Treasure Thursday: Charles Polar's Magnifying Glass

On Monday's post I shared a memory of my grandfather Harley Space at the writing desk which housed my great-grandfather's magnifying glass. While I had planned a different subject all together for today's blog post, it seemed appropriate to share Charles Finley Polar's glass instead.

I'm reminded of how blessed I have been to have had time spent with great-aunt Leona Polar Belott to help fill in the empty spaces of our Polar family history. So much of our family history would have been lost had it not been for Aunt Leona. Losing my grandmother to Alzheimer's long before her death in 1987 would have meant the loss of so many stories had it not been for Aunt Leona. 

During one of our visits, she reminisced about her childhood, sharing their family had "The History of the World," a large set of books that her father read several times over. Aunt Leona mentioned the magnifying glass used by her father and her thought that possibly  it had been in the possession of my grandmother; I was able to confirm that it had been at "the farm" and was now in my possession. She was glad to know that it was one of the things I requested and after that, it took on new meaning.

Up until then my memories of the magnifying glass were associated with my grandparents: my grandfather using it to augment his glasses when reading the newspaper, on occasion my grandmother using it in the reference books she had on hand when working crossword puzzles. I also recall taking it outside to get a closer look at the ants marching on Gram's peony bushes or the inside of the Morning Glories after they had opened.

Now I think about the childhood memories it brought back for my grandmother and what she thought about and felt whenever she picked up the magnifying glass or saw it in the hand of her husband. 

"Charles Polar's Glass." Digital image. Dated: 19 May 2011. Magnifying glass and Bible

privately held by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. Image and text copyright (c) 2011