My grandmother's hand-carved decorative plate was a wedding present from a friend. She brought it to the US in 1978 and because Poland was under communism it was one of the only objects she could bring. It is very special as a family friend gave it to her. When she brought it to the US she hung it up as a decoration and as a memory of Poland and of her wedding. This plate has lovely patterns and designs. I can’t imagine hand carving it as it looks so complicated and beautiful. Nowadays when I look at wooden art there are machines that do it and it still takes a while to make it. I can’t imagine how long it would take to make it by hand. It was very king of my grandmother’s friend to take her time out of her day to make a plate which took a very long time to make and give it to her as a wedding present. As communism got worse more things were being rationed and my Grandfather decided to come to the US to make a living. My Grandma did not want to come at first as she wanted to stay with her family on her family farm in Poland. My grandfather was making a decent living and she decided it was best to come for the family. Since Poland was still under communism when my mom and grandma came they were not allowed to bring too many objects. They decided to bring the necessities and some special objects that meant a lot to them. One of those special objects was her wooden wedding gift plate. She brought it to the US and hung it up as a memory of her time in Poland.

– J

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant