For my third birthday, 1967, I received this little blue rocking chair and foot stool from my great-great uncle and aunt, Alpha and Clara Jones.

Uncle Alphie was a younger brother of my maternal great-grandmother, Belle Jones Clary. He married Clara Swanson whose parents migrated from Sweden. I’m thinking Aunt Clara was born aboard the ship crossing The Atlantic.

When I was about ten years old, I asked Aunt Clara what she did for a living. With that familiar twinkle in her eye and preceding chuckle she said, “Well, this week I’m a stripper.”

Aunt Clara owned a furniture factory that built new products and refurbished old pieces. Her shop was so neat and kept her busy enough that she built a shop within one of the family barns to keep up with the demand.

A Facebook discussion resurfaced a discussions of this 53 year old treasure and I pulled it off the top of one of the two Rike’s’ metal wardrobes. Rike’s was a popular downtown Dayton department store.

I’m so glad I’ve saved a few items from my earlier childhood and can recall their stories.