A Tree Grew in Oakland

My great grandmother, Effie Clarissa Lee Weaver, had six chairs around her dining room table. At the time of her death in 1945, my grandparents, her son and daughter in law, stored the complete set in their basement. Over the years, as my mother and aunt got permanent homes, the set was divided up — my grandparents kept 2, my aunt and mother each received 2.

Mom had hers in the basement of our house. Apparently, at some time, my father decided they would make good saw-horses. One of his carpentry projects cut thought one of the sides of the seat. Mom was a bit mad. I think it was soon after that incident that my father was gifted with saw-horse brackets to make actual saw-horses with 2X4s as the legs and cross bar.

My aunt found out that Goodwill Industries would refinish the chairs and took hers and my grandparents chairs to be done. Mom was still mad about the damage and would not send her set.

As I recounted in the section on Grandmother Weaver’s desk, in the later 1960s the antiquing of furniture kits came on the market and I asked if I could have my way antiquing one of the chairs to go with the desk. My mother agreed and I antiqued both the desk and chair.

The chair was meant to have a caned seat. My grandmother, Florence, was a self proclaimed expert on how to cane a chair. After all, her father, a furniture maker, had learned the technique at the Ohio State Prison and had taught his children. Grandma, at this point, would jump in and explain that he was not an inmate, he went there during the day and came home at night. It was just where he was able to go to learn a skill needed for his business. Well, I spent every visit to my grandparents’ home one summer bringing my chair and caning materials, being instructed on the CORRECT method of caning a chair seat. I never knew who caned the chairs my aunt had taken to Goodwill.

After our parents’ deaths, my brother and I divided up the heirlooms that were in their home. I had the cedar chest and acquired another of the dining room chairs (the one with the sawn through side of the seat) which needed to be repaired and refinished. So with the cedar chest and the additional chair, we loaded the desk and chair to which I had applied antiquing paint and hauled them off to the furniture refinisher to be restored to their original state. The picture is of the restored chair. Both chairs are identical. You cannot tell which one had a near fatal accident.

Sorry, Grandma Florence, I did not re-cane the chairs myself, but you would approve of the method used by the refinisher. Smooth seat, no snagging!

This horse and wagon was a childhood toy of my grandfather’s. It would be a strange toy for a 21st century child, but Grandpa was born in 1893, so it was right modern. This must have been a favorite since it was the only one Grandpa always kept. I have no idea if my mother or aunt were allowed to play with it, but my cousins, brother, and I were! It had a place of honor on top of the piano in my grandparents’ living room.

At this point, I will diverge and explain why there was a piano in my grandparents’ living room and no one played the piano. OK, it was a player piano, so no one needed to “play” it – they just had to load a scroll and pump the pedals to let it play itself. Of course, the scroll was old, brittle and ripped. So, why was it in the living room? Well, as a child, my great grandmother (Grandpa’s mother) decided that my mother needed to take piano lessons. My aunt was already enrolled in violin lessons – her violin could be found it my grandparents’ attic. When asked what happened, my mother simply said that she really hated it and it got to the point that her teacher finally told my grandparents that they were wasting their money to continue. So, the lessons stopped, but the piano was a major presence in the room and it stayed until my grandmother sold the home and moved to an apartment. The grandchildren used to “stash” games in both the lower compartment where the player pedals were folded inside and in the upper compartment where the scroll was attached. I do not think Grandma was amused.

Now back to the horse and wagon. The four grandsons played with it whenever we got a chance. My mother inherited the toy when my grandmother passed away (I think Grandma kept it as a memory of Grandpa). The toy then lived on glass shelves in my parent’s living room where their grandchildren would gently remove it and play with it on the floor. And then, when the great grandchildren came to visit, they were also part of the “take it down and play” line of children that had fun with the horse and wagon.

I was fortunate to end up with the family treasure. Every time I look at it, there are so many memories.