M
y mom, Joan Vladicka, was an
avid antique lover. She loved
items she found that had a back
story, though, truth be told,
Mom made up many of those stories her-
self—it was part of the fun! My fascination
with amber glass began with a butter dish
my mom received from my paternal grand-
mother, who we simply called “Granny.”
The dish was shaped like a hen sitting on
a nest. You lifted the lid to get to the but-
ter and, as a child, I would carefully sneak
it from the shelf to look at it. I would put
it on the windowsill and watch the warmcolours splash across the wall, and move
it around to see what new patterns I could
create. Mom would tell me that when I was
18, I would get the butter dish for my home.
I actually had to wait until I was 32 before
she would let it go, but it was a magical
day for me when she gave it to me. Driving
home with my husband, I told him all the
stories that Mom and I had come up with
for this little piece of glass. It really is one
of the most-prized things I ever received
from her.
When I was 16, Granny gave me a small
perfume bottle also made of amber glassMOM’S GIFT
A shared passion brings mother and daughter
even closer together by Deb Sandau, Red Deer, Alta.
Above:
One of Deb’s
most-cherished
possessions,
this amber
butter dish was
passed down
by her paternal
grandmother.COLLECTORS41