Grampa’s gift

Recently I discovered another piece of history—another treasure—when I was given a few diaries that my paternal grandfather, Grampa Copley, had written. I’d heard he kept diaries but thought they’d all been lost or destroyed.

The treasure is a diary from 1934, a summary of diaries from 1912 to 1969, and a scrapbook from his young adulthood.

Burr Copley was born in Unadilla, New York, and graduated from Cornell University in 1913 with a degree in agriculture. He used his knowledge to run a successful farm and grain, feed, and turkey business along with Marion Lowry, whom he married in 1917. Grampa Copley loved his family and valued education and faith.

What we know—or think we know—of family is sometimes challenged when we read primary sources that document what actually happened at the time it occurred. For example, I thought my grandparents had always lived in their large, rambling farmhouse with its barns and sheds and coops and generous land. But in the 1934 diary, I learned that the family, which by then included five children, were renting a home in another part of town. Grampa spent much of that year scouting out a permanent home to buy.

I also learned about how they managed the farm, from both domestic and business prospectives, which has given me the details that will give my current middle-grade manuscript the authenticity it needs.

The summary diary records highlights of each year, which, judging by the quality of my grandfather’s handwriting, he wrote from either existing diary entries or from memory later in his life. Although it doesn’t have the immediacy of the 1934 diary, it provides important dates and events.

And the scrapbook includes photos of my fun-loving great aunties, whom I’d known only in their middle and late years, as fun-loving young women.

Having these treasures has given me insight into my grandfather as a young man, a young father, a successful business person, and a grandfather. They’ve also added to who I am; knowing more about my family helps me understand more about myself.

Writing in a diary takes only a few minutes of your day, but it will be an unending gift to your family for generations.