Daughters of Promise November/December 2014 | Page 60
WHITE SPACES
Treasures
by Marlene Stoltzfus
Photography by Kristi Smucker
been thinking lately about
legacies and treasures, especially
treasured items passed down from
generation to generation.
I’ve thought about how society has changed in the
last two hundred years, when more people were poor
and spent their lives in hard work with few possessions.
What they did have was heavily focused on meeting
necessities and was made through a longer process
than today. These items were either self-made,
without many of today’s tool and power options, or
purchased through a longer process of hard work
and saving pennies than it would take you and I.
This backdrop of few and crude belongings made the
-60-
exceptions stand out starkly. If one owned or received
a treasured item, it was precious because it was rare.
Perhaps also, if one was part of a good family, the
absence of many belongings made deeper the
awareness of the richness found in legacy, tradition,
and relationships.
There are two children’s books which make me
think about such things: Something from Nothing by
Phoebe Gilman and The Blessing Cup by Patricia
Polacco.
Both tell stories of strong, intergenerational families
who are poor in possessions but rich in relationships.
They both talk about treasured items which the child
of the story values highly. The items are very different,