The adorable child in today’s picture is none other than Melinda (remember, click on a photo to see it enlarged). I found it while looking through our boxes of stored photographs. 
I don’t recall ever having seen it before and, in a word, I think it’s fantastic. It should be framed and put up in our house.
That being said, Melinda sometimes accuses me of wanting to turn our house into a museum. I like museums. I wouldn’t mind living in one. And if I did live in a museum I WOULD fill the walls with pictures like this one. Others, too, like those my great-grandfather took of his son, my maternal grandfather, when he was a little boy. And I’ve got my collection of vintage Ravenna Park postcards and…
Hmmm… Maybe I should put those postcards on CraigsList.
Today’s Question: What is the oldest item on display in your house?
Andy Smallman 
The oldest item on display in our house in Texas is a framed collection of tools which belong to my husband’s great grandfather Schwenk, along with a picture of him on his house hung beside it. He was a carpenter by trade and could make anything from his hand tools, including cooper’s tools for making barrels.
Tommy’s grandfather and father also became builders because his Grandpa Luke who was an appentice to Grandpa Schwenk, married his daughter, and became a builder of houses with his identical twin brother. His side of the business, Taylor Bros Construction (versus the lumber company) was passed on to Tom’s father Virgil where the line stopped but the name continues with a hand picked successor.
Tommy worked many summers for his father who expanded from building houses to working with world famous architects in our town of Columbus, Indiana and all over the state and bordering states. Columbus is noted for its many municipal buildings where the Miller family who started Cummins Engine company paid the architects fees. Taylor Brothers build many of them. Tommy was NOT gifted in manual skills, so he became a lawyer and his cousin who was also a Taylor was not interested in carrying on the firm.
Not only do we have this wonderful display board of probably thirty or more tools (I have never counted them) on our hall wall, but we also have the Taylor Brothers Counstruction company sign hanging on our “Tool Shed.” Who knows, perhaps someday it will be used by our two grandsons, should they every become carpenters. Wish I could post some pictures here for you to see both and the picture of Grandpa Schwenk on his horse which hangs beside the display board. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this story of one of the most important things in our house.