Completed Tricycle Horse

Here is a picture of the completed toy using the cardboard cut-outs included in the index card:

Toy Story

As I have mentioned previously, when I went to grand-mom's house to retrieve the index, there were numerous other collections present. While the index does not completely reflect Ethel's passions (not a Beatles fan), there were numerous collections connected to her interest in arts and crafts. For example, there were a lot of clothing patterns organized in binders and in file cabinets throughout the house. In the file cabinets I also noted that she had included toy patterns.

I imagine that this is going to be the last post using the initial purex carton. I am hoping to begin a project after vacation that will enable me to put the index back into alphabetical order, which will allow me to search it a little more efficiently. The final card in the purex carton I want to highlight relates to her interest in arts and crafts. This one sticks out because it is the only one housed in an envelope rather than on a diy scrap of paper. Here is an image of the card:



The envelope itself is interesting. It is from Sears, Roebuck and Co. and features the number 16773. I am almost positive that the contents have nothing to do with Sears but was recycled for another use. Still, it is a nice reminder of Sears' mail order roots. The picture on the card is of a toy horse with three wheels and features the number 3514 and the words, "MADE WITH LOVING HANDS." The label Ethel assigned the card is also extremely interesting, as it is labeled, "Horse Tricycle-Barbie." The picture is most certainly of a horse tricycle. Of specific interest is the inclusion of the word "Barbie." At some point I might have to research some Barbie catalogs to find out if this is in fact related to the historic figure. My quick internet search came up empty.

Even if the card has nothing to do with Barbie (which is quite possible) it is still one of the more unique cards in the purex carton. In the case of this card, the envelope includes a pattern for the toy, and what appears to be my grand-mom's attempt to build the toy out of cardboard. Here is a picture of the pattern:



She has noted on the larger circle that it was made from a quarter and on the smaller circle that it was made from a dime. I especially like the drawing of the horse's head. In my opinion that was a really nice touch. Here is a picture of the cardboard cutouts that are also included:



I am not sure if cardboard was the intended material for the toy. With the wheels I would imagine that there should also be some kind of axle system, which isn't highlighted in the contents of this card. However I think it would be kind of neat to build the toy, so tomorrow (with the help of Jill) that is what I will attempt to do. I will be sure to post a picture.

Index The Beatles!

I don't think that my Grand-mom was an especially avid Beatles fan. Maybe if someone knows they can leave a comment about it, but my best guess is that like everything else in the index, Ethel included them because they had grabbed the attention of the public. I was rifling through the boxes in the garage trying to figure out how I can make a more permanent home for it and found the Index card for The Beatles. Here is the image:

The Beatles card has all kinds of random information on it including a picture and brief note commemorating the twenty year anniversary of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the year they stopped touring, the fact that they never won a Grammy, along with various other tidbits of news and fact. Once again, this front of the card is not the index card's complete contents. Upon opening the index card there are a lot of clippings chronicling all things Beatles. While I don't have a lot to say about each of the included clippings, I thought it would be interesting to document the entire contents of The Beatles index card here. Included is an entire article from Time Magazine. The last image is my favorite, which is a comic biography printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

When I got up to say a few words about my grand-mom at her funeral, I decided to talk about her love of music and her desire to share that love. A couple of years ago, when Jake was 2 or 3, grand-mom came to Maryland for a visit. Jake had a child sized 5 dollar out of tune ukulele that he liked to beat the floor with. My grand-mom picked up the ukulele, began to tune it, and then proceeded to play a medley of songs on the instrument. A couple of months ago we went to visit grand-mom at her house in New Jersey. During the visit, she took Jake over to her badly beat up piano (at least 10 of the keys were completely dead) and attempted to teach him how to play a song with her. I don't remember the song, but I do remember how intent she was on getting Jake's fingers in the right position and to follow the right notes. At the funeral, my Aunt Martha made similar remarks, commenting about how my cousin and his friend came home from college with a couple of guitars and a keyboard. My grand-mom picked up the keyboard and started jamming along.

Looking through the index, Ethel's love of music is clear. Out of the roughly 550 cards in the purex box, 65 (more than 10%) are in some way related to music. These include record reviews, band and singer biographies, transcribed movements from songs, and complete lyrics for famous songs. My first thought was to scan all 65 in but again there are time (and maybe even bandwidth) constraints. So instead I thought I would just highlight some of the ones I found the most interesting, or the ones that demonstrated the range of music related index cards.


Examples like these are very typical in the index. Each card includes the title of the song, who wrote and/or performed it, and a brief transcribed section of the song. Included in these four are an Irving Berlin song, the Simon/Garfunkel song "Homeward Bound," Hank Williams' "Homesick," and the Honduras National Anthem which we are told was selected by a competition and adopted in 1915.
Here are four more similar cards for "The Horse Trader's Song" which is a gypsy folk song, The Rolling Stones' "Honky Talk Women," The Eagles "Hotel California," and "Hor Klokorna Med Angsligt Dan," which is Swedish.

Sometimes these cards are followed by another card that expands upon the limited information initially provided. Here are a couple of examples.


The second card for "A Hot Time in the Old Town" provides the details about when the song was first printed in 1896. The second card for Hank Williams' "Honky Talk Blues" includes the entire lyrics for the song.

Two cards I find pretty interesting focus on the more tragic side of Rock and Roll.

I looked up Doug Hopkins on the Internet (the real one, not my grand-mom's paper version) and found out that he was a founding member of the Gin Blossoms (a band I think I saw perform live) and had committed suicide in 1993. The second card is a clipping that reports the drummer for the Doobie Brothers motorcycle accident in 2001.
As detailed in previous posts, numerous of the index cards are folded in order to include additional clippings and information. The music examples usually highlight record reviews and related news. Here is the card and the contents for John Lee Hooker.

What I really think is cool about these types of music index cards is the varying range of musical genres represented. While I didn't scan the contents of these following cards, they do reflect the broad interest of the index.

While Hootie and the Blowfish and Whitney Houston have gained a great deal of mainstream popularity, Hot Chip is a relatively obscure dance punk band. And while a lot of the cards do feature mainstream rock and roll artists, classical musicians (among others) are also included. I must also mention that the Whitney Houston Card includes different colored ink, giving the appearance that Ethel was updating the card as Whitney's career unfolded (to put it nicely). The last two words on the card are not dated but read "drug addict." For some reason that makes me chuckle.

Not A Problem

I think I have found a way to transport the index from the garage to the house, but it will require my brother helping me to build a giant bookshelf in the guest bedroom. So for now I am still working with the initial Purex carton that contained the homer entries. I feel there are at least a couple more blog posts to be found in the carton.

One of the things I most interested about concerning the index is how it reflects who my grand-mom was. Not only in the meta context discussed previously (her identity as a collector and her attempt to keep a sharp mind) but also in the way that the individual cards reflect how she viewed the world. Unlike most dictionaries and encyclopedias which attempt to present an unbiased view, the index seems to (at least occasionally) define my grand-mom politically.

I feel this card provides the perfect example:





I did a quick search for the definition of homosexual online. Here are two examples:

The Free Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: 1ho·mo·sex·u·al
Pronunciation: \ˌhō-mə-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wəl, -ˈsek-shəl\
Function: adjective
Date: 1892

1 : of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex

2 : of, relating to, or involving sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex

— ho·mo·sex·u·al·ly adverb

Free Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: Homosexual


Macmillian Dictionary: Free English Dictionary Online and Thesaurus:
Definition of Homosexual
Noun
Pronunciation: /ˌhəʊməʊˈsekʃuəl/
a person who is attracted sexually to people of the same sex. Homosexuals, especially men, are often called gays. Female homosexuals are often called lesbians.

Macmillian Dictionary

Aside from my educational training in cultural theory and the fact that the dictionary definitions reinforce a problematic binary (academic geek speak), I like my grand-mom's entry so much better. Instead of a static and clinical description, grand-mom includes the following information: First there is a clipping from a "dear abbey" type letter written by someone who is confident and out attempting to challenge their parents' homophobia. The answer directs him to the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, which is now connected to PFLAG. Then there is a clipping that states in Seligman's opinion, homosexuality is "not a "problem"" and is not something that can be changed. Finally there is a little handwritten note stating that "Advocate Magazine is for gays." It is almost as if she is attempting to direct someone interested in the subject to a safe place where they can find non-offensive information.

My final thought about this card emerges from my training in semiotics, which analyzes the meanings of symbols. I do think the choice of a pink background for the entry labeled "homosexual" is interesting but not intentional. There are numerous pink entries in the Purex box that have nothing to do with homosexuality including one labeled, "Honey, We're Killing the Kids" which apparently was a "2006 TV reality show." The coincidence, however, does add a nice aesthetic aspect to the entry.

I never knew how my grand-mother felt about homosexuality. It was never a topic that came up in conversation. The index has taught me something about her that only strengthens my thoughts about her and my decision to take on this project.