The Material Legacy

Desk

The desk was made by me as a manual training class project in West High School, Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the school year 1928-29, the first year in the new building. Mr. Leaonard F. Stacker was the teacher.

The desk has a flat top on tapered legs. There is one wide drawer. Lumber species is butternut, stained walnut color. Dimensions: 29 inches high, 30 inches wide, and 18 inches deep.

Match Box

This match box was used by my parents for many years. I don't know its origin, but I remember it in the basement at 132 South Oneida Street, Green Bay, Wisconsin, from the mid-1920's. It was mounted near the furnace and remained there when the house was sold to Carl and Marian Sippel in 1950 or 1951. They continued to use the box for matches in the basement until 1982. They gave it to me for Christmas 1982. It continues in use for matches beside our Franklin stove.

The box is wall-mounted of cast iron, and is of self-closing design. It measures about 3¾″ × 2¼ × 1″ – just right for a handful of wooden kitchen matches. These words are cast on the lid: Self Closing – for matches &c. – Patented Dec. 20, 1864 – D.N & Co. – New Haven. The bottom is made rough as a place to scratch the matches. The remainder is coated with black enamel.

In 1983, I removed the original enamel and recoated it with new black enamel.

Comode

This piece of furniture was my Grandmother Cardinal's. I don't know its previous history, but she gave up house keeping in 1913, so it must have been old then. It was a dark stained finish, painted white in the 1920's for use in our bath room. One of the towel rack bars was broken as early as I remember and has been removed.

Combination Pen, Pencil, Stamp

Mrs Frank Whipple

probably 1900

Shop Tools

Acquired by me during high school years (1927-31) or before.

• Work bench (made for me by my father)
• Vise
• Claw hammer (marked Alty on handle)
• Push drill (Mr. Punch)
• Auger bits for brace (6/16″, 8/16″, 10/16″)
• Countersink bit
• Twist bit (¼)
• Brace
• Marking guage
• Try square
• Large screw driver (square shank, wood handle) (bought for me by my Uncle Sam Cardinal)
• Screw driver set (3 in 1)
• Wooden handle containing may tools
• Jack plane
• Carpenter chisels (½″ ¾″)
• Spoke shave
• Hand cranked grinder