I know of very few personal belongings of my great-grandfather, Karl Andersen. He was born in Grimstad, Norway in the 1850s, a second or third son of the family. Karl became a ship’s carpenter and ended up in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 1870s or 1880s. My mother, Helen Anderson Doherty, told me about his beautifully carved sea chest, his massive canopied oak bed, and his Buffalo Bill photo. ...
Dad’s China Knife
My father brought this knife home from China. He was a U.S. Marine stationed in China in 1944 and 1945. The Marine base was near Peiping (Beijing). Dad hired a man to cook, shop and keep his place neat. His name was Hun Yen Kai. Dad met him when he came to the Marine base looking for a job. This was the knife he used for cooking. Dad told me the knife was Japanese. At the time, I thought that...
Sketch of An Unknown Man
I don’t know who this man is, where or when the drawing was made, or why my mother kept it for many years. My sister found the sketch when she was going through Mother’s papers after she died in January 2011. It must have meant something to her, since she brought it with her to Florida after she discarded most things when she moved from Vermont in the early 90s. I vaguely remember her showing it...
Gramsey’s Rocking Chair
The chair is a Lincoln Rocker. It was made from mahogany wood in the 1860s. President Lincoln has a similar rocking chair in his office. That is where the name originated. My dad, Eugene Doherty, found this rocking chair on the street. It had been discarded, waiting for the garbageman. He told me he put the chair on his back and carried it home to his mother, Edna Nason Doherty. That would have...