Treasure Chest Thursday or The Metal Box

     I hate to admit it, but my Dad is getting older, and these days he needs a little help with his bill paying and so forth.  Stacks of papers were accumulating on the table and more on his ever present TV tray-- what he needed was organization.  I remembered he had one of those old metal boxes designed to protect important documents stashed in his bedroom.  Of course it was just a thin aluminum box that would be useless in a house fire, but at least it had folders I could use to get some semblance of order while I figured out what bills I needed to pay.

     I dusted it off, dragged it out to the living room and lifted the lid; it was then I discovered that sitting before me was a real life treasure chest!  Unbeknownst to me, this box had once belonged to my grandparents.

     Sifting through the contents, I found my grandmother's birth certificate, her and Grandpa's marriage certificate, and Grandma's death certificate.  There were letters from their parish Priest thanking them for donations, (and I mean LARGE donations, I had no idea), a copy of the letter Grandma wrote informing the railroad of her impending retirement along with both of their retirement papers from the Railroad Retirement Board.

    

     It goes to show, that advice you're always hearing about checking the homes of older relatives for clues is good advice.  Maybe even snooping around just a little bit-- my Dad didn't even realize what he had.