Opening an online shop to sell my vintage collection was a conscious act to de-clutter. Naming the shop Madge’s Hatbox, after my grandmother, was a loving nod to her years as a milliner. Then a chance remark by my aunt sent me on a journey in search of a hat shop my grandmother o...
This is the story of a lucky bamboo brooch.A New BeginningA young woman in her 30s begins the long journey from Ft. Worth, Texas to Okinawa, Japan. It’s the early 60s and she is on her way to join her new husband, a Marine, who is stationed there. Life has been a rough go so far with a difficult f...
The Search for MadgeRegular readers know that MadgesHatbox is named in honor of my grandmother Madge Beals Meredith who was a milliner in her younger days. Little did I know, when I made that decision, an adventure was in store. A chance remark led me to try to find a hat shop Madge opened in Scoo...
For those of you following along with my journey to find the history of grandmother Madge's career as a milliner, you might remember a previous post that included a letter from Mrs. Margaret Steely in Chanute, Kansas. That letter was one of the first clues I had about Grandmother Madge's hat shop....
Madge and Mr. Madge left Atlanta on Friday for our trip to Scooba Mississippi to find my grandmother's hat shop. We made it to Birmingham, Alabama by lunch. Then, for several hours we wound through the rest of the state on scenic two-lane roads until we were over the border and in Scoob...
As the car eased out of the motel parking lot, a thought was nagging in the back of my brain. Was I wasting my time? Any contemporaries of my grandmother were long gone. Maybe too much time had passed.
This whole quest had begun by happenstance. Opening a shop to sell my vintage collection was ...