Christmas Pearls

When my mom and dad were married my mother was just 15 years old.  Dad was 21 and just home from the Korean War.  Mom was expecting me and with her parents permission they went to Las Vegas, Nevada and were married on January 27, 1960.  They did not have a fancy wedding and they received only one wedding gift.  That gift was from my mother's paternal grandmother, Christina Jane Mortensen.

This is Christina Jane, right, with her sister Abby Perkins.  They were newly married and living in Nebraska in 1903.

Jane and Abby with their husbands...Christina is on the left.

Christina gave my mother a necklace for her wedding gift.  It was a two-strand pearl necklace.  Dad said mom wore it all the time until 1964.  My little brother, Mike just 18 months old, reached up and gave the necklace a tug and pearls scattered everywhere.  They were picked up and placed in a bag where they remained until this Christmas.

The night before my mom passed away she asked me for one last favor.  "Promise me that you will remind your daddy when RaLee and Randi turn 16.  He needs to get them something special like I got the other grandaughters.  Something like a jewelry armoire or a hope chest."  So this September I called dad and fulfilled the promise I made to mom and reminded him that the girls were turning 16.

The day after Christmas dad presented each of the girls with a special gift from their Grandma Francine.  He had taken the necklace to the jewelry store and had the pearls made into three pairs of ear rings and two necklaces. The jeweler said the pearls dated back to the mid 1800's.  I'm assuming the pearls were passed down to Christina at one time.  There was a pair of ear rings for me, and a necklace and ear ring set for each of the girls!  I was so happy for the girls and I'm certain my mother was very happy with dad's choice of gift!

RaLee and Randi wearing their pearls-Ray's is hidden by her blouse :(

Dad and the girls.