Following my Martha appearance this past month I received a whole lotta email (a. whole. lot-ta. email.) Many were kind notes from friends, family, colleagues, former classmates (from elementary school to university) - all of which were fun to read and much appreciated. I also received a surprising number of emails from complete strangers who saw the segment and wrote to share their thoughts - most were short and sweet well-wishes, a few were a little odd but harmless, one or two that were completely whacked and a handful that were absolutely lovely. An email falling into the ‘absolutely lovely’ category came from a Junior Society member in St. Louis, Missouri. With her permission, I’m sharing her letter and photos.

Dear Mr. Mahar,

I’ve been a big fan of Mahar Drygoods and your Junior Society blog for several years now. Thank you for sharing such beautiful items and inspirational ideas with all us readers who love everything vintage and handmade.

I have a story to share with you. I’m a mom of two little boys, 4 and 2. I’m also a daughter and very close to my Mom and Dad. My father, a Peruvian immigrant and amazingly loving man, died of cancer a year ago. He was very close to my little boys and even watched them once a week while I was working. After he died, my Mom, a creative soul herself, saved his signature plaid shirts, pleated jeans and white socks. He wore that uniform every weekend for years and we often teased him about them (especially the PLEATED jeans.) For Christmas gifts for my boys, the year my Dad died, my mom made Christmas dolls out of my Dad’ s clothes and stuffed snowmen out of his white socks. These will be cherished and loved for years to come and a reminder of my Dad for my boys and myself.

[letter continued below the photos...]

Top: Images of Mate and Vincent with their grandfather Juan Chavez.
Bottom: The boys selecting pumpkins this year.

You can imagine how excited I was to see your sock skeletons a few weeks ago. My boys are HUGE Halloween fans and both LOVE skeletons. My mom still had some of my Dad’s socks so she got to work making the skeletons. The boys gasped in excitement when they saw the final products and I love seeing them play and love on something that used to be worn by my Dad.

[letter continued below the photos...]

Vincent and Mate with their new sock skeletons.

I thought this was a neat way to remember a loved one who had died and thought I’d share this idea in case some of your readers out there would be interested.

A picture of my boys with their sock skeletons is attached as well as pictures of my boys with my Dad. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful project with us.

In gratitude,

Patricia Chavez (St. Louis, MO)

Left: Kiki and Juan Chavez, Right: A young Chavez family

I love that email. I love it because it’s understandably nice to hear that something you’ve created has had an unexpected positive effect on someone else, but more so because someone I’ve never met took the time to write and share a very personal story - in this case, the loss of a parent.

Patricia’s letter was also very timely given that today is the Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos), a holiday celebrated around the globe but most notably in Mexico, parts of South America and the southwestern US. The celebration coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day on November 1st and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd and incorporates traditions that reach all the way back to the Aztec peoples. Having a large Mexican population here in Los Angeles the holiday is widely observed throughout the city.

My oversimplified take on it is as a day of remembrance when friends and family gather to celebrate and remember loved ones who have died - but in a joyous and colorful way versus any sort of mournful commemoration. Skulls and skeletons are widely used in decoration and artwork as a way of honoring the deceased, making the sock skeletons Patricia’s mother made for her grandsons particularly apt.

One Day of the Dead tradition includes building private altars to honor the deceased. Patricia told me that every year her mom, Kiki Chavez creates “an elaborate altar in her living room decorated with mass cards, photos, candles, flowers, skeletons and mementos for loved ones who have died. All the family members who come to the party bring gifts to place on the altar. …we ate yummy Peruvian food (seco de carne, papa a la huancaina and sangria) in memory of my Dad and my boys played with their new sock skeletons.” She was kind enough to share photos of her mother’s alter.

Day of the Dead alter created by Kiki Chavez.

You can read more about the history of El Día de los Muertos on Wikipedia or on one of the gazillion sites found through Google searches.

And finally, another very warm ‘thank you’ to Patricia Chavez and her family for sharing their story.

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