The Marlboro Playing Cards

Tuesday Treasures Marlboro Playing Cards


It might seem like a strange thing to have a set of Marlboro Playing Cards featured as one of my Tuesday Treasures. But this is no ordinary set of cards. This is the set of cards that belonged to my maternal grandfather, William Hammersmith, whom I affectionately called, Pappy--or Paps, for short. 

Pappy - William Robert Hammersmith

Often when I'd visit my grandparents, Nana and Pappy, I'd play with those Marlboro Playing Cards that belonged to Pappy. I might play Solitaire, or sometimes sometimes we'd play Go Fish or Crazy Eights. You know, back in the day when you couldn't play card games on your phone. He had lots of playing cards, but I always liked these and I'm not even sure why. After Pappy died in 1994, I got to keep these playing cards. So as silly as it might seem, they are indeed something that I treasure. 

The photo of him above is one he sent to me a year or two before he passed away. It's the last photo that he ever sent to me. Incidentally, I also have the shirt that he is wearing in this photo, and I treasure it as well. 

I sure miss Pappy. He was the best grandfather, always smiling and always cracking a joke and making me laugh. Nana showed me how to give him a "Wet Willie" when I was quite young. I did that for years and he never got upset--he'd just laugh. Oh how I miss that laugh. But if I try really, really hard...I can almost hear it.

Love you, Paps. 
NAIH ♥