Charms story

The old family home had already been sold. All that remained was to clean out the contents so Mom could relocate to an apartment where she'd fret less and be better cared for.

Now a widow nearly as long as she'd been a wife, Mom was over 90 and she agreed it was time to move to a smaller place. Living on her own was no longer an option.

The family had already packed up the things she would take with her and a house sale would get rid of the rest—none of it of much value.

But there was one little box, not too much bigger than a bar of soap. It seemed to be filled with junk: broken rosaries, single earrings, random bits of costume jewelry, all of it knotted up and jumbled together with a spool of black thread.

Was there anything in the box worth keeping? The family took the box to a friend who knew something about jewelry—just to be sure before they tossed it in the trash. That's when this charm bracelet surfaced.

Mom was an avid Bridge player, hence the playing cards charm. And she liked her Scotch and soda, which explained another charm. But most intriguing was the golden heart, engraved "1944."

It looked like it should open but the hinge wouldn't budget. A jeweler was consulted, who worked on the heart with the skill of a surgeon. He said it probably had been decades since anyone had tried to open it and he labored for at least 10 minutes to reveal these photos.

When the friend returned the bracelet to the family, one son identified the soldier as his dad, Mom's husband who had died in 1978. That other photo is Dad as a boy.

And the significance of 1944? That was the year after they were married, the year the man was was sent to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. Clearly, the locket was a gift from the young soldier as he went off to war.

So was Mom thrilled when the bracelet was returned? Her memory is spotty now. She forgets a lot. She can't remember the bracelet, the golden heart or the story of young love. , ,