It is Spring and time for cleaning out cellars, attics and garages. The question immediately occurs as to what we should do with that old trunk or box of family memorabilia that has been around forever. Well, what say we dive right into those trunks to retrieve some really special things that are languishing there?

We acquire these trunks full of what we remember as cast-off junk, but because our trunk and its contents once belonged to someone we love. In spite of this sentimental value, we do not respect the various items enough to actually bring them out into the light of day, either because of their decrepit condition or because we have not considered how easily they could be put on display in a family home.

Just think of what we might be missing in the way of providing some living history to our children, as well as refreshing some precious memories in our own minds. Let us say that your trunk is similar to mine in content. So we can have some show and tell here. Our trunks came from our grandmothers who had inherited some even older items from her grandmother. So we will find some things in there from as far back as the early 1900s.

But instead of pasting price tags on these vintage dry goods and putting them in the station wagon for the local flea market, we are going to try to be creative and make a display for our home, making our family’s history into a kind of mini-museum.

Let us say that the first thing we find is Uncle Weston’s WWI army uniform. Moth eaten now, it would not fit anyone in the family even for a costume. Too big to frame, certainly. But just look at those buttons and medals! Don’t be tempted to shine them up now; leave their antique patina on them. Cover the “insides” of a lucite box picture frame with some army greenish-gray fabric -- do not use the uniform if it does indeed harbor moths -- and attach the medals and buttons in an orderly arrangement and hang the display on the wall.

Now what on earth could we do with the yards and yards of lace train from Gr-Grandmother’s wedding gown? Well a gifted seamstress could make a beautiful garment from it, but let us say that you have as much trouble finding an appropriate occasion for a lace dress as I do. How about edging for the dust ruffle and bolsters in your daughter’s bedroom? I would venture a guess that she would be thrilled with such a piece of family history being all hers.

Well, what have we here? A flag with only 49 stars? Mom must have bought that the year that Alaska became a state and before Hawaii did. We know a boy who would like to have that framed and put above his headboard. And this old gilt frame with Grandfather’s Army commission covered in glass would make a fitting partner to the framed flag.

I guess everyone had forgotten this photograph of three generations of our family gathered around a holiday table looking like Norman Rockwell was over in the corner with his paint brush and easel. With today’s photographic enhancement technology, this can be enlarged, given a special “old tintype” look and framed in handsome wood for the wall in the den.

Just look at this old velvet-covered box here in the top of the trunk! It is full of brooches, earrings, pearl necklaces, an old pocket watch on a chain, a pocket knife with a tortoise-shell handle, a pair of white leather-and-lace gloves, and a fountain pen that looks like a piece of jewelry. This time we are really in luck, because these items have all been identified. Who owned them, who gave them to whom and on what occasion. So they each have their story already written.

This is where a large lucite box photo frame will serve well. Provide it with a neutral smooth fabric background, then attach each of the items with fine wire or thread to the backing. On a small card, write or type the story (provenance note) of each of these heirlooms. Do not attach labels or markings directly on any of the objects. Attach the cards near the item to which they refer.

When well arranged, this display is usually attractive enough to hang as a focal point of a seating arrangement anywhere in the house. You will find guests standing in front of the display reading and discussing the items and the people mentioned on the note-cards. What is more, your children and grandchildren will have a documented family tradition.

After we have displayed the precious memorabilia in appropriate settings, we can discuss the treatment of the trunk for preservation and display in my next article.