what you leave behind

I went to an estate sale for the very first time. There is something eerie about going through a dead man's belongings. The sale was at an older upscale suburb and the man who once lived there was a WWII Airman who from I what I gather was a bit of hoarder, but who isn't a hoarder from that generation? He lived in a beautiful well kept home which had been invaded by dozens of strangers (including myself) on a Saturday morning. We were all on a mission to find treasure and his house was full of treasures indeed-- some with actual monetary value and some only valuable to him. His home was a museum that contained his entire life and it was all up for sale. He had kept everything-- old newspapers, cigar boxes, dozens of broken cameras from various eras and even spices purchased in the 1970s. I looked through his travel photo albums and found some incredible black and white photos of Algeria and Italy during wartime. I found myself wanting to find out more about him and became less interested in finding furniture bargains. He had hundreds of old family photos that were up for sale and other sentimental objects like the spatula he used to cut his wedding cake. Why didn’t any of his family members want to keep these? Did he have children? Was he a well-loved man? Did he die happy? I began asking these questions as I continued my quest to get to know Mr. Howard J. Boscus. I found paintings of the Golden Gate Bridge and the trolley cars of San Francisco with “Boscus” etched at the bottom of the canvas. He liked to paint.

I could spend hours rummaging through the remnants of Mr. Boscus’ life but unfortunately they were hours I could not spare. I walked away with a bagful of snapshots and two old cameras among other things.

This estate sale has got me thinking about what I would leave behind for people to rifle through.
(At this point it would be clothes and about 20 steno notebooks filled with notes from college. Now that I think about it, the amount of steno notebooks I have kind of makes me look like a cereal killer like Kevin Spacey from the movie Seven.)

A small box of old paperclips that is still actually full of old paperclips.

Old cameras I don't think work but I am currently brainstorming on how to display them.

These are one of my favorite photo finds, a photo of what he called the "shac" a makeshift tent-bed during wartime and along the wall are pin-ups. Old school Penthouse and Playboy type photos.

The fabulous antique oven he never changed.

The spices and spike rack he never threw away.

 

Here he is. Mr. Howard J. Boscus. Doesn't he and those ladies look incredibly sharp? I love this style. 

Below is his obituary I found on the web.

Boscus, Howard J.

Howard Boscus passed away in Sacramento on May 1, 2010. 
Born in San Francisco, he spent most of his early years in the 
San Francisco Bay area where he graduated from Lowell High 
School, University of California - Berkeley, and the Stanford 
School of Credit and Financial Management.

He was a retired Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, serving 
for many years in Sacramento as Senior Loan Officer of the 
Valley Division, extending from Alturas to Bakersfield. Prior to 
that time he worked in Santa Rosa, Stockton, Modesto, 
Patterson and San Francisco.

He was a Veteran of World War II, serving with the Fifteenth Air 
Force in North Africa and Italy.

He was a past president of the Sacramento Exchange Club, 
Credit Managers Association of Northern California, and other 
credit and financial groups. He was a former member of the 
Sutter Club (and a charter member of the Comstock Club). For 
many years he was Treasurer of the Mercy Hospital Foundation 
of Sacramento. At the time of his death he was a member of 
Del Paso Country Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and 
the Exchange Club.

He was preceded in death by his parents Helen and John 
Boscus, his sister Maylou B. Conroy, and his nieces Margaret 
and Barbara Conroy. His vivacious wife of 25 years Mildred 
Steckman Boscus died in 1985. His cherished friend of over 40 
years Pauline Sahagian died tragically in 2004. Howard will be 
missed by her family and his many dear friends.

At his request, private services were held under the direction 
of W.F. Gormley and Sons. Memorials may be sent to the 
Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento, 3555 Auburn Blvd., 
Sacramento, CA 95821. 

Published in The Sacramento Bee on May 22, 2010