>>Coming up on Legacy
List with Matt Paxton.

Matt is in historic
Morristown, New Jersey

to help a family go through a
basement full of collectibles.

>>Marilyn Monroe

>>It's called a flail.

>>And say goodbye to the man

who taught them to
never stop learning.

>>What?

>>What is that?

>>That would be about
53 million years old

>>53 million years old.

I'm Matt Paxton.

Let's do it man.

My team of specialists,
Jamie, Mike, and Avi

help me help people
downsize their homes

and settle estates.

As the largest population
of baby boomers

in American history
transition towards retirement,

they and their families
face the overwhelming task

of emptying their homes to move.

We help them sift through
a lifetime of possessions.

>>Bingo!

>>Heirlooms and collectibles.

>>Oh my gosh.

>>She's gonna love that.

>>To help them find the
missing family treasures

that mean the most to them.

>>Oh my-

>>Jackie Robinson.

And along the way,
they'll discover

that the most important
museum in the world

may be in their
family's basement.

>>Oh!

>>I've never seen that.
That is cool looking.

>>From attics to cellars,
closets to cupboards,

we uncover the memories
they want to preserve.

This is living history.

This is what we're
here to find. Let's go!

And discover the
compelling personal

and often historical stories

spanning generations that
are their family's legacy.

>>[Female Announcer]
Support for Legacy List

comes from MakeSpace.

MakeSpace picks up, stores and
return your items on demand.

Available for home or business.

MakeSpace provides
professional movers,

plus bins, blankets and a
digital photo inventory.

You can find us
at makespace.com.

And by ensure long-term care

where we believe aging at
home near friends and family

is ever more possible
for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

AARP Virginia offering
family caregiving support

with prepare to care and
down sizing and decluttering

on

line workshops designed
to help organize and

assess family needs

Find the complete online
workshop schedule

At AARP.org/virtual VA

The Ruth Camp Campbell
Foundation

(upbeat music)

>>Today we're in
Morristown, New Jersey

meeting with Annemarie
Forman and her family.

There's three generations
that live there.

We're in the middle of a
really complicated downsize.

First, we're gonna move her
mother to her new apartment.

And then we've got to
sort through the basement

and go through the late
father's collectibles

that have completely
filled their house.

(Matt knocks)

>>Hi!

>>How are you?

>>Matt, good to see you.

>>As well as you.

>>Thank you for coming.

>>Thank you. Wow,
look at this house.

It's beautiful.

>>Thank you. Thank you.

I'm so glad you're here.

We have a basement full
of stuff from my dad.

My dad passed away
two years ago.

My dad was an electrical
engineer for his whole career.

But at the same time, he
was always really interested

in history and collecting.

My mom moved in after
my dad passed away.

So, she's moving out, and we
need help getting her stuff out

and clearing out
my dad's things.

>>Going into this job,

I knew it was going to
be a little delicate

because Annemarie's father
had passed away two years ago

and her mother was finally
leaving the house again.

So I knew it would
be a really touchy

but positive situation.

All right, let's peek
around and see what we got

and then see the
rest of the house.

>>This is a kind of
a family heirloom.

It was my great, great aunt's.

And this was one of the things

when we packed up
my parents house,

we definitely made sure to take.

It's silver, silver
and gold. Yeah.

>>It's beautiful.

>>I see a lot of radios.

>>Yeah. Well, my dad was
an electrical engineer.

So from a very young age,

he was really interested
in electronics.

He actually got his ham radio
license when he was like 13.

>>Wow.

(talk over each other)

That's a really big deal.

>>Yeah, and he built
his own ham radios.

He even recorded Sputnik.

>>Really?

>>Yeah. When he was-

>>That's really, really cool.

My job wouldn't be (indistinct)

'cause I've got your
mom we're moving,

and then your dad stuff.

One of the things we do
we really get to know

the people that we're moving

just by going through
their collections.

And I think it's
gonna be interesting

to know more about your dad.

>>Here was an interesting guy.

He really was.
>>All right.

Let's keep checking out
the rest of the house.

I'm just kind of looking
around right now.

(light cheerful music)

>>Over here, this ball,
he marked everything

like he was so meticulous
about I love research

and putting notes on things

and thank goodness he did
because half of the things

we wouldn't even
know what they were

>>I mean, without this

for most people, this
is just a basket.

>>Yeah, exactly.

>>But now it's like,
oh my god, it's 200 AD!

>>Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Thank you, dad.

>>This is cool.

All right, so it's
really clean up here.

Where's like the ballroom?

>>Let's go to basement.

That's where the good stuff is.

All right.

>>Wow, look at all those stuff.

>>Come on down.

>>All right, here we
are, now I can see it.

Look at this.

>>It's quite a lot.

>>This is a collection.

I love it.

Man, you're not kidding.
It's all in boxes.

It's all documented.

>>Yeah, he loved the
research part of it.

This is a little bag
that he gave my kids

when they were little.

And he would give them
little collectible things

and gemstone collection.

So he was... Even as
they were very little.

>>How old were the kids?

>>My daughter was like four.

>>I don't even let my kid pour

his own milk, more or less.

>>But they loved
they loved Grampy

and listening to
Grampy's stories.

He had a very big influence
on all his grandchildren.

Some of the stuff I
haven't seen in years,

like I haven't been in
the boxes in a long time.

Like he would go
through different phases

where all he would be
collecting would be fossils.

And then you know, another year

it might be colonial Americana.

And another year,
it's like Egyptian.

>>This I'm really interested in,

>>Okay, he was like a
whiz with electronics,

he would broadcast
and talk to people,

I just remember having
antennas all outside the house.

So he loved antique radios.

>>These are actually original.

These are not like-

>>No, these are original.

>>These are original tubes.

And so they're very valuable

and a lot of times the
tubes are more valuable

than the actual product.

>>So we used to
call him actually

the Renaissance man.

Because he knew so much about
so many different things.

As he got up in years,
like he actually,

there was one time where he
took me around the house.

And he started to talk
to me about everything.

It's kind of emotional
for me to think about it.

But he knew that there
was gonna be a time

when we'd have to do this.

And I think he was
preparing us for it.

At least he was
preparing me for it.

So he made a point of telling me

where everything was,
what was important,

what not to worry about so much.

And I appreciate that.

Like, I think he was, you know,
that was his way of saying,

you know, you've got this.

>>Obviously a lot of work to do.

We're gonna move some
of your mom's stuff.

We'll get rid of some trash,
we'll organize a lot of this.

But we got our hands full.

Now, is there any other
space I need to see

that would have some of
your dad's collection?

>>Yeah, there's actually
some in the garage,

if you want to come take a look.

(upbeat music)

>>That's the garage.

>>That's it.

>>Wow. (exhales) Take a second.

This adds a day. Easy.

Very typical.

When a client calls me,
they say, "Hey, look,

my stuff's over there somewhere.

But my mom's stuff's on top,

and then my aunt's
stuff's over here.

So we've got like real
sorting to do out here.

All right, I think I know
we need to do logistically.

We've got a lot of work to do.

I need to get my team here.

But I want to go inside and
let's go over the legacy list.

Usually I have idea what's
gonna be on the legacy list.

I have no idea what you're
going to throw at me.

So I'm kind of
excited to go here.

We've two goals,
one was clean out,

one was obviously to move Nancy

and get her in a
comfortable place.

And the second one was to
just reorganize all the items

and make them as
accessible as possible.

(light cheerful music)

[Matt] All right.

Give me your favorite
memory of your dad

with all this stuff.

What's the coolest thing?

>>Oh, it's so hard
to pick one thing-

>>Or just give me a cool one.

>>But a cool one I think
is a memory I have of

my dad with with my
girls in the basement.

And he would take them
down to his little workshop

and he would teach them
how to be archeologists.

He put little cotton
gloves on them

and he'd use like
old dental tools

and teach them how
to clean the fossils.

And so that vision that
I have, is priceless.

>>One thing I love about my job

is we get to know the person.

What am I gonna
know about your dad?

>>I think you will know
that he was passionate

about not just things but
about the meaning of them

and the history of them.

I feel like he's here
kind of talking to you

through his things and you
will totally get to know him.

>>All right, let's
get into this list.

>>Okay. The first thing
is a cuneiform brick.

He was so proud of
that because it had

like one of the first
pieces of writing,

you know that Sumerian writing,

and he was really
intrigued with language

and the evolution of it.

The reason that I'm a teacher
today is because of him.

And I and I teach
English, so for me

this is like a personal item
that really connects me to him.

The next thing is, I was
just telling you the story

about my girls
cleaning the fossils,

and one of one of the fossils
that they cleaned off with him

was of a fossilized turtle.

>>Is it big turtle,
small turtle?

[Annemarie] Medium size. Yes.

[Matt] Well, box turtle, okay.

All right, let's keep
on. What's the next item?

>>Okay, the next item is an item

that I know would be
really special to my mom.

It's something that
he had all the time

and used it all the time.

And it's an old Bakelite
circuit tester, I guess.

He would use it to
test voltage on things

to see if something
you know, was working

or the battery was charged
and he got it from his uncle.

And it was something

that kind of got him
interested in electronics.

The next item is a
dinosaur egg, or fossil.

>>Repeat that for me.

>>A dinosaur,
fossilized dinosaur egg.

He had a pretty
large collection.

>>He's not the father of
dragons, like we're not-

>>No, no, but he
was really into,

he had like period of time

when he was really
into natural history.

The last thing that I
have is a Amethyst geode.

And it's kind of what got him

into his natural history
phase of collecting.

>>Okay, so that was...
He got the bug with that.

>>My mother just remembers

how excited he was about it.

Now that she's moving, she
wants to have that display,

>>Okay, so she wants that to go-

>>She wants to have that

displayed in her new place.

>>We're gonna move your mom.

And then we're gonna
hopefully clear out

and reorganize a lot of stuff,

so that you guys
can get some space.

>>Perfect.

>>What do you want for
your mom in this process,

and I don't mean stuff.

>>They were married
for 52 years.

And unfortunately, my dad passed
away on their anniversary.

I think this move is exciting.

But I also think it's
a little scary for her

'cause she's never
really been on her own.

And I think just going
through these things now

and talking about him now

is kind of like settling
her and getting her ready.

Because it's okay
for her to move on.

(uplifting music)

(upbeat music)

>>This place is
pretty cool, man.

>>Yes.

>>We knew this was
gonna be a long week.

So I wanted to get these guys
fed and filled with coffee,

so they'd be ready to go.

>>I knew this job was
going to be a little bit

different because Matt
took us to breakfast

before we went to the house.

And that never happens.

>>All right, we got our
hands full this week.

Very cool family.

Father died two years ago.

And we now have
three generations
living in this house,

we have grandma,
mom, and daughters.

And so it's kind of unique,

where you are gonna be
moving grandma this week,

we've got to get
all her stuff out.

And you and your guys
are gonna to move her.

And at the same time,
I need you to come back

and help us sort
through the whole house.

So you're kind of working
double time this week.

>>Do I get double pay?

>>No, not double pay.

Good question.

At some point, the
family is gonna need

to sell some of these things.

>>They're ready to
liquidate some of the stuff

>>Like a lot of families,

I think they like the
concept of liquidating.

But they are so attached
to this man and his stuff.

This one's hard for me
reminds me my dad a lot.

That's why I gotta do this.

I still miss my dad 20
years later, you know.

>>That never really changes.

>>No, and they're at
the beginning of this.

And it's been emotional
just to even be in there.

>>Now, in my experience
working in these types of

situations where there's
grief involved, you know,

it can be a little chaotic.

>>They don't even
know what they have.

>>Exactly.

>>So aside from the move,
should we bring in some

shelves or think of a way
to help organize this?

>>That's a good idea.
Yeah, that'd be awesome.

>>All right, I'll get my guys

>>Okay

This is why we do this.

This is the kind of family...

I'm excited to find
some of this stuff.

I saw a bunch of
medieval weapons

that you'll be
able to work with.

I don't know anything about 'em.

>>Looking forward to it.

>>Honestly, you're gonna
make fun of me for this,

but I don't think I
have any knowledge

for anything in this house.

So it's gonna be really
important for you guys.

I know. Shock, right.

It was a pretty easy plan.

We're gonna have Jamie
and Avi in the basement.

And then I really wanted
Mike fully focused

on moving Nancy first because
once we got through that,

the emotions can simmer down

and we can focus
on the collection.

>>Ah, man. I mean already.

>>All right. Wow.

>>I have never seen a
collection like this

in anyone's basement.

>>I mean, we've been
in a lot of basements.

But this is like, this is full,

>>This is full.

I thought I was in
a museum actually.

Look, here.

Got bowls.

>>800 AD.

Matt told us that we were
going to be going through

a really large, extensive
collection of old artifacts.

That's why I feel like we
shouldn't even be touching it.

This is not the typical
stuff that we go through.

>>Some pretty cool wineskin.

>>You know, we need people
like Frank in the world

to care about history like this,

and really preserve it and
pass it on to his family,

because then they're gonna
take it to the next generation.

>>I've known Mike
for a long time.

And I knew this was going
to need to be, honestly,

a very gentle and
compassionate move.

Mike has moved
people in my family.

So I trust him fully.

I knew it would go
really easy with Nancy.

>>Come on in, Mike, take
a look at my belongings

that have been packed up
and stored in this garage.

>>All right.

>>I honestly don't know
where everything is

to be honest with you,
so I need help there.

>>Nobody's ever
told me that before.

On each and every project,
we're there to do a job.

And we have certain skill sets

that allow us to do that.

But sometimes the best thing
we can do is just listen.

Well, it's pretty clear.

I mean, obviously, we have a
lot to do to get this from here

to your new home.

Taking that aside for a
moment: how are you doing?

How does this feel?

>>My husband passed away a
little over two years ago

And I go from
being happy to sad.

It's a big step for me.

And I'm looking forward to
the future. I really am.

It's not the future
I envisioned.

But it's the future that I'm
going to make the best out of.

>>I could tell that
Nancy was really anxious

about this move.

This is gonna be a
big change for her.

I know what I've got to do here.

So I'm gonna go and get started.

And I'll come get you if I
have any questions I need-

>>Okay, thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

>>Absolutely, Nancy.

(cheerful music)

>>This is like a whole
detailed list of,

it doesn't say dinosaur but
it looks like a similar word.

Eggs, or like
dinosaur like fossils

like inventory, if you will.

>>I mean, we are looking
for the dinosaur egg.

>>I know that's why
that caught my eye but-

>>You got smoke but no fire.

>>Exactly. Well.

Here's a dinosaur egg shell.

That little tiny
piece of a dinosaur.

How do they know that's
a dinosaur eggshell?

>>I know. I always wonder that.

>>That's fascinating.

>>Like, I would just
walk right past this,

I would not even give
a second thought.

>>While I didn't find
the dinosaur egg.

I did find a piece of
a dinosaur egg shell.

It's not the whole thing.

But I think Annemarie is
gonna be really excited

that we found this.

>>There was one more thing I saw

while I was looking
at this wineskin.

That was pretty interesting.

>>What is this?

>>It's called a flail.

>>Okay.

>>Hold it. It's a pretty
interesting weapon.

It has a fairly
interesting history.

>>The flail is a weapon

that dates back to
the Middle Ages.

Its design is
simple, but deadly.

It was most effective
in close quarters

when combatants were within
arm's length of each other.

The striking end
was usually spiked,

and the chain itself could
be up to two feet in length.

Military historians debate
the flail's popularity,

but one thing is for certain:

a knight favorite
weapon was his sword.

It was a symbol of great
honor and prestige,

but it was far from ceremonial.

A blow from a knight's
sword could smash bones,

incapacitating opponents
and giving the user

the upper hand in battle.

The other weapon of
choice was the lance.

Knights on horseback wielded
these long wooden poles

when charging the enemy.

A mounted knight in full
gallop could reach speeds

of up to 30 miles an hour.

The results were catastrophic.

Soldiers fighting on
foot preferred weapons

they could swing with
deadly accuracy, like axes.

When historians
x-rayed skeletons

from a 15th century battlefield,
they found that many died

from blunt force
trauma to the head.

Thanks to the legend of
King Arthur and Excalibur,

knights of the Middle Ages

have been romanticized
over the years.

In reality, they
were brutal warriors

who fought not just for
a cause, or their king,

but for the highest bidder.

Some of the biggest
battles of the Middle Ages

were decided by
mercenary knights

who used their assortments
of deadly weapons

to turn the tide of history.

(light music)

>>I mean, do you think
this is like original?

Like was this used in
some sort of battle or-

>>Likely not.

This definitely looks
more like a replica to me.

Just looking at a flail,
you can't really appreciate

how destructive it
could actually be.

And so I thought
was pretty important

that we just give an example
of how it might be used.

So I gave you an explanation
about this flail.

I thought I would show
you rather than tell you.

So if you just-

>>I'll back up.

(pumpkin smashes)
(Jamie laughing)

(Matt cheering)

All right, not bad.

>>Not bad?!

Can you imagine that
being somebody's head?

>>That's a big target.
I'm just gonna--

let me grab this.

>>Okay.

>>Here, let's set me up.

Now, you're not allowed to
make fun of me if I miss this.

>>Oh! That's what
I'm talking about.

>>I gotta be honest

I was shocked that
I hit the pumpkin,

but it felt pretty good.

>>You eat pumpkin pie?

>>Yeah, if you're making it.

>>Let's do it.
>>Alright.

I'm gonna bring this.

>>One of the most
important things I do

is take the stress and
pressure off of our clients.

Because at the end of the day,

I'm going to get
the project done

and make it so that they
don't have to worry.

>>Titanic? What?

Hey Avi, how are you
doing over there?

>>It is coming along. There's
so much to go through.

How about you?

>>I mean, I'm finding
all these documents,

of like cargo boat manifests
from like the 1700s, originals.

>>Is there anything else
interesting over there?

>>Come here.

All right. What's that word?

>>Cuneform?

>>Close. It's cuneiform.

So this is the item
on her legacy list.

So let's look now.

Let's get it out.

So these were ancient
forms of writing,

like the first form of writing.

>>Like hieroglyphics.

>>Kind of, yeah.

I mean, these date back
all the way to like 2000 BC

or something like that.

Like, it says it on here,
let's see exact dates.

Yeah. 2012 to 2004 BC.

>>Man, this is awesome.

>>It was really fascinating
to be this up close and

personal with something that
was thousands of years old.

I didn't know what it said
but it was cool nonetheless.

>>How're we doing
down here guys?

>>What's up, man?

>>How're we doing? What we got?

>>Well, I got some
good news for you.

>>Let's hear it.

>>I found the cuneiform.

>>Awesome!

Where was it? Down here?

>>Yeah. It was in
a box over there.

>>Can you beat that?

>>Cuneiform is nice,
but check this out.

>>What is that?

>>Looks like dinosaur
teeth or dinosaur jaw.

>>It's like an alligator jaw

and all wrapped up and
everything, it was labeled?

I know, a lot of
stuff is labeled.

>>No labels on it.

>>All right, so we
need to find somebody

that could tell us about this.

I always say that
I've seen it all

and then about once a year

somebody brings
out something new.

Avi finds a dinosaur
jaw or something.

I don't know what it is.

I've got to take it
to the local museum

to learn more about it.

There's a lot of
cool stuff here.

Why don't you pack
up what you have,

I'll pack up some of
the other things I have.

I've got an appraiser
coming in this afternoon

to kind of give us a
full list of everything.

And then Mike is cranking
out moving Nancy, right now.

So we got a lot going on.

>>Busy day.

>>Busy day but what a house!

I mean the stuffs, I wish I
could be in here with you guys

but I do not have the time.

Keep looking in here.
Find what you can.

Great job, guys. Good
job on the legacy list.

This is great.

>>Yeah. See ya.
>>See ya.

>>I mean, seeing all of
this stuff in the basement,

it all belonged to her father

and he played such a
big role in the family.

It's inevitable that every
time they walk downstairs,

they're going to
be reminded of him

and they're not gonna
want to sit down

and go through all
of these memories.

So how are you feeling so
far with this whole process?

>>Oh, I have to admit,
it's been overwhelming.

It's a little overwhelming,
you know, moving my mom

and then trying to make sure

I wasn't losing any
of my father's things,

and then putting it
all into this house.

I feel like it's time
for us to downsize.

>>You're ready to
have that space back.

So we've been in the
basement for a while.

And we found a lot of really
great stuff down there.

But we're still looking
for just a few items.

So I was wondering if
there's anywhere in the house

an area that that I might
find some of these things?

>>Sure. Actually, my den.

>>Oh!

One of the items on the list
that was really important

to Annemarie's daughter
was the petrified turtle.

I knew there had to be
somewhere else in the house

that we could look.

That looks great.
I'll check it out.

>>Thank you.

(upbeat music)

>>All right.

I'm wearing gloves, because
there's a lot of paper.

And this guy was
super, super organized.

This is the area
that is labeled.

Stuff, not inventoried.

Okay, so he labeled when
he hasn't gotten to yet.

You have to look at
every piece of paper.

It says what it is.

So that prayer sheet.

>>There's a baptism, birth
and baptism certificate.

>>It's an early school book.

It's cute.

Little Martha.

Look, they were even saying
"doing property of" back then.

>>Let's keep going here.

Oh, this is what
I want to get to.

Hair. Not inventory.

Famous people's hair.

Abraham Lincoln's hair.

I'm a little disappointed, it's
a tiny little piece of hair.

John Kennedy's hair.

That's just not a lot of hair?

>>I mean, I've got
more hair than that!

>>You do.

You specialize in weird stuff,

like, is this a real thing?

Is this a market for
something like this?

>>Oh, absolutely.

>>George Washington!

>>What a lot of people
rely on is the chain of

ownership and the documentation
that accompanies it.

But it wasn't uncommon
at all for presidents

to give locks of their
hair to important people

as like a memento.

>>This is Robert E. Lee's hair.

>>Oh, Jesus.

>>All right, now we're
talking: Elvis Presley.

Look at this!

>>Whoa!

>>Marilyn Monroe.

I have to say I have seen
a lot of collections.

Famous people hair is not
one that I thought of.

>>People spend a lot
of time on their hair,

and that's nothing new.

According to archeologists,

combs date back over 5,000
years to Ancient Egypt.

Speaking of Egyptians, they
prefer their hair short

because of the desert
heat and a strong desire

to not get head lice.

Ancient Greeks, on the other
hand, liked their hair long

and would often
place fresh flowers

and jewelry in their hair
when attending social events.

Styles change from
culture to culture.

Despite their
ferocious reputation,

Vikings were very
conscious of their hair.

Most wore it short in the back
with a long beard in front,

kind of like a reverse mullet.

For many Native American women,

long hair was
spiritually significant.

Some tribes cut hair
in times of mourning.

Others style that for
traditional ceremonies.

for Native people growing out
their hair remains a source

of cultural pride
and resilience.

Beauty standards took
a surprising turn

during the European Renaissance.

High foreheads
were all the rage,

so women plucked their
hair lines to be in style.

During the Victorian age,

keepsakes made from
the hair of a loved one

became extremely popular.

strands of hair were
often made into jewelry

or other works of art.

It was a custom picked up
by many grieving widows

whose husbands never
returned from the Civil War.

Our fascination with
hair hasn't faded.

From dreadlocks to
Mohawks, crew cuts to bobs,

our hair is an extension
of our personality.

>>Okay.

Wow.

That's a fossilized
turtle for ya.

>>What's this?

300 AD. Man.

>>I've seen a lot
of collections,

this one is really amazing.

Circa 100 BC to 300 AD.

A lot of times a collector
will focus on one thing

and have a lot of
that one thing.

Nancy's husband had
10 or 20 collections,

all with a ton of items.

Oh, hello.

>>Oh, the battery tester.

Look at this. Very cool, man.

There's another
legacy list item.

Good job, dude!

Got a battery with it?

>>Got a battery with it.

>>All right, let's see
if this thing works.

[Mike] Yay. It still works!

>>Look at that.

>>That's awesome.

>>You know, it's funny.

We're sitting here with
all this ancient pottery

and hair and autographs
and all that stuff

and all the legacy list items,

this is the one that
she grew up with.

>>Oh.

Oh yeah!

Here we go, Matt.

>>Hey, look at that!

>>Check it out!

>>Another legacy list item.

Look at that!

The geode.

It's beautiful.

That is really cool.

So that is the first, like
big rock that he bought.

Annemarie really
wanted us to find it,

She said, you know,
this is what got him

into all the natural
history he collects.

>>I would have loved to
have hung out with this guy.

>>God, it's what I keep saying.

I just wish I
could like sit down

and talk to this
guy one afternoon.

This is really, really cool.

Good job, man. I'm
gonna give it back.

I don't want to be
responsible for it.

I am gonna go to a
museum down the street

and try to learn a
little more about

all the natural history
stuff that we're finding,

some we'll take that with us.

>>Sounds good.
>>Right. Cool.

Thank you, dude. Good
job, another legacy list.

>>So what is that? Two to zero?

>>Yeah, I haven't got any yet.

>>I mean, nobody's counting.

>>I wanted to learn
a little bit more

about some of these items.

So Avi and I headed over
to the Morris Museum

to learn as much as we could.

We're working on a
house here in town,

and we've just
found a lot of stuff

that we need to know more about.

>>Okay. Oh, nice!

>>What is this?

>>Okay, so what we have
here is a fossil turtle.

I'm not entirely sure
about the age of it.

But based on similar
fossils that I've seen

in the United States,
it's probably Eocene.

So that would be about
53 million years old.

>>53 million years old.

Is this a turtle shell or
is it a fossil of a turtle?

>>Well, it's a
fossil of a turtle.

But the original
bone is still here.

So it's it hasn't been replaced.

>>Really?

>>Yeah. This is a young fossil.

>>So how does
something fossilize?

>>Well, essentially, it
gets buried in the ground

real rapidly, usually in
a river type of system.

When it's in embedded
in the sediment,

minerals that are
inside the soil

will start percolating
and start replacing it.

>>So, a flood would have
come, taking it down,

there's some kind
of water action

that would have sunk it down
on the ground, and then just-

>>Covered it over
and then mineralized

over hundreds of
thousands of years.

>>What was something
like this value?

>>Probably somewhere
around $400?

Maybe a little bit more.

>>So what do we have here?

>>Okay, these look like
crinoid stems and corals.

So this probably would have
been from a warm tropical sea,

probably from upstate New York.

This would be approximately
400 million years old.

>>That is old.

>>Good stuff.

Most of New York State was a
warm tropical state back then.

>>All right.

>>We got a ton of stuff.

>>Yeah. What about this?

>>Unfortunately, what
you think is there,

isn't really what's there.

>>So I was gonna ask
you, is this showmanship?

Like it looks like these
are teeth from different-

>>Right, these are actual teeth

and these are actually bones

but they have put them together.

So you usually don't
find them like this.

Usually when you
find stuff like this,

it's more disarticulated.

These are teeth from a
carnivorous fish, a salmon.

And then these are just
some bones that they found.

>>It's salmon?

>>Salmon. Giant salmon.

>>How big a salmon is that?

>>A bit- would have been
good eating that's for sure

>>My gosh!

>>I wouldn't want to
see a thing swimming up-

>>So these are the
fangs of the salmon.

>>Wow, that's the
teeth of a fish.

>>And then the this would be-

>>I think I'd rather
see a crocodile.

>>Oh boy.

>>Then an actual salmon
that big. My gosh.

>>And this is from the end
of the age of dinosaurs.

So this would be about
65 million years old.

>>What would
something like this?

How would that be valued?

>>Realistically, I
would probably put

at least maybe $400 or $500.

>>Okay.

Okay, here is the last item.

What do you know about this?

>>Okay, so this was found
in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

It's one of the largest
states in Brazil.

This was encased in a lava flow.

That happened about
250 million years ago.

So lava erupted, gathered
gas bubbles inside the lava.

And then sometime
at a later date,

the Amethyst came in

and crystallized
inside the gas bubbles.

>>When Derek told us
how old this geode was,

it blew my mind.

I mean, I'm holding something
that's millions of years old.

I can understand why this
was so special to Frank

and to his family.

But I know this is
one of the the items

that got him excited about
natural history in general.

>>Yeah, cause the outside

looks just like a regular rock.

You'd never know what
goes on the inside.

>>On the outside, it's
just a plain old rock.

But when you crack it
open, there's a surprise.

Beautiful crystals, thousands,

even millions of
years in the making.

Geodes start out as
bubbles in rocks.

Some air pockets come
from volcanic activity.

Others start as hollows in
tree roots and animal burrows.

Over time, groundwater
seeps into the empty spaces

and the layers of
minerals from the water

slowly build crystals.

Flash forward a few hundred
million years and voila,

you've got yourself
one of mother nature's

most significant works of art.

Like snowflakes, no two
geodes are the same.

Different crystals like clear
quartz, purple Amethyst,

calcite, agate, and dolomite

create unique patterns,
colors and sizes.

Geodes are found
in many US states.

But if you are a real
rockhound, try Iowa,

where the geode is the
official state rock

and home to Geode State Park.

Located at the confluence
of the Des Moines

and Mississippi rivers,

Keokuk, Iowa is the geode
capital of the world.

A Keokuk geode can range
from three or four inches

to two feet in length.

No matter where you
are in the world,

these hidden gems are
waiting to be discovered

right under your feet.

>>Is there a financial value
on something like this?

>>Oh, absolutely.

Something like this,

I would probably put
about $600-$700 on it.

>>Thank you so much.

>>Thank you for coming in.

>>This will help us
get back to the family

and kind of let them
know what they have.

(upbeat music)

>>Not only did we
have to downsize

this huge collection
in the basement,

but Annemarie's mom
Nancy was moving.

So there was a lot
of moving pieces,

and we had to stay on task.

>>I'm here with
the granddaughters.

I got one question for you:

What was it like to grow
up with your grandfather?

>>It was amazing.

He had so much
stuff in his house.

So every time we went there,
he would show us new things,

he would show us new
things about culture

that we didn't know.

So it was kind of like
having a second teacher.

And we learned so much from him.

>>I mean, I remember
as a very small child

putting on a pair
of cotton gloves

and going into his his workshop

and cleaning a nest
of turtle eggs.

He would bring those kinds of
things into our classrooms.

>>I've been lucky, I've
been going through a lot

of stuff, and I get to
see all of his notes.

Just been really neat to
get to learn his brain.

From what I hear both of you
were really influenced by him.

>>Definitely.

>>What are you doing
now as a career?

>>I am in nursing
school currently.

And he's really taught me
that being a nice human being

and being educated is really
key to helping other people.

So then I found
my way to nursing.

>>I just recently graduated

with a master's in
linguistics from Oxford.

And that was something I've
always talked about with him.

There's nothing in my
life that hasn't been

in some way kind of touched
by his love of learning.

>>His presence is large,
even in a house he's not in,

he's clearly here with
everybody I've met.

This collection was
awesome. But it's huge.

And I just need help
going through it.

So I brought in a local
expert that can come in

and help us really start to
get a hold of what's it worth

because at some point,

this family's gonna
have to liquidate it

and we want to give them

as much information
up front as we can.

>>Charlie, thank
you for coming in.

>>Thanks for having me.

>>I've got a table
laid out for us.

It's kind of just a
representation of his
entire collection.

He's got a lot of interest
in a lot of things,

and I just need some help
kind of understanding

what we really have here.

>>Okay.

>>We're gonna jump
right into baskets.

>>So this says 19th century
Native American plains

woven, gathering, bird basket

from the Colorado
Kansas border area,

most likely Arapaho.

What makes this one
unusual, very unusual,

is that it's hybrid, which
actually you don't see a lot,

and he has a lot of
baskets in his collection.

This one is really interesting.

Because first of all,
as a native basket,

even when you find
period baskets,

and many of them are not,
it's not all unravel.

If you look at all
this work here,

probably have seen maybe
half a dozen of these, ever.

I really want to know
more about that one,

because that kind of thing

that probably would want to
end up in a museum or someone

who are really quite
high in collecting.

>>You know, it's funny,

I think they care more about
something going into a museum

than they did about
getting paid for it.

>>That may very well be,

because that's your legacy.

>>Yeah, and that's
what this guy,

it's all about legacy
with this family.

>>Of course, something
like this radio right here

was state of the art in the
1920s, as good as it got.

So things like the tubes
that are in here, right,

everything in here was made
with the top level technology.

>>So you would have
president speaking,

you would have-

>>The family sitting around the

living room with this radio.

And that's a big deal.

>>Here we go.

>>Bakelite, that's a
great piece of Bakelite.

And look at the beads. I
mean, the beads are great.

You'd expect this to be broke.

I mean, this should be broken.

It's got stress points.

So one of the things that
we look at for values,

I mean, there's a lot of things,

we look at rarity,
we look at design,

but one of the things is
condition, condition, condition.

And you don't find things
like that, they're gone.

To the right collector, I'm
sure that a purse like that

is gonna be probably
three to five hundred.

>>All right, I may be the
only person in America

that finds this interesting.

But one, I'm shocked that
there's all of this hair,

hair locks everywhere.

Even more shocked
that they're certified

by places like Christie's.

It's interesting that you can
collect hair of famous people.

And I'm even more interested

that no one has asked me
for a lock of my own hair.

>>Can I have a
lock of your hair?

>>Yes, you may,
thank you for asking!

All right, I will certify this.

Do you ever see...

I know this has got to be
a place where people...

Not so sure about it.

>>So there's a couple of things

that go along with
these types of things.

One is, you know, we want to
know, where did it come from?

How do we know that it is
the hair that the person?

The other thing is if
you just think about it,

it's a relatively narrow market.

Pricing wise, it's a
difficult thing to-

>>Well, you only
need two people.

>>Well, of course, you
know, one of the things

that, I'm gonna guess, that
this is an area of collecting,

that may or may not be more
interesting in the future,

just because if a hair is really
associated with the person,

then there's DNA that
goes along with it.

So you're really not collecting
hair. You're collecting DNA.

>>Which, you say
like that, gosh,

you got like a Jurassic
Park but for people.

It's interesting.

All right, I saved
the paper for last.

>>What we had in this house-

>>Cases and cases of this.

>>There are many hundreds
of old newspapers.

Here's a paper from 1775.

This is the British
Evening Post.

What we like about
this, this is old paper.

And because this is old paper,
it's not made from tree pulp.

This is gonna be very readable

and very stable for
hundreds of years.

>>250 year old paper.

>>That says the
American colonies

want to break away.

How dare they?

So I think that that's really
interesting. I like that.

>>Well, what does it say
about a man like this?

I mean, you've seen a
very vast collection.

You know, there's
lots of other things.

>>Yeah, I think it's
an amazing collection.

This is someone who has a
quick and a curious mind,

that's always thinking
and always looking

and always desperate
to see something

and tries to make
those connections.

But it's not like it's atopic.

It's not like he was fixated
with the Revolutionary War.

It's not like he was
fixated with World War II.

He would just look
at something he says,

Oh my gosh, look at this.

Oh, my gosh, look at this.

And then he's
making connections.

And I'll bet you long before
there was an internet,

he was going to every garage
sale, every flea market,

every auction that
he could go to.

For him the thrill was
not the ownership of it,

but the research on it.

And I like that.

>>Dude, thank you for coming.

I really appreciate it, man.

>>Thanks a lot.

>>All ready? I'm gonna
open the door for you.

After spending a few days
helping this family downsize,

I was really excited
to bring them in

and to show them the
work we had done.

Come on in!

What do you think?
It's been a while.

>>Oh my gosh.

>>How long has it been
since you went over

to see the whole garage?

>>20 years.

>>When we bought the house.

>>A lot of space. Annemarie,
what'd you do with it?

>>Oh, I'm gonna try and
find something to do

with it before my husband does.

>>Oh my goodness,
this is wonderful.

>>This is kind of an
appetizer just to get you

excited to know
that it can be done.

Let's get into the basement

and actually see the
rest of the space.

(cheerful music)

(Nancy laughing)

[Matt] What do you think?

>>Oh my gosh.

>>Come over here with me,
I'll show you what we did.

>>Oh, wow.

>>Lots of space. Your
husband helped us a lot here.

He had really
labeled everything.

And so all we had to do was
basically get it out of the way

and then set up the shelves

and then put it the way
he had it organized.

He knew where
everything wanted to go.

And then this was the best part.

The stuff he wasn't sure about,
he hadn't gone through yet,

is right behind you.

>>You know, it's
amazing. Really, totally.

>>But one of the
other goals for me

was to get this thing
ready for you to actually,

if you do want to sell
it, go through box to box,

pick what you want to keep.

But now an appraiser
coming here,

pretty quickly let you
know what they can do.

>>It's great.

>>Okay, now I want to
do my favorite part.

I want to go upstairs. We're
gonna get (indistinct),

and we're gonna go through
the entire legacy list.

>>You ready?

>>Yes.

>>All right. Let's do it.

(gentle cheerful music)

So this is really the first
time I wish I had my kids here.

I got to look at
dinosaur poop this week.

I got to hold a medieval axe.

I even got to look at
John Lennon's hair.

(all giggling)

This is not a normal week.

For you guys I think it's-

>>It's normal.

>>It's normal.

>>It's not normal
for most people.

It was awesome. It
was really cool.

It's really special. It was fun.

And it's more I got
to know about Frank.

I think that was his point.

Especially getting to talk
to you guys this week,

I got to hear your
version of it.

And even when you're
sad, you're smiling.

All right, so I want to go
through some of these items.

All right, first item you'd
asked me for was the cunieform.

This is what you
asked me to find.

>>Yes, this is
why I'm a teacher.

This-- my father is the reason.

He was my greatest teacher.

He inspired me to
want to be a teacher.

And I teach kids how to write.

You know, and this
is the first writing.

This is where it all began.

>>It's really cool.

All right, second item
was a little different.

This is battery tester.

It's the one-- I
better hand it to you.

What is that?

>>This is a volt meter.

When he was a teenager,
he and his father

used to repair televisions
when you could repair them

with tubes and everything.

This is his volt meter
from like mid '40s on.

>>So it's where it started.

>>Yeah, and it's hardly
ever left his hand.

>>How does it make
you feel to see that?

>>Sad.

But close.

This is Frank.

It's a volt meter, but
he repaired everything,

he took care of things, he
took care of his family,

he took care of our
needs in the household,

he was always ready to step
in and fix things, really,

any problems, he's solved them.

Problem solver.

>>I keep saying,
I wish I met him.

You know, he created
an amazing family.

Like, y'all know
you're good people

but like, y'all are amazing.

We haven't been here that long.

We feel like we're a
part of the family.

You know, it's just that
comes from the top down.

This is a very eclectic group.

Everything I bring
out I've never gone

and one of the original
things of writing,

then a battery tester.

Now a turtle fossil.

(all laughing)

>>There it is!

>>What do you guys
know about that?

>>Well, I can't touch it

because I don't have my
little cotton gloves.

But I mean, I remember
being in his workshop

and just cleaning it all the
time him standing over me

and saying, "Can you
believe this is millions

and millions of years old?"

>>So we took that to the museum

and believe it was 50
million plus years old.

>>Oh my gosh.

>>I've never held anything over

50 million years old before.

I have now.

All right, now we're
getting into the good stuff.

You asked me to
find dinosaur eggs.

I did not find
dinosaur eggs, plural.

I did find a piece.

I'll take their word for it.

One thing I want
to ask Frank was,

did he ever have a clue
about all the DNA stuff

that he had in this house?

Because the future
of that science

is really, really interesting.

And I wonder if he
thought about that?

>>He did. He talked about
the future all the time.

He was very forward thinking.
And he definitely did.

>>We got dinosaur
DNA in this house.

Nice.

The next item.

>>Ah!

>>There it is.

>>The geode.

All right, you all
have spoken about it.

Tell me about this.
How was it acquired?

>>We went to Colorado

and we found a store
that had geodes.

And Frank was drawn
to this geode.

I don't know why.

And actually, it probably
started his rock collection.

That's another collection.

>>This one stood on a
pedestal in the living room,

in the TV room, right
behind the couch.

And so whenever you walked in,

you know, between the
kitchen, the living room,

every day that you
were in the house,

the geode was right there..

>>I wanted to know
what his legacy was.

>>The word that comes to
mind for me, is discovery.

Because he was always
pushing, pushing us to explore

and to, you know, turn
over the next stone

and to really take
in all the world

and everything and
contribute to it.

>>I think he wanted us
to experience so much

and so much out of life
too and different cultures.

So I think experiences

is what I think of when
I think of my grandpa.

>>Nancy how about you?

>>Definitely family,
family first.

But to open yourself
up to new experiences,

to keep learning,
to keep growing,

to be positive, to
learn from mistakes,

move forward, just keep moving.

>>Annemarie, you got us
here, you get the last word.

What are you thinking?

>>I came across a poem
from Maya Angelou,

there's one stanza
that just struck me.

It's called "When
Great Trees Fall."

So at the end of
the poem, it says,

And when great souls die,

after a period of peace blooms

slowly and always irregularly.

Spaces filled with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.

Our senses restored
never to be the same.

Whisper to us. They existed.

They existed.

We can be, be and be
better, for they existed.

And I kind of feel like that's
where we are now as a family.

Like, we're all better
because he exists.

>>Grief's a crazy thing.

Life is cyclical as we see.

Someday you guys will be moms.

Someday you're
gonna be a grandma.

And they're gonna hear
a lot about Frank,

they're gonna hear a lot
about this collection.

And they're gonna know this guy

because he existed.

>>Thank you.
>>Thank you guys.

>>Thank you very much for that.

(uplifting music)

>>[Female Announcer]
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Available for home or business.

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You can find us
at makespace.com.

And by ensure long-term care

where we believe aging at
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is ever more possible
for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

AARP Virginia offering
family caregiving support

with prepare to care and
down sizing and decluttering

on

line workshops designed
to help organize and

assess family needs

Find the complete online
workshop schedule

At AARP.org/virtual VA

The Ruth Camp Campbell
Foundation

(upbeat music)

>>Visit MyLegacyList.com
to learn more

about tips, tools
and professionals

to help make your own
big life move easier.

Learn more about this episode

or submit your story to
be featured on the show

at MyLegacyList.com.

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