Aubrey SquiresFollow

Date Collected

Winter 12-5-2017

Place item was collected

Hyrum, Utah

Informant

Aubrey Squires

Point of Discovery/Informant Bio

I was raised in Provo, and in West Jordan. I currently live in Hyrum, Utah. I am a 29 year old Caucasian female. I am the only girl out of 4 children and I am the second oldest. My whole family is LDS and very religious. I am a Utah State University undergraduate student. I work as a molding sander at Homestead Cabinets. I like writing books, spending time watching movies with family, and working in my friend’s garden whenever I can. I also enjoy collecting things that bring meaning to my life, like the items in this collection piece.

Context

When I was growing up my parents would occasionally go on trips and leave us kids behind. I would request that they return with a souvenir from their destination spot. I wanted these items to remind me of where they went. They would bring me back jewelry, key chains, pins, rocks, stones, and sometimes seashells. Anytime I went with my mom out of state, like to California, I would ask if we could stop at the gift store. I would buy a key chain or a stuffed animal to bring back home. The first item that I bought from the gift shop was a ballerina bear clip. Whenever my mom would go to the California beaches, she would bring me back seashells. Now that I am grown up I don’t receive these souvenirs from my parents any more. When my second youngest brother went on his LDS mission to Argentina, I asked him to bring me something back. He returned with a mini silver spoon and fork set that was displayed in a small clear box. My baby brother went on his LDS mission to Tahiti and I had him bring me back something as well. He returned with some seashell necklaces, pearls, and a wrap around skirt. A few years ago, I went to Las Vegas with my family and I bought m&m earrings, shirts, and Minnie Mouse jewelry. There was another time when I went to Oregon with my family, I bought a stackable penguin set from the Oregon zoo’s gift shop. I bought a pink bear with purple hearts from build a bear workshop in the mall. When I went to Moab Utah last year, I ended up buying somethings that would remind me of the trip. I picked up some dinosaur fabric from the quilting shop to make a baby blanket. I also bought rings and gathered rocks from my hike. Last year my friends took a trip to Hawaii and I asked them to bring me back something. They returned with two bracelets, a turtle key chain, and some sweet seashells from the beach. My daughter went to Lego Land California last summer and she brought me a penguin stuffed animal and some seashells. These two items were the last things I added to my collection.

Text

The picture on the left is of the first souvenir I bought from a gift store in California when I was a kid. It is a small pink ballerina stuffed animal that I could clip onto my back pack. On the right side is a picture of some of the other souvenirs I’ve received from family, friends, and from myself.

Texture

These beautiful items are currently stored in a clear storage container in my bedroom, where it is hard to get to. That way no one will be tempted to play with them. They will stay there until I can buy a display case for them. When this happens, I will display them in my living room for everyone to see. The only rule that I’ll have is that no one is allowed to get them out. I want to keep them in perfect condition. The only time the display case will be opened is when we are adding things to it. I hope as a family, we can go on trips often and bring back things to add to the souvenir collection.

Course

Intro to Folklore, English 2210

Instructor

Lynne S. McNIEll

Semester and year

Fall 2017

Theme

G8: Objects with/of Customary Use

EAD Number

3.12

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