The Old Metal Box
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Today, I dug deeper into my grandmother’s metal box,
And found a few more things that rocked my socks.
So I will show you what else I found there to see,
That was so very interesting to this man called Billy.
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The Old Metal Box
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I found a high school commencement program so thin,
In 1913 for Lucy Clair Page, grandmother’s name then.
There were only six graduates in the class that year,
In Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, a small town, I fear.
Lucy’s brother Clyde was a graduate too. One of our Slatten relatives was on the Board of Eduaction.
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Frank Low and Lucy Page’s wedding license was inside.
They married in Southwest City, Missouri, on their ride,
On January 12, 1924, not far from Sulphur Springs.
To start their new run to see what to them life did bring.
Lucy’s brother Clyde and sister Georgia were witnesses at the event.
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There was a very old leather billfold inside the old tin,
With a note inside saying it belonged to Tyre Slatten,
With a large 1870 one cent coin in a leather pouch,
And old stamps stuck to the leather about worn out.
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I found a paper money bill for 50 cents in there too,
I didn’t know fraction dollar bills existed so this was new,
To an old geezer who should have seen quite a few.
I should take it to Pawn Stars and see what to do.
Fraction currency was issued from 1860 to about 1875. That is Francis Spinner on the 50 cent bill.
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I found a $1000 United States promissory note in there,
That looked very official from way back I’d like to share,
I don’t know the guy the money was then promised to.
I hope that dude got his grand and shared with his crew.
I found on the Internet that these notes are counterfeit sold as souvenirs back then.
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There was Odd Fellow memberships for two in the box,
For Frank Low and his mother Lizzie, a real pretty fox.
Both were dated about 1911 for Sulphur Springs,
Odd Fellows does have a little bit of a strange ring.
It seems strange that Frank’s mother was an Odd Fellow.
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I found a Pierce’s Memorandum Account Book inside,
With some old notes inside much too faded to derive.
But there was an advertisement that caught my eye,
About a cure all medicine carried in fine French Brandy.
I might like a shot or two of Smart Weed at 50 cents a bottle.
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Inside the metal box, I found an old pretty sea shell,
With “Manauga Philippines 1945” etched on it so well.
That my Dad had sent his Mom while in the Navy there,
On the other side was a scene on a beach somewhere.
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Lastly, there was 2 small pictures of my brother Craig,
From 1959 during his skinny boy days with bird legs.
Grandmother must have slipped them in there when,
We were visiting her home in the summer back then.
What a good looking young man.
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It was fun to look at that old stuff in there again,
Sharing some of Lucy’s memories from back then.
I think I may put some of my treasures in a metal tin,
For my future generations to dig through once again.
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By Bill
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Thanks for reading The Old Metal Box,
Bill