Match Collection

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I can't really take credit for this collection, because it actually belonged to my great-grandmother. She did all the ground work for this one. Thanks, Granny. Right now, these matchbooks live in a giant plastic bag, the same plastic bag they were in when I received them from her empty home after she passed away. I have several items from her life — jewelry, old cameras, glass figurines, dishes — but for some reason, these matches speak to me. They show me where she's been, places she's seen. I can just see her as her younger self, glitzy jewelry on and puffing a cigarette. Back then, smoking wasn't a big deal, and matchbooks were more popular because of all the smoking. It made sense to collect them. What if you needed a light?

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There are several from Disney World, and a lot of them are from places she went when she took cruises. She loved to travel and take adventures, and she would bring a matchbook back with her. She has matchbooks from so many different locations, even local ones like Gino's Pizza. I think that is hysterical.

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The ones with her handwriting on them are so interesting to me. Some have phone numbers, some have names and dates on them. I wonder what she was doing at that moment. Who did these numbers belong to?

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I particularly like the ones from Heritage Station. I want local places to start making these cool matchbooks again! I mean, I need matches even though I don't smoke. I have lots of candles, you know.

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There's also a special matchbook from a family friend's wedding. The sight of this makes my heart stop and my throat close up, because both of those beautiful people are gone now, too.

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On my long list of projects for my house is a display of some sort for these matchbooks. They just look so interesting when they're all together, so I'd like to create something to show them off a bit more. I'm open to ideas. But for now I suppose they will just stay in their big plastic ziploc bag, smelling mildly of dust and her house. Thanks again, Granny. Because of you, I'll always have a spark.

I'll be continuing this collections series throughout the month, and you can check out my owl collection post here.