How a Toast Rack Keeps a Memory Alive

My great-grandmother Sarah Jane Simpson, who was born in 1862, owned this toast rack. Sarah lived in Ramsgate England, where she kept a boarding house. I suspect she used this toast rack on the table for her family and boarders.

In Victorian times, toast was made and then placed in a rack to be set out on the table. The toast rack, along with many other small items owned by Sarah, were given to me by my grandmother Ruth Fuller (her daughter). 

 

The toast rack is safely displayed in one of my China Cabinets but it seems a shame to not put it to use.

 

 

David Simpson & Sarah Stead Wedding Day 1862

 

It is always difficult to know how or even if to use treasured family items but I have figured out a once-a-year use!

 

Every Christmas I host a large family dinner (30 or more guests). Putting Great-Grandmother's toast rack to use as a napkin holder works well. 

 

Every time I see the toast rack on my table I think of my grandmother and the talks we used to have. I think of great-grandmother Simpson who I did not know in life but know her through the stories my grandmother told me and the treasures I now hold that once belonged to her.