I played hooky from school last Friday. It isn't something I normally do since I only take my sick days for emergencies .I had received an email earlier in the week from one of my former teachers who let me know that a lady very dear to my husband and to many in our area was having an estate sale. It was something her family had decided to do even though she is still living. It was the estate of Katherine Hankins, a former school teacher and assistant principal at Theodore High School. My husband moved across the street from her when he was ten . He told me stories of Mr. Hankins riding the tractor and of her beloved dog Pal. After Mr. Hankins passed away Eric and his brother looked after her property. They cut her grass, tended to small repairs and even put up plywood when the hurricanes approached. My father in law would have coffee daily with her according to my mother in law. Mrs. Hankins often called the house to tell him " the pot's on".
I made plans to meet my in- law's very early that morning at the house so that we would be one of the first ones in line. Ashley would join us as soon as she dropped Anslee off at day care. I anticipated others that I knew would be there as well, and I was right. Former students, the principal at the school named for her, co-workers, neighbors and friends all came to see what treasures this house would hold. The family had already had the privilege of choosing what they wanted so what was left was up for sale.
I had been in this house numerous times and was familiar with where everything was. I had eaten lunch in the kitchen with Eric and Mrs. Hankins after cleaning her yard from a storm. We sat in the rockers on her porch on numerous occasions catching the summer breezes, sipping a cold Coca Cola and listening to her fascinating stories about life in Theodore so many years ago. Eric and I would send Ashley over on her bicycle and Mrs. Hankins would read to her by the fireplace in the dining room where she kept some children's books. What a privilege it was to sit on that porch and listen to her tell us about such a wonderful time in history. Stories like the time where Mrs. Hankins told us she not only coached the boys basketball team but drove them in her husband's pick up truck to their games. When she had to teach science because there were no teachers . My favorite story she told us was about how she and Jimmy Knight boarded a school bus on senior skip day and drove to Dauphin Island and made all the students at the beach board the bus and report back to school.
I arrived at six a.m. and claimed my spot in line. It felt like being first in line at Best Buy on Black Friday except for me the treasures were worth far more than anything in that store. The side porch door opened at 8 am and everything tagged was fair game . I had never been to an estate sale but quickly figured out how it worked. I went right to the only item I cared about , Mr. Hankins chair. The chair my husband said was the one Mr. Hankins sat in all of the time. The very chair years later my husband would sit in when he would go visit Mrs. Hankins for one of his visits. I was on cloud nine. Next I was off to snag the tag off of a vintage glider , just like one that had been on my grandmothers porch. Ashley had already been grabbing tags for things she wanted when she informed me that the dining room furniture was up for sale. The dining room furniture that I had always loved. I couldn't believe that one of the family members had not taken it. We quickly moved to the dining room and took the tags off all but one piece. A piece that had been claimed by a relative. Satisfied after searching the rooms that we had what we wanted we picked up several pieces of vintage depression glass . I then sat and stared at this dining room furniture , looked it over , called a friend to get her opinion then called my husband and made my decision.....SOLD. Mrs. Hankins former housekeeper came in and verified that everything we had untagged had indeed been hers and had been in the house for as long as she had been there. She told us some stories about the dining room furniture that she knew, such as how the family would come out every Thanksgiving to eat. How they had to extend the table with all of the leaves and place it caddy corner across the room in order to accommodate it. Apparently with all of the leaves it will extend sixteen feet long. I sat there and wondered what other stories could this table tell. I quickly made phone calls to secure a storage unit and movers to come the next day in order to find somewhere to put all of this. I have no room in my current house, the new one isn't finished and my in-laws nor my parents can accommodate this furniture.
I went back to the house on Saturday and waited for the movers. When I got there I already had a man waiting on me wanting to buy the dining room set . I informed him that no amount of money could persuade me to sell that furniture , I knew it was indeed a treasure. I knew it was special not for any monetary value but for what I would learn later that afternoon. I left for lunch and came back to find several members of the family . I introduced myself and explained my connection to Mrs. Hankins and why I had purchased so many items especially the chair and dining room. The family was thrilled to learn that someone that knew Mrs. Hankins had bought the furniture and would continue to love and appreciate it. They were also happy to know that Mrs. Whittner , the principal at the middle school had purchased several items including the roll top desk to make a display about Mrs. Hankins at the school. I asked them if they could give me any history on the pieces and they told me to ask Marge. I found Marge sitting in my newly acquired antique Morris recliner ( what I have dubbed Mr. Hankins chair). I asked her if she would give me the history on the pieces that I bought. We had a very delightful twenty minute conversation about my new furniture and how she had once lived there on the "farm" until she got married. She told me about Sunday dinners served on that dining room table and how her granddaddy always had to have a beef roast on Sunday served with their fine china. She explained that it had been bought for $1000 from a captain who traded lumber and had it shipped over from Norway in the late 1880's. It would later be moved out to the farm and has spent the last ninety years here. The Morris chair was not originally Mr. Hankins chair but his fathers who died when he was a small child . So it is much older than we thought it was. The cedar chest had sat in front of the fire place for as long as she could remember . Each of these pieces had such a significant story to tell about this family and their rich history.
I could tell Marge had sat in this chair before by the way she so lovingly rubbed the wood and talked about how it had belonged to her daddy. He died when she was only three. She looked out across the field and talked about the Bay Shore Railroad , long gone by now and how they used to catch the train to go to school. She would go to Murphy and her brother , Mr. Hankins went to UMS. Every day they would catch that train and ride to school. Is is any wonder that when we left on Friday Ashley was looking under the porch steps and saw an old railroad spike. She picked it up and put it in her step dads truck . Marge continued to tell me many fascinating things about the farm and their family and then it was time for them to go. She looked out across the fields , rubbed the arms of that chair one more time , took a good look around the empty farm house and then left. It makes me sad to think that she probably won't be back , not because her health is bad but because what she once knew is no longer there. The vintage treasures are now someone else's. My former teacher bought some of her cookbooks and books that she had read so she will now add them to her collection. The middle school will have a display of items from her home. The chairs I bought will go in my husbands new study, the cedar chest and oak sideboard are being saved for a new home for Ashley, the glider will go on my sun porch. The depression glass I will use to entertain and the dining room will see use again by our family every Thanksgiving. Look around your home and see what vintage treasures you might have ...if they could talk I am sure they would have many stories to tell.
