Treasure Chest Thursday ~ The Old Shack and the Treasures it Held

A couple of years ago I was back home for a visit and decided to venture out to an old shack that stood behind our house.  This shack has been standing for over fifty years and will most likely remain standing for many years to come.

As children, we called the shack our playhouse; the girls taking up residence in the front room and the boys taking the back room.  Over the years it became more of a storage place. 

While the floorboards on the little front porch have rotted, the floors within the shack are still quite sturdy.  However, on this particular occasion, I was not concerned with the flooring as much as I was with what I might find residing in the old shack.  I could see through the door and noticed several boxes that had begun to deteriorate.  I had a choice.  Walk away because of my fear of "critters" or make a dash inside and retrieve the boxes.



I chose to retrieve the boxes.

The loot was well worth it.  Inside the boxes were old handwritten record books of births, deaths and casket permits.

The birth records were from 1922 to 1941 and the death records were from 1918 to 1941.  I  have scanned over 600 records to date.

All are in fairly good shape, though a bit brittle.  The casket permit books were in the worse shape with noticeable damage throughout.



Below are a couple of pages that will give you an idea of the type of information that can be gleaned from these records.

How did these books end up in the old shack?  I have no idea.  It is a mystery that will go unanswered as both my parents are no longer living.

Maybe a family member retrieved them from a trash bin or maybe my grandmother found them in one of the old buildings she purchased years before. 

What I do know is that I am so thankful to have found them.  Even if I had to fight my fear of the critters who now inhabit the old shack.