Before my grandma died, she made a box of family history items she still had in her possession and left them for me. It contained momentoes, her passport, and some other notes and documents. I cross-stitched that bookmark for her, and she used it for years, in every book she read until she passed.

One piece of paper had song lyrics written on it.

 

 

However, my grandma outlived her two sons (my dad and uncle), who would have been the ones to recall such a thing. “I hope you kids remember the tune,” it says at the bottom.

As I read the lyrics aloud, it dawned on my mom: the melody is “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” It works!

Upon further research, I found the lyrics on the internet! They call it “The Kitty Song.”

Obviously, this song meant something to my Grandma, that is why she documented the lyrics. I mean, other items she saved were a George Jones concert ticket stub and a letter from Gerry Frank. She also saved this:

 

 

I feel like most people would look at these things like trivial items, but they so represent my Grandma. She had this poem hanging on her bedroom wall, but changing the words to “wine and bingo” reflect who she was.

I loved this prompt! Working on this solved a little mystery I had. (On to the next!)

You can find the rest of my 52 Ancestors posts by clicking the tag at the top of the post.

And you can follow along on Instagram as well: @familyhistoryfood.

Until next time,

Meredith