My object is a miniature version of a French castle. It’s made of wood and can open up, inside there is a secret compartment. The castle was given to my great-grandfather and then passed on eventually to my mom. When my mom was little and would stay at his house she always saw the castle and though it was really cool and beautiful. One day she asked where it came from. The story starts with my great-grandpa. He was a colonel in the army and in charge of many people. He was also an engineer and helped build bridges and made breakthroughs in the engineering world. He’s even in some history books! He was a great teacher and leader, so to honor and thank him, his men hand crafted the castle for him. It was made to-scale of the castle it was a replica of. It was a very big honor for him to receive it, especially because of all the hard work his men put into it.  Every time I see the castle it reminds me of his story and everything he had to go through. It also makes me think of my mom because she always talks about him. Also the castle is from France, so that reminds me and makes me think of my heritage because I’m French. It brings all my heritage together because he fought for America but he also lived in France. Those are both very important parts of my identity and I like having a reminder of my heritage. 

– JT

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant