Lost & Found: Family History

We finished cleaning the storage units out today. We have had them since 1998, and since they redid the roof there several years ago, all the units were leaking. We did lose things...I lost the empty boxes of 1999-00 Topps Gold Label and 2000 Press Pass VIP, both to water damage, but that appears to be the only card stuff I lost. But some stuff that we had been hoping to find was found. (we hadn't been through the units for quite a while, and most of the stuff we just moved without looking at, so Lost & Found will continue as a series) I found a couple other things my dad had squirreled away that I didn't even know about.

This is my first post on Cardboard History that will not contain any cards or sports memorabilia...I don't plan to go OT very often but the finds here are so important that I'm going to.

One of the things I was looking for the most, was my grandfather's military bag. I thought it was his uniform, but I was incorrect. I only ever saw it once before in my entire life. It is only his duffel bag. My grandfather served in WWII from at least 1942-45. I know very little about his military service but I do know he took part in the "Battle of the Bulge"

Also in the bag these were stored in was this backpack, above, and...

This Airfield Services jumpsuit. I believe it is also WWII vintage but I'm not totally sure. If it IS WWII it does not jive with what I do know of his military service, so it's kind of a mystery. Unfortunately the bag they were in took water damage, and now smell horrible. You can see the water staining on the arm and leg of the Airfield Services uniform.

I never met my grandfather. While he lived until 1998, he wanted nothing to do with the rest of the family. My other grandfather died before I was born.

This was a treasure I didn't know existed, and connects me to my great-grandfather, who died in 1976, 8 years before I was born.

My great-grandfather lived in New Hampshire most of his life, and was 18 years old in 1913. He was a World War I veteran, serving in the artillery in France. My mom remembers this license plate hanging on his garage wall, and it was almost surely issued to him when it was new, 103 years ago. It will shortly hang on my wall, once I do some rearranging so I can hang it where it won't be in direct sunlight. I've always dreamed of having enough space to have a wall of license plates...I have a couple in my collection I've purchased at car shows and antique stores over the years, but this one is special as it's from my family, not just some random plate. It's also my oldest plate by 29 years. I don't have the space to have a wall of license plates, but this one is important enough that I will hang it where I can see it every day of the year.

My dad was a lifetime "car guy" and mechanic. It was predestined that I would be into cars, as my mom is also into cars and grew up around cars. My mom enjoys going to car shows and hopes to have a classic Chevelle again someday. Her daily driver was a 1972 Chevelle until 1990, when it rusted away.
Unfortunately my dad had cancer and his tools have been sitting in storage since 2002, when he lost his battle with it. They took some of the worst water damage and I was only able to save this one loose wrench.

My mom is thankfully still very much with us, and will be reading this post. Long time readers may recognize her as she comments as "Hotrod Mama" on my posts.

This stamp album is something she worked on in April 1964. She dated the inside cover right down to the day of the week! I don't really post about it too much but I also collect stamps, something I picked up from her. In fact, the majority of my collection is her old collection that she gave to me circa 1992. The book smells kind of funky and got a bend/curve into it- we have no idea how it got there but it was inside one of my dad's many toolboxes. It had a large rusty screwdriver on the top of it which bent it. You can see some of the damage in the lower part of the spine. I'm thrilled to have it anyway and I looked through it with her yesterday. Fun times.

The white background on the last three photos will lead to another Lost & Found post once I do some scanning, as it is something else I was looking for, and is very much on-topic as the majority of the box are Becketts, including Basketball #1. The newest issue in it was talking about the first LeBron James rookie cards so 2003 was the last time I saw it. In case you have not read between the lines I am a certified hoarder and not very good at sorting things or keeping them organized, lol. I also found something else I was looking for that will lead to another post as soon as I get it photographed. There is more Lost & Found coming....

Thanks for reading, and I will be back on the topic or cards- or at least basketball- next post.