kind of stuff ever creeps me out. And the answer is Never. We’re all human beings and in the end, these are just our things, right? I assume most of us are comforted by the idea that after we’re gone, that perfect someone will be there, waiting to honor our odd collections. I know I definitely hope that my treasured things don’t end up in a pile curbside, on their way to a landfill. Surely there is someone who will fall over with happiness to inherit my radios, right? I didn’t necessarily intend to talk much about death or afterlife or spirits or any of those things in this Zane series… I mostly wanted to share her things with you, but maybe this topic is unavoidable? I look at this stuff of hers, that now belongs to me (and that even sounds weird to say, it doesn’t belong to me, I suppose I’m just keeping it safe for her) and I think a few things: I think- wow, what a different world we live in now. It’s so fast and digital. And there was a time, not so long ago when you might receive a hundred little cards with real handwriting, for being under doctor’s care. At this moment, I have countless emails in my inbox and the likelihood of me answering even half of them is laughable. It’s one of those things that swallows me alive on some days. Email. I also think about how extremely lucky and ‘right place, right time’ this whole thing is. Like everything lined up so perfectly that this collection of memories and tiny slice of history did not end up in a landfill. And I could have easily lounged in bed that morning, but I listened to the voice that said GET UP. GO. NOW.
Anyhow… just a few thoughts off the top of my head. It’s a lot to think about, a lot to process. Maybe that’s why I’ve been quietly sitting with it for 8 weeks now. Lots to take in.
I will be back later today to share all the other amazing, incredible things from Zane’s estate.
Thanks for your comments! I hope that Miss Zane feels the love today.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, Jenny!! great post. I can’t wait to see rest of the treasures you rescued. Thank you for sharing!!
I think it’s just wonderful that you were able to save Zane’s things, Jenny. I would also hate to think of my treasures ending up on the curb. Last year I saved a 50s side table from the street because it needed someone to love it and it makes me happy to see it being used.
Thanks for sharing this!
i say again …WOW! i’m so glad to know that there are people like you to treasure the memories…
i have a 10′x25′ storage unit stuffed to the gills with family stuff and random peeps stuff, that i just can’t part with….so i get it…and i believe that zane MUST feel the love today!
Beautiful. You are the perfect steward of these treasures, Jenny. It makes me
want to go back home to Maryland and dig through my mom’s stuff (she donates and dumps like no one’s bidness. ) Btw, you are a fantastic, fantastic writer.
I feel a connection like that with certain things i pick up at sales. I think it is hard not too. I actually bought an embroidered picture from a woman who was having a hard time with the sale because it was her grandmother’s things and she had made a lot of the art they were selling. I told her how much i loved the art and where i was going to hang it and she was so happy to know that it was going somewhere where it would be cherished. I love that you have Zane’s scrapbook.
Jenny, this post is spot on! I think a lot of thrifters feel this way. I’ve experienced many people asking me those same questions, or “Don’t you think it’s kind of gross to wear someone elses clothes/use someone elses dishes.” It can be frustrating but your responses were perfect. I can’t wait to direct people who have questions to your post. So special. Thank goodness someone like you found Zane’s book. It sounds like it will be taken care of for a long long time!
Oh, I love this so much. Can’t wait to see more of Zane’s treasures. I’m so glad you saved them.
Thanks for this insight into your emotions about this find and thrifting in general! I think we should all be so lucky to have someone like you find and keep our treasures after we pass. I guess the thing that often makes me sad at antique shows, estate sales, etc. is that I envision that “someday” when all of my things will be nothing but stuff on tables…it makes life seem so short! Thanks for introducing us to Zane
all i can say is you are awesome!!!!! xoxox
Isn’t it amazing what you can find? I found a silver certificate one dollar bill that fell out of a birthday card for a child…from a pile of cards that I had purchased at an estate. I wonder what that little one thought when he got that dollar bill…why it was left in there and never spent…who gave it to him or her. We’ve found pictures and letters from WWII and wonder why they were hidden in a drill’s owner’s manual in the garage…saving his wife or family from the horror? Protecting them from Hitler? I don’t know. Amazing to think about it.
Your answers resonate with me. I do a lot of shopping at estate sales too, and I always feel that the deceased would appreciate someone else finding value in their belongings instead of them ending up in the landfill. By the time I get there most of the personal belongings, like letters, are gone so I truly feel like you have found a treasure. Thank you for sharing this amazing woman’s legacy with us.
I am the same way about estate sales. I feel like it gives these items new life being in the hands of someone who will care for it, as opposed to being chucked. I mean, I passed by a house the other day they were clearing out and they had put out everything out on the curb for trash removal. I dug out a bunch of really nice vintage men’s watches, including a nice gold inscribed Hamilton watch from 1967, given to the recipient as a retirement gift for 15 years of service. I get sentimental about things like. Sniff.
This all makes sense to me. I have a grandmother that I was only moderately close to when she passed. I rescued many of her things including photos of her and my grandfather (who I never knew) that I had never seen and everyday things like pots and pans. She loved to cook and so do I so using her things makes me feel connected to her. I wear her old jewelry (I have on a great red beaded necklace of hers from the 60s now!) and I even leave out a few of her great 50s and 60s ashtrays (she was a smoker, I am not.) I think that it is great how you are celebrating and sharing Zane’s life with all of us. She seems like such an amazing person! I have a feeling where ever she may be, she is thrilled that you are treasuring her things and her memories.
love your post! i’ve been going to estate sales for years and have always felt like i was rescuing treasures, it wasnt until i went to one in the beautiful 50′s house that was a builders demo, it had all the modern amenities for 1959 all the things we see in the old magazines, it was a decked out home and you could tell the owners loved their home and really loved everything they put in it, i walked in and could imagine holidays, birthdays, graduations and showers they must have hosted. a dream house for sure! i dont know if it was the combination of me turning 40 and the thought of the same thing happening to me or seeing people rummage through drawers and pilfer for tupperware and just pick apart this home. i had found out that the house was being torn down and a mc mansion was going to be built. the sale really changed me! i took a break for a while. i feel like its more my mission now than ever before to rescue treasures!
When I scored huge at an estate sale a few weeks, stumbling upon a kindred spirit who had some of the same collections and interests as me, I had the similar feeling, and fielded some similar questions. In my case, I know people that knew this woman, and her children. Everyone is sure her children picked through what they wanted and left the rest to be sold – there was more than enough to go around – even my own daughter questioned why you need more than one copy of Joy of Cooking. (There were several copies at the sale, and I was there on the third day, who knows how many she had!)
I am a historian, & I can absolutely identify with your “protective” view of Zane & her treasures! I’m a big believer in the idea that deep down what each of us wants is to be remembered– to make a difference in the world & to be missed when we are gone. By rescuing her things you are preserving that legacy, & respecting her life. Wonderful job!!
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What a special gift that you were able to find and keep all of these items of hers!
It sounds like she was a really cool lady, and I would have loved the chance to sip some coffee and chat with her! 
I can’t believe too that she was born just 3 days after my Grandpa. He was born October 20, 1923 and his name was Reuel Maxwell Yetter. I love the unique names like Zane and Reuel from back in the 20s! Hope you have a great day!
Beth
This is one of my favorite posts. Those gardenias in the first pic are killing me!
I am with you on never feeling bad about buying stuff from these types of estate sales. I always think of the previous owners looking down from their fluffy clouds in Heaven tickled pink to see their favorite green dress hitting the town again! Or a family sitting at her kitchen table tucking into a home made meal.
And I like buying used in this very disposable world we live in. Less waste!
I love this post. I don’t think any of it makes you feel like a weirdo. I am the same way, I LOVE coming across things like that. Old pictures and scrapbooks and letters. I love that kind of stuff and it makes me feel such a connection. It makes me so, so happy to know that you were able to rescue all of these things. You were definitely meant to be there.
Wow! You have some amazing finds and at fantastic prices from this sale! I completely agree with your take on Estate Sales. You said it beautifully. I’m such a sentimental person and I can really relate to that when it comes to estate sales. I treasure the items I find.
I’m anxious for them to start up around here in northern Minnesota. Spring is coming – and I can’t wait to start gathering again.
~ Jennifer
This is so true…..I am always surprised when people ask me if I thinking wearing old clothes is dirty or ‘creepy’. Nothing could be farther from the truth! And what a special special sale. I’m so touched and honored that I have a Zane mug too….that was the sweetest, best-est gift ever. If dottie hadn’t been there I think i woulda started bawlin’, i was so touched! There was a reason why you stumbled on this sale, my friend. SO perfect…. xoxox