Treasure Chest Thursday: Frank W. Lee's Baby Book

Frank W. Lee's Baby Book
c. 1912

One hundred years ago today I'm sure my grandmother, Elizabeth Rochester Lee, would have spent a big portion of her day taking care of her three-month old son, my dad, Frank Welch Lee.  I'm glad that she also spent some time writing in dad's baby book!  What a sweet keepsake this baby book is!

The cloth cover is faded, dirty, and literally is shreds. The pages are discolored and some have been left blank.  Nevertheless, the book is a treasure.  Scattered with sweet verses about babies and full of charming illustrations by Frances Brundage and May Sandheim, this baby book was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons, "Publishers to Their Majesties the King & Queen."

Opening verses & illustrations plus Title Page 

One of my favorite illustrations in Dad's baby book

What I love most about the book, of course, are the details it contains about my dad as an infant.  I love, too, that these details are written in my grandmother's handwriting.

Baby's First Smile: seen by father & nurse at 4 days old
Baby's First Laugh:  heard by mother at about age 1 month
First Gifts included Beauty pins, gold buttons, ball rattle, cap, booties

First Word:  Daddy
at 5 months old

Also, in the baby book is one photo of Dad, age four months.

Written on the back of this photo:
Frank Lee Jr.
at 4 mo.

Thank you for this, Grandmother.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Displaying Family Heirlooms

Old Razors Belonging to Frank L. Lee (top) and Price Southworth

A few years ago, I was cleaning out a closet in our basement when I ran across a box of things I packed away when preparing my parents' house for sale.  I opened the box and found a treasury of memories, history, and love.  I had re-discovered the contents of my dad's top dresser drawer, the place where he kept items that were dear to him.  I found photos, cards that I had given him for his birthday and father's day, old watches, and much more--including a box of my granddad's belongings that Dad had saved.  Well, the closet cleaning was put on hold as I sorted through these prizes.  After I had looked through everything, I found it very difficult to close the box and just store it away on the closet shelf.  I made the decision then to let a few of  my favorite treasures come out of the closet, so to speak.

Since then I have found several ways to display family heirlooms throughout our home.  Why keep all of these wonderful treasures hidden away?  Heirlooms personalize and add character and beauty to your home.  They can be great conversation starters with guests.  Most importantly, perhaps, for your children and relatives, these treasures become the storytellers and teachers of family history.

Display of Old Shaving Items

So from time to time on Treasure Chest Thursdays, I'll show you some of the ways I've displayed family heirlooms in my house.  Today, let me share with you what I've done with some old razors and shaving items.  With the help of my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law, I decided to put these things in shadow boxes.  (Lucky for me, my talented brother-in-law is a framer!)  The old straight-edged razors and accessories belonged to my husband's grandfather, Price Southworth, and to my granddad, Frank Lewis Lee.  They now decorate the wall beside my husband's sink in our master bathroom.  It's kind of neat to watch my husband as he shaves right beside these old razors and imagine our grandfathers once doing the same.

Do you have heirlooms displayed in your home?  If so, I'd love to hear or see what you've done with your treasures!  Thanks!

Treasure Chest Thursday: Old Bottles from Lee's Drug Store

Medicine Bottles from Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

I love these old bottles from Lee's Drug Store!  So much, in fact, that I have them displayed on a shelf in our living room--right beside Granddad's old drug store distiller that I wrote about in last week's Treasure Chest Thursday.  All the bottles are made of glass with glass stoppers and have the old drug store labels on them.  I was curious about the medicines they once held, so I did a bit of research.  The large bottle on the right labeled "SYR.AURANTII" contained syrup auranti, or syrup of orange peel.  Yellow in color and with a pleasant odor and taste, this used as a flavoring agent in medicines.  The middle bottle held "Elixir Lactated Pepsin" which was used to relieve indigestion.  The bottle on the left is labeled "PV.ASAFOET." This was most likely used to relieve gas, though several sources mentioned that it could be used to treat hysteria.

Graduated Measuring Glass
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

In front of the three large medicine bottles is a small graduated measuring glass used to measure liquid ingredients when preparing medicines.

Elixir Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

Medicine Label
Elixir Lactated Pepsin
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

The greenish-blue bottle in the middle of the photo at the top is probably my favorite.  A friend and neighbor from my hometown of Middlesboro, KY, gave this to me after my dad, Frank W. Lee, passed away in 2004, and that alone makes it a treasure to me.  Thank you, Jan!  I, also, like the rather unusual color of the bottle, and I LOVE that it still has the label of the original Lee's Drug Store, complete with Granddad's slogan "Get It At Lee's."  Notice the phone number, too.  I wonder if that's my granddad's handwriting on the label?

Back of Elixir of Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

Label on back of Elixir of Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

The back of the greenish-blue bottle contains a label of the price Granddad charged for Elixir of Lactated Pepsin.  Interesting.  I just paid $60 for a 1-month supply of my generic brand stomach medication. That's quite a price increase! I think I should have followed in the family footsteps and been a pharmacist.



Sources:

"Drug Medical Dictionary," Rx List--The Internet Drug Index, 2013

"Physicians Desk Reference," PDR.net, Montvale, New Jersey:  2013

Treasure Chest Thursday: Granddad's Still

Old Water Distiller Used in Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky, c. 1910

No, my granddad wasn't a moonshiner.  (But that would have made for a good story, too, wouldn't it?)  As I've told you before, Frank Lewis Lee was a registered pharmacist and owner of Lee's Drug Store in Middlesboro, Kentucky, from 1910 until about 1960. Back in the day when Granddad ran the drug store, a pharmacist was basically a chemist and made much of the medicine dispensed from his store.  When mixing many of his medicines, Granddad had to use distilled water, and to get distilled water, he made his own right there in the drug store.

The process of distilling basically purifies the water by removing the various microscopic particles of such elements as salt, bacteria, iron, calcium, etc.  The water is boiled until it changes to steam. The steam is collected and allowed to cool and return to a liquid state again.  The microscopic elements are left behind as solid residue while the pure, newly made liquid is distilled water. This old distiller is what my grandfather and later my father used to make distilled water, and it is one of the few items that my dad kept when he sold Lee's Drug Store. Thanks, Dad, for saving this treasure for me.

Sources:

Otto J. S. Boberg,"Where Distilled Water is Absolutely Necessary," Bulletin of Pharmacy, Vol. 13, p. 115.

"How to Make Distilled Water," How Stuff Works, TLC/Discovery

Treasure Chest Thursday: Elizabeth Rochester Lee's Wedding Band

What once must have been a shiny gold band, is dulled and scarred--and still beautiful.  Over 100 years old, this 14 karat gold wedding band was placed on my grandmother's finger by my grandfather on November 15, 1905, at their wedding in Danville, Kentucky.

Wedding band given to Elizabeth Rochester by Frank Lewis Lee
at their wedding in 1905

What a tiny, slender finger Grandmother must have had!  Her ring barely fits my pinkie!  But isn't it neat that my granddad and my parents saved it for me--and that I can actually have on my finger the ring this lovely lady wore for so many years.

 Engraved on the inside of the ring are the words Frank & Elizabeth Nov. 15 1905.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Frank L. Lee Silhouette

Frank Lewis Lee Silhouette
by F. Ward, 1932

This awesome little silhouette of my granddad, Frank Lewis Lee, is one of my most recent discoveries.  Buried among some old family letters in a worn file folder, I found this treasure.  The silhouette itself has been cut out of black paper, mounted onto a 4.5" x 5.75" piece of cream-colored card stock, then attached to and enclosed in a gold-colored card stock folder.  In the lower left corner are the artist's signature and the date written in pencil.  Granddad would have been about 49 years old when this was made, and he would have been living in Middlesboro, Kentucky, and operating Lee's Drug Store.

I think it's time for this little gem to come out of that musty file folder, don't you?  Perhaps a simple black frame and a place of prominence on our bookshelves.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Frank Lewis Lee's Chalkboard

Frank Lewis Lee's School Chalkboard
La Grange, KY, 1894

One of the many treasures I found in my granddad's old file cabinet was this small chalkboard that he used when he was in school in 1894.  With a writing surface on both sides, the chalkboard measures about 8 x 11 inches and is surrounded by a wood frame.  There is also a small hole in center of the top of the frame.  Maybe this was used to hang the chalkboard on the side of the school desk or the wall?  Granddad Lee would have been about 13 years old in 1894 and attending school in La Grange, Kentucky.  With no paper or tablets, students in granddad's school used these personal chalkboards or slates and chalk to write down and figure math problems, to spell words, to answer questions asked of them by their teacher.  As a retired teacher myself, this is one of my favorite family treasures.  What makes it even more special is that my dad chose to keep this and pass it on to me, and that it's in his handwriting that the date and owner of the chalkboard are recorded.