Washington's Learning in Retirement "Memoir" group is enjoying writing the stories of their lives, one story at a time. At a recent session, each member took an object from the past that brought back memories and had a story behind it.

Steve Blackmon took a sled that he has owned for 74 years, ordered at his special request from Butler Brothers in Baltimore for $2.25. His parents couldn't understand why he wanted a sled when snow was so rare in Wilkes County. Still, he waited in anticipation for Christmas Day and his special Christmas gift. A few days before Christmas, a surprise snowfall motivated his parents to let him have his sled a few days early, and he and his friends enjoyed that sled for nearly two weeks! Kids and grandkids have also enjoyed it in the years since.

Eleanor Blackmon took an oilcloth doll that she received as a baby in 1924. She cut her teeth on that doll, as the gnawed places can testify.

Bobbie Terry, from Elberton, took her mother's tart pan in which she made her famous raisin pecan tarts on a wood stove. Known as "Mama Clark," her recipe was a closely kept secret until recent publication in a family cookbook, and Bobbie insists that her mom really was the very best cook ever.

Alice Green took a favorite children's book, "The Little King and Other Fairy Tales." She also took a memento from a dollhouse that was a gift from her grandfather. All the furniture was made of cast-iron, including the dog, which Alice took to show. It sat outside the dollhouse to protect the family

Dot Harris took a very long, very well-preserved gourd, which is actually 70 years old. As a young girl interested in science and nature, she had collected the gourd to decorate her playhouse, and she has kept it ever since. You can still hear the seeds jingle inside.

Cathy Lannae took her kindergarten lunchbox. Her name, written by her mother on adhesive tape, is still affixed to the box. Cathy says that (by her own choice) her lunch was the same every single day, a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich and chocolate milk.

Nita Latimer took her greatgrandmother's rose-patterned cream pitcher, the only surviving piece of that china. It tells a story of a life in the North Carolina mountains before the family land was taken for Lake Glenville and the area was flooded. Their town, now underwater, became what is known as a "lost town."

"We hope these memories from us have triggered some special memories of your own," class facilitator Nita Latimer said. The Memoir Writing class meets monthly and will focus on holiday memories next month.