Yesterday I mentioned that I’m slowly distributing Mom’s remaining keepsakes and family heirlooms. One of those heirlooms is Grandma Josie’s 1916 wedding dress. For years, it was hanging in Mom’s closet, and in my opinion the time has come for it to see the light of day.
But, being one Grandpa and Grandma Hess’s 39 grandchildren, I don’t think it’s right to keep the dress to myself. So Mom and I came up with the bright idea of donating the dress to the museum in the town where they lived most of their adult lives and raised their eight children. Though it’s not the town where Grandpa and Grandpa met and married, may of their descendants still live there and would be able to see the dress whenever they want.
In our ignorance, we thought, “How hard could it be?”
The answer? Plenty hard.
The museum wanted a recent picture of the dress to see if it was in good condition. So I emailed one.
The museum lady wrote back, “It’s in good condition. Now do you have any pictures of your grandmother wearing the dress? Any wedding announcements? And newspaper articles about the ceremony? Any information about the family?”
So I called Mom and asked her. “There’s a picture somewhere,” she said. “I think you have it. But I can’t think of anything else.”
“I thought you had a copy of their marriage license,” I prompted.
“I don’t remember,” she replied.
“Alzheimer’s,” I thought. “Drat that short term memory loss.”
I found the picture in a box of pictures I still need to sort through and called the Grundy County Courthouse to find out how to get a marriage license. The friendly clerk told me how to download the form, which I did.
One look at it, and I was on the phone to Mom again. “What were your grandparents’ first, and middle names? How about maiden names? And do I have the wedding date right?”
Mom supplied the needed information, and I mailed the form. The license arrived Saturday and today when I visit Mom, we’ll finish the project by writing up a short history of Vernon and Josephine Hess’s life.
Then I can mail the picture, the license and the history to the museum. On September 11, the museum committee will meet to either approve or deny our request to donate the dress. If they approve it, I have to mail the thing. If they deny, I’ll contact the museum in the county where they got married and start all over again.
How hard can it be?
Don’t ask.
