I’ve sifted through it several times, but I’ve never felt comfortable with the contents until now. There isn’t anything in the box that I would sell (his keepsake box is another matter) as nearly everything left in the Japanese inlay box is heirloom or sentimental in value.
Dad liked all things Japanese, so it is not a surprise to me that he had this box (the hinges are broken) as his primary jewelry box.
The contents are small items (the box is 22x15x6 cm or 9.75x6x10.5″).
Chas Edwin Cusick’s high school class ring – St. Anthony High School, 1920. Uncle Ed (he went by Ed) was born in 1902 and died in 1960, never having married. His parents and sister preceded him in death, and he was close to my father The Cusicks are the Irish lineage, having come from Derry, Cavan, Ireland in the 1750s.
Franklin Hebbard Cusick’s class ring from St. Anthony High School, 1926. Uncle Frank also never married, but he lived a very long life. He was born in 1907 and died in 1985 It doesn’t seem that long ago. Great Uncle Frank was a kick in the pants and told me stories about my father that Dad would never tell me – and he did so in front of Dad, forcing my father to confront his wild youth. I adored him.
Then there is this – This photo does me in. Sylvia Cusick. She was born in October of 1903 and died in March of 1930. The photo above is dated September 1930 on the back. She married my grandfather in 1925. She was a young mother of only 26 when she died of sepsis related to strep. My father was not quite 2 years old.
Those are some pretty awesome pants she’s wearing and fuzzy slippers!
Somebody (most likely my Great-Grandfather John T. Wilcox and his bride, Azema (née Kimmey), visited the 1904 Wolrd’s Expo in St. Louis. Gramps – Fred Orson (Fritz) – would have been 6 years old. There are a couple mementos from the World’s Expo of that year.
A pin of one of the nations represented (only one pin, sadly). The flag part measures 2x3cm (1.25×1.8″).
This is perhaps the coolest – a folding book in copper. The book itself is 2.5×1.75cm (1x.75″). I’m loading the images separately because they are so tiny!
Still with me? Haven’t bored you yet?
There are other items in the box – pins and such – but this is the only other item of any interest to someone other than myself: a gold nugget.It’s roughly 1cm (2/3 of an inch?). No note, no history, just a random gold nugget. I’ll just leave it like that.
Oh! Wait! One more. Dad’s pin.
His handwriting, no date. He was left-handed. Writing is still legible, so when he was much younger. 🙂
Jaci Dawn 