(bright upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Coming up
on "Legacy List"
with Matt Paxton.
Matt is in Boston to
help an old friend,
clear out his family's home
(indistinct talking)
before putting it up for sale.
- [Matt] I can hear it in
your voice, like, oh, yeah,
we have to sell the house,
like we don't wanna do that.
(man chuckles)
- [Narrator] Things
get emotional,
as they go through
40 years of memories.
- [Matt] Look at
that. Yep! Whoo!
- [Narrator] And,
find one item that
brings the past to life.
- [Audio Recording
Child] Hi, I'm Zeb.
- [Audio Recording
Adult] Hi, I'm Dad.
- [Zebulon] (chuckles) Oh, wow.
[Audio Recording
Child] (giggles)
- [Matt] I'm Matt Paxton.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] 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-
- [Pre-Recorded Avi] Bingo!
- [Matt] heirlooms
and collectibles.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
We have literally
found a piece of history
- Here it is (laughter)
- [Matt] to help them find
the missing family treasures
that mean the most to them.
- [Pre-Recorded woman]
Oh, my goodness!
- [Matt] Jackie Robinson
- [Matt] And along the way,
they'll discover that the most
important museum in the world
may be in their
family's basement.
- [Pre-Recorded Women] Aw. Oh.
- [Pre-Recorded Zebulon]
I've never seen that.
That is cool looking.
- [Matt] From attics to sellers,
closets to cupboards,
we uncover the memories
they want to preserve.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
This is living history.
This is what we're
here to find. Let's go!
- [Matt] and discover
the compelling, personal,
and often historical stories,
spanning generations that
are their family's legacy.
- [Narrator] Funding for
Legacy List is provided by
Wheaton World Wide Moving.
Wheaton's number one
goal is to help you,
your loved ones,
and your belongings
get to your new home
quickly and safely.
You can find us at
wheatonworldwide.com.
Wheaton World Wide
Moving, we move your life.
FirstLight Home Care.
Committed to providing safe
and compassionate home services
for you and your family.
FirstLight believes personal
relationships and engagement
are as important as mobility,
bathing, and personal hygiene.
Details at
FirstLightHomeCare.com.
The Mavins Group,
a downsizing real estate sales
and move management company.
Committed to easing the
emotional and physical demands
of beginning a
new stage of life.
The Mavins Group, so
much more than a move.
Insure Long Term Care, where
we believe that aging at home,
near friends and family,
is ever more possible
for more people.
Learn more at insureltc.com.
And by the Ruth Camp
Campbell Foundation.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] Today, we're right
outside of Boston,
(highway noise)
visiting an old buddy
of mine. Zebulon.
He has a very challenging
downsizing situation.
His mom has lived in
this triple decker house
for over 40 years.
Now, it's time to move out
and they need our help.
- [Pre-Recorded
Matt] Zebulon and I
have known each
other for a couple of
years, both professionally
and as friends.
And he works for ASALH,
which is a group that
really focuses on preserving
African-American history.
(strumming folk music)
- [Matt] Zebulon!
- Hey, Matt!
- [Matt] How are You
Man? Good to see you.
- [Zebulon] Good to see you.
- [Matt] Very good to see you.
- [Zebulon] Thanks for coming.
- [Matt] This is awesome,
the neighborhoods incredible.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. Yeah.
Come on in.
- [Matt] Look at
this old thing, man.
- [Zebulon] Yeah,
This has kind of
always been fascinating.
(street car braking)
- [Matt] I love it. It's
like an old intercom system
for three different
apartments or, what was it?
- [Zebulon] Some people call
it triple decker and yeah,
you'd be able to call up to
each one and I think they'd be
able to call down.
- [Matt] All right.
Well, let's check the
rest of the house out
and see what we've got to do.
- [Zebulon] All
right. Come on in.
(energetic folk guitar music)
- [Matt] All right.
Now here's the stuff
I'm usually called for.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. This
is the stuff
- The mess
- [Zebulon] I was
going to show you
But yeah
- Okay
- [Matt] So what am I looking
at? Where is this all from?
- [Zebulon] Well, you know,
some of this stuff
is from, you know,
when my dad passed.
- [Matt] Okay.
Lot of music, I
see. A lot of music
- [Zebulon] Yeah
- [Matt] and a lot of books.
- [Zebulon] There it is.
My dad loved music and
my mom loved books.
- [Matt] Okay. There you go.
(laugher)
Pretty simple. Tell me how
long ago did your dad pass?
- [Zebulon] He passed
in March of 2019.
- [Matt] Okay. So that's
not that long ago.
Really.
- [Matt] Yeah. No, not really.
- [Matt] Okay. And your mom's
situation, where is she?
- [Zebulon] My mom,
it's been hard for her.
You know, it's been
really, they were very,
very close and I always knew
that whichever one may pass
before the other,
that it'd be hard
for the surviving person.
And that has been the case.
- [Matt] Okay.
When an adult child has to take
over the management
of mom and the house,
you actually don't
get time to grieve.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] And you live
in another city, right?
- [Zebulon] Yeah, in New York.
- [Matt] So you're in New York.
So, you're going to
come back and forth.
So, you've got travel,
you've got the stress of
managing your regular life.
And then you got to deal with
this whole life up here too.
And you miss your dad and
you're worried about your mom.
- [Zebulon] Now,
you just described
my whole life right now
- Yeah, dude, so
That's exactly where
I am. (laughter)
- [Matt] Okay. All right.
With all the people I help,
it's usually the
oldest adult child
that takes care of mom
and Zebulon is in
that situation.
Right. So, what's the
overall goal here?
Is the house for sale?
Is someone moving?
What are we gonna be doing?
- [Zebulon] Yeah, we're
selling the house.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] Using some
of the funds and things
to help my mom move on
- Okay
to the next point.
- [Matt] Common
theme in downsizing.
The house is the asset
that will fund the
caregiving for mom.
- [Zebulon] That is the hope.
That is what we're hoping for.
- [Matt] Man, I can hear
it in your voice, like.
Oh, yeah, we have to sell the
house. Like, we don't want
to do that.
(chuckling)
- [Zebulon] That's the problem.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] It's been so long.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] That my
mom's been living here.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] And for all of us.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] Even
me, I grew up here.
- [Matt] This is a story
that we hear a lot.
The family has saved for
years to have a home for mom.
But, now for mom to
have a better place
to live, as she ages,
they're going to have
to sell this home.
And both Zebulon's mom and
his little brother are going
to have to find
new places to live.
- [Zebulon] I never knew when
this time would be coming,
but I knew it was coming
- [Matt] Yeah
- [Zebulon] One day.
And it seems like this is it.
- [Matt] And here
we are. It's now.
- [Zebulon] It feels that way.
(acoustic music)
- [Matt] What was it like
growing up in this house?
Like, how many families? There
was three different families?
- [Zebulon] Yeah. There was
three different families.
Us being one of them.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] We were. Yeah.
And then, you know,
family down here,
the family upstairs.
You know, we were renting here
along with the
other two families.
One of whom was the owner.
And eventually my parents
bought them, bought the place.
- [Matt] So your
brother's above us.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] And then your
mom's on the third floor.
- [Zebulon] Exactly.
- [Matt] This floor is
not so bad, obviously.
I'm assuming there's more
clutter somewhere else.
What else do I need to look at?
- [Zebulon] Well,
obviously I have
to show you the third floor.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] My mom lives.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] And there's
some closets and things.
- [Matt] Mhmm.
- [Zebulon] And then
there's the basement
and I have no idea
what's down there.
- [Matt] All right. Well, let's
start down in the basement.
- [Zebulon] Okay. All right.
(strumming folk music)
- [Matt] Look at this.
So, what's it like coming
down here as a kid.
- [Zebulon] Well,
my parents didn't
like coming down here that much.
- [Matt] Yeah, I believe it.
This is kind of spooky
and cool at the same time.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
Me and my brother
liked it down here.
- [Matt] So, what kind of
stuff is this over here?
- [Zebulon] Some are from
tenants and some is family.
Some is not.
- [Matt] okay.
I'm seeing some
sweet tags down here.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
(club music)
- [Matt] Who were
the fresh friends?
- [Zebulon] (laughter)
Fresh Friends crew
that goes back to, you
know, the eighties.
- [Zebulon] I mean
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] I would hang down
here with some of my friends
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] And
we were, you know,
into rap and hip hop and we
tried our best to do a little
graffiti. It's not, that's it.
- [Matt] We got some
Fat Boys, over here.
We got the, was
that y'all's group?
The Fresh Friends?
- [Zebulon] That's it.
Yeah. We were the Fresh Friends.
Roxanne Roxanne, Fat Boys.
Those were some of the names
that we were really into.
- [Matt] OH, I love it.
What's the timeline on moving?
- [Zebulon] We've got
about a month, maybe two.
- [Matt] Okay.
So, the space
- Yes (sighs)
- has got to be empty for you
to be able to sell this place.
- [Zebulon] My uncle
would say broom clean.
- [Matt] Yeah, broom swept,
(laughter)
Is what the realtor's
going to tell us.
- [Pre-recorded Matt]
There's no one room
that's completely full,
but there's a little bit of
stuff in every single room.
So, by the time you get three
floors and the basement done,
it does add up.
And I can see why
they need our help.
- [Matt] All right.
Well, maybe it's time
we go find a place,
sit down and we'll go
through the Legacy List.
- [Zebulon] That sounds great.
- All right, let's do it.
(guitar music)
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] I feel
the weight of this situation.
It's very similar
to my situation,
with my mom.
- [Zebulon] Mhmm.
- [Matt] Tried to get my mom
to relocate to Atlanta where
I moved and I got a flat, no.
- [Zebulon] Okay.
Yeah. (laughter)
- [Matt] Flat, no.
Wasn't even a maybe.
But it did instigate
the process for her.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] So, it's interesting.
We're very in
similar paths here.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] This isn't
the stuff, downsizing.
The stuff is pretty,
you have enough volume
where it's not that bad.
I think this is more an
emotional and a more like, hey,
are we doing the right thing?
- [Zebulon] Yeah (sighs).
- [Matt] How do we get this
wrapped? How do we do it?
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] The urgency is there.
- [Zebulon] (deep
sigh) Yeah. It's hard.
- [Matt] It is hard.
It's why I'm here.
(nervous laughter)
That's why we're here. I
was glad you called me.
We knew each other before this.
We've helped each other out
professionally.
- [Zebulon] Yes.
- [Matt] And it is an honor
to be here in your
home to help you, now,
as a friend.
So, thank you for having us.
All right.
So, you called me here to
help with the Legacy List.
We're going to go
through these items.
- [Zebulon] All right.
- [Matt] As a
reminder to everybody,
a Legacy List item is an item
that you want to hold onto
that will help extend
your family story
for generations to come.
Lots of times you want us
to help find those items.
And then sometimes you just
need additional information on
items or other
things in your house.
What are our items?
- [Zebulon] One thing
that I've always been
interested in is, you know,
there's this medical bag
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] That I know that
someone in the family used.
It might belong to my mom.
Might have been something
of hers because I know
that she used to be a midwife.
- [Matt] Really?
- And
Yep, I remember her going out
to help people have babies,
I guess.
It's, I think it's like,
I remember it being like
a black bag with handles.
- [Matt] Okay. Old-school
medical bag, big handle.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. I
haven't seen it in years.
- [Matt] Okay. Alright.
Alright. So what's
the next item?
- [Zebulon] My dad loved music
- [Matt] Mhmm.
- [Zebulon] And he was just,
really personified who he was.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] And he had this
old, you know, reel-to-reel
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] tape machine. Yeah.
- [Matt] So would he record
stuff? What would he do?
- [Zebulon] Yeah, I
think he recorded stuff.
I know he loved to, you
know, to record tapes.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] He made
mixed tapes, basically.
I guess we'd call them.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] And it
was something like,
I was always fascinated with.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] First of
all, he would never
let me really
touch it that much.
(embarrassed laughter)
- [Matt] Well, How old were you?
- [Zebulon] Yeah. I think
that's what made it
so fascinating to me.
It just had this aura
of like specialness
and it really was special.
I'd love to find that.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] It's probably,
thing I treasure most.
- [Matt] Do you
remember listening to
music with your dad?
- [Zebulon] Oh, yeah. Of course.
That's what was special
about it. (voice cracks)
Spending time with my dad.
- [Matt] Miss your dad, man.
(sniffle)
- [Zebulon] I really do.
- [Matt] I know.
(sigh)
- [Matt] Well,
with the pandemic,
with caretaking and with life,
you didn't get the proper
grief cycle, you know.
And as you know..
All right, need a second?
- Sorry?
- [Matt] No, man,
this is part of it.
Part of the journey
(sigh)
Part of going through the house.
It's to cry and
laugh and do it all.
- [Zebulon] You can't-
- [Matt] If you haven't
grieved what's in the house
you can't get rid of it.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] So let's grieve it.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
He had a deep connection
with his father and it really
kind of existed in music.
And so, this reel-to-reel,
it's really important.
And that's why, I'm
bringing Mike in on it.
Because it's probably
the most important item
on the Legacy List.
- [Matt] What's the next
item we're looking at.
- [Zebulon] There used to be,
like, this sewing machine.
I remember seeing.
It's really old.
So I know that it
might've belonged,
even to my grandmother?
And my mom also loved to sew.
- [Matt] Was it in a base?
Or was it, have a
handle you pick up?
- [Zebulon] It's in a, like
it looks like a, lunchbox.
- [Matt] All right.
So it's after 1900.
- Ahh
I know to much
about these things.
- [Zebulon] Okay. All right.
- [Matt] I know
exactly, I will find it.
And I will learn lots about it.
- [Zebulon] All right. I
remember it as a kid and
something I, you know,
stands out in my mind.
This next one's kinda, like,
kind of really a mystery.
This old adding machine.
- [Matt] Okay.
(piano music)
- [Zebulon] I'm not sure who
it belonged to, but, you know,
I know my grandfather,
William Deare, he,
he worked for Jordan
Marsh Company.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] So, projections
and futures and figures.
That was his thing.
- [Matt] Tell me about him.
- [Zebulon] Ah, well, he's
a quite a legend, you know.
Fought in world war II
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] veteran.
He was stationed in
Tuskegee, Alabama.
He wasn't a flyer himself,
but he worked with
Tuskegee airmen.
But when he came back from world
war II to Boston, you know,
he was able to buy his
own home for the family.
At that time.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] Race
is a part of Zebulon's story.
We're in Boston.
That is a town that's
had historically
challenging race relations.
And Zebulon grew up in this
town, a mixed race child.
And he is an African-American
History professor.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
As a black man at that
time coming to Boston.
He probably saw and
experienced a lot of things.
- [Matt] Yes!
(laughter)
- [Zebulon] But it
didn't stop him.
You know, he was a real
kind of cornerstone builder.
- [Matt] Okay.
(laughter)
- [Matt] All right.
What else do we have?
- [Zebulon] I know that there's
been work on our genealogy.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] I know
my mom's done some.
I know my uncle
has done some too,
but I'd love to
know more about it.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] This is the one
that means the most
to me, as well.
I want to find out more
information for you guys.
This is great, man.
We can do all of this.
on top of that,
we're going to need
to help you clean
up a little bit.
- [Zebulon] Okay.
- [Matt] I want to get
down to the basement.
Help you get that ready.
I want to get the,
get the rooms that
I saw cleaned out.
- [Zebulon] right on.
- [Matt] All right, dude.
I appreciate it.
Appreciate your time.
- [Zebulon] Yes, sir.
- [Matt] I'm gonna get to work.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
I wanted to get my team
in here to get everything
that we possibly can
out of this house
so that it makes the decision
as easy as possible for
Zebulon and Veronica.
(instrumental music)
- [Mike] Hello?
- [Jamie] Knock, knock?
- [Matt] I'm back here.
- [Jamie] Hello?
- [Avi] Where is right here?
- Where?
- [Matt] Follow my
voice. I'm back here.
Can you hear me?
- [Jamie] Follow your Voice.
- [Mike] Oh, boy.
- [Matt] Hey guys.
- [Jamie] Well, there he is.
- [Matt] What's up?
- [Avi] What's up?
What's happenin'?
- [Matt] Welcome to Boston.
- [Jamie] How's it going?.
- [Matt] How are you?
- [Jamie] Bean town.
- [Matt] Bean town.
How's the trip?
- [Mike] Good.
- [Avi] Great trip.
- [Jamie] It was good.
I took the train up and it
went all along the coast.
It was really pretty.
- [Matt] Oh, that's cool.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Matt] All right.
This is a, is a deep
one, this week guys.
Really good family.
Zebulon Miletsky,
if you remember him
from our work with ASALH.
- [Avi] Yeah, absolutely.
- [Matt] This is
his childhood home.
So they've been here for 40
plus years and it's time for mom
to move.
I'm not sure if she's
committed to that yet, but
(laughter)
But Zebulon and his brother are.
- [Mike] Getting a
house ready for sale.
That's a very defined project.
Convincing mom that it's time
to move and actually moving her.
It's a much bigger job.
- [Jamie] It sounds like,
kind of a common theme
with our clients.
- Very common.
Where like, they know
parent needs to move
- [Matt] Mhmm.
- [Jamie] But parents not ready.
- [Matt] Yeah.
They're waiting to see
how well the house sells.
They have not picked a place
for their mother to go.
- [Jamie] Mhmm.
- [Matt] which is
kind of, we see that.
- [Avi] Yeah.
- [Matt] They're just a
little, a little stuck.
- [Jamie] Sounds like he
just needs some support,
some outside support
- [Matt] Mhmm.
- [Jamie] And maybe
some resources-
- [Matt] Yes!
- [Jamie] To help him get
through this transition.
- [Matt] Definitely.
- [Pre-Recorded Jamie]
Moving a parent is a
highly emotional event.
Coming to grips with the fact
that the people that you love
are aging can be really hard.
- [Mike] So, Matt.
What are we looking
for this week?
- [Matt] All right.
Very emotional Legacy List.
We've got a reel-to-reel,
that was his dad's.
I don't know if we'll find
any actual reels or not,
but the machine he
really wants to find.
- [Avi] Mhm.
- [Matt] we've got an
old adding machine.
That was his grandfather's
and then we've got his,
thinks it's his grandmother's
old singer sewing machine.
And then, his mom's
old medical bag.
His mom was a midwife in
Berkeley, in the sixties.
- [Mike] Wow.
- [Jamie] Wow.
- [Matt] Yeah. Really cool.
- [Jamie] That's incredible.
- [Matt] Yeah. She's here.
She's on the third floor.
So hopefully she'll be able
to help us out with that.
- [Jamie] Wow.
- [Avi] That'd be great
- [Matt] And then the last
one is a more common one.
We're hearing more and more.
They have a lot of information
from their family history and
they want additional help
with that genealogy.
His mom had done a lot of
it and she kind of hit a
brick wall.
- [Mike] Wow
- [Matt] So, we'll
get our team together
to work on that as well.
- [Jamie] Yeah-
- [Avi] Yeah, I'm looking
forward to talking
to him about that.
- [Matt] They have
a ton of history.
We need to put the
puzzle together.
We also need to clean out the
basement and a couple of the
rooms on this level.
- [Mike] Okay.
- [Matt] You guys will
stay on this floor
mainly because the
records are here
and I need you to go
through all the records.
- [Mike] Oh, I'd love to.
- [Matt] Music is
what Zebulon remembers
about his dad.
- [Mike] That's awesome.
- [Matt] So, I'm excited
to see what else you
can find up here.
- [Mike] Okay.
Well, we'll just have
to work with the family
and figure out what
are the most important items
and what needs to happen.
- [Matt] Okay.
Jamie and Mike can
start in there.
Avi, you and I are going
to go down to the basement.
- [Avi] Let's do it.
- [All] All right. All right.
- [Jamie] Have fun.
- [Matt} We'll see you
guys in a little bit.
- [Mike] See ya.
- Holler if you need help
- If it gets hot,
come on down to the basement.
(laughter)
- [Jamie] That's
where the AC is.
(peppy jazz music)
- [Avi] The basement.
- [Matt] Typical basement.
- [Avi] Ooh, typical
basement smells.
So, these triple deckers,
like Jamie was mentioning.
I mean, they have three
of everything, right?
- [Matt] Everything.
Heat, air.
- [Matt] New electrical
boxes. Triples of everything.
- [Pre-Recorded
Avi] I personally
had never seen a triple
decker home, like this.
I knew they were pretty
common in Boston.
- [Avi] I mean, it was
the way of living, right?
I mean this how Boston grew.
- [Narrator] The triple decker.
It's not just a sandwich.
The name also refers to a
three-story dwelling that houses
a different family
on each floor.
They become popular
(swing music)
during the late 19th
century and are inhabited
mainly by immigrant families
seeking affordable housing.
Where were they most popular?
Boston, of course.
The New York times declares,
living in a triple decker is as
much a part of the Boston
cultural experience as despising
the Yankees.
(crowd boos)
The beauty of the
triple decker is
that it gives working
class families
a shot at owning
their own homes.
They can live in one unit
and rent out the other two
(door bell rings)
And unlike cramped tenements,
triple deckers offer
working people,
dignified living conditions
with working bathrooms and
windows on four
sides of the house.
By the 20th century,
triple deckers are a
fixture in Boston's Irish
and Italian neighborhoods.
But there's a backlash.
Housing planners favor
suburban sprawl over density
and triple deckers are banned.
Some believe, it's a way
for city officials to
curtail immigration.
By the 1950s,
families flee the
city for the suburbs
and many of these
historical icons
fall into disrepair.
But leave it to the triple
decker to have the last laugh.
As cities like Boston
face new housing crises,
the triple decker is a prime
candidate for rehabilitation.
With a little work,
these hundred year old
structure's provide
energy efficient,
affordable housing to a whole
new generation of families.
There's no place like home.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] Moving a couch
doesn't really excite me,
but getting to dig through
somebody's records and CDs
that is what I want to do.
- [Matt] I'm going to
name the album title.
And you tell me
who the artist is.
- [Jamie] Okay.
- [Matt] Always On My Mind.
- [Jamie] This is not
a fun game for Me.
- [Matt] Jamie, This
is the first one!
That was Willie Nelson.
- [Jamie] Okay. Never
would've gotten that, Matt.
- [Matt] All, right.
No peeking by the way.
Word of Mouth.
- [Jamie] The Kinks.
- [Matt] Ja-You're
peeking. I can tell it.
- [Jamie] I'm definitely not.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] His
dad was such a music lover
that I was just
having a blast digging
through this collection.
- [Matt] Here's one of the
most iconic album covers
of all time.
- [Jamie] All, right.
- [Matt] You know what it is?
- [Jamie] No idea.
- [Matt] You've never seen this?
- [Jamie] Is that
really an album?
- [Matt] Yeah! It's the
white album by the Beatles.
- [Jamie] For real?
- [Matt] Yeah. I mean,
somebody painted on it,
but it's The White Album
(laughter)
And believe it or not,
this is a thing, like,
a lot of people embellish
their White Album covers.
- [Jamie] Okay.
That's kind of cool.
- [Matt] It is.
- [Jamie] you know, music is one
of those things that
can instantly take you
into, like a moment
of nostalgia.
I mean, Zeb could
put one of those on
and immediately be
transported back
to a time when he was listening
to 'em with his parents.
- [Matt] Absolutely.
(ska music)
Old snowboard.
- [Avi] I got some good,
good tapes over here, man.
- [Matt] Yeah?
- [Avi] Austin Powers,
little White Men Can't Jump.
- [Matt] I think
they watched, I mean,
- [Avi] Back to the Future.
- [Matt] Oh my God.
(laughter)
- [Matt] Back to the future
and Ferris Beuller's Day Off.
- [Avi] And Commando.
Oh. Schwartzenegger.
- [Matt] It's everything we did.
- [Avi] it is. I feel like I'm,
you know, I'm going
through my stuff at home.
- [Zebulon] Hey
- [Matt] How's it doing Zebulon?
- [Zebulon] pretty
good. Not too bad.
You know. I see you got some
stuff going on out here.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
Usually it's the furniture
and the beds and the
dishes. They all go first.
And then it's the personal
effects like records and photos
and things like
that. That go last.
And that was the case here.
- [Matt] Is there any
category that you could say,
either ,I definitely know I want
to keep all of these
or I definitely know
I don't need any of them.
- [Zebulon] Oh yeah.
Well, the family photos, I
mean, I got to keep those.
- [Jamie] Okay.
Keep family photos.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Jamie] That's great.
(laughter)
- [Matt] Any thought
on the books?
- [Zebulon] I think I could
definitely give away the books.
- [Jamie And Matt] Okay.
- [Jamie] Okay.
This is a lot of your
mom's stuff from her,
when she was a midwife.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Jamie] I mean,
is that something
that we want to think about
keeping and sorting through?
- [Zebulon] Definitely.
- [Jamie] Okay.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. That
is really important.
- [Jamie] Okay.
- [Zebulon] And thank you
for, for putting it aside,
because that is obviously
super important.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Matt] Absolutely.
(folk music)
- [Narrator] As long as
babies have been born,
midwives have been
there to catch them.
Until a hundred years ago,
(newborn crying)
most women give birth at home,
surrounded by a midwife,
family and friends.
Childbirth in medieval Europe
and colonial America is a
ladies social event.
For centuries midwifery
is the rare domain
in which women are widely
respected as wise elders.
But, as medicine becomes
more specialized in
the 20th century,
obstetrics displaces, midwifery.
Wealthy women flock
to male doctors
who promise the latest equipment
and painless deliveries.
Seeing midwives as competition
for profits and patients,
obstetricians launch an ad
campaign to discredit midwives.
It works.
In 1907, a Massachusetts
Supreme court ruling
makes midwifery illegal.
But nevertheless,
midwifery persists.
In rural Southern communities,
black Southern midwives known
as Granny or Grand Midwives
care for mothers who can't
access segregated hospitals.
They're champions
of Public Health.
Instrumental in vaccinating
their communities
against disease.
One notable Grand
Midwife is Mary Coley.
She helps deliver an estimated
3,000 Georgia babies.
When it comes to midwifery,
the US remains an outlier
among affluent countries.
Midwives here, attend
about 10% of births.
In France, Sweden and Norway,
midwives oversee the
majority of deliveries.
Across the pond, in
the United Kingdom
midwives deliver
half of all babies.
Including, Kate Middleton's.
(bell dings)
American midwifery is
slowly making a comeback.
Today, there are around 11,000
American certified
nurse midwives.
And like they've
done for centuries,
they guide mothers
through the anticipation,
pain and wonder of childbirth.
(instrumental music)
- [Jamie] We're
going to get the rest
of this room cleaned
up and a little bit
more organized for you.
And, we're going to pack
up all of the family photos
and documents that
we find for keep.
And, we're also going to pack
up all of your mom's stuff
that's related to
her career to keep.
- [Zebulon] That sounds great. Y
- [Matt] You know,
as far as the tapes and
records are concerned,
I'll go through 'em.
If I see anything
with any real value,
I'll pull 'em to the side.
- [Zebulon] That
will be amazing.
(laughter)
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Jamie Pre-Recorded] In
a situation like Zebulon's,
it's really important for
him to have the support
around him so that he can keep
the process moving forward.
So, I was really grateful
that we could be part of that.
- [Jamie] So, our goal is
to get this room cleaned up
and really get
you ready to move.
- [Zebulon] That sounds
great. I'll leave you to it.
(laughter)
- [Jamie] Sounds good. Thanks.
- [Matt] Thanks, Zebulon.
- [Zebulon] Thanks again.
(banging and sorting)
- [Matt] Ooh, I've got
a lot of movies, man.
- [Avi] I'm telling you.
- [Matt] I mean, I watched
Ace Ventura, 400 times
Uh, oh. Here we are.
Here's the real thing.
Oh, look at that.
- [Avi] That is cool.
- [Matt] That is an
old, look at that.
- [Avi] That's it!
- [Matt] Look-
- [Avi] look at the
condition of this thing.
- [Matt] I know, really.
- [Avi] That's a
great find there, man.
- [Matt] It's beautiful.
I know it really represents
his grandfather being a
successful young
man after the war.
- [Avi] Yeah.
- [Pre-Recorded
Avi] Not only did
this machine represent Zebulon's
grandfather's rise
in his own career,
but it was a opportunity
for the family to rise.
This opportunity gave his family
a chance for upper mobility.
- [Matt] Yeah, it's a Locked
Pay Master Protection.
So, this was for the guy
that had to cut the checks.
- [Avi] Absolutely.
- [Matt] That is a
Legacy List item.
This is really, really cool.
- [Avi] That's fascinating.
- [Matt] I know Zebulon's
got a lot of pride in this.
All right, I'm putting
this to the side.
- [Avi] That's awesome.
- [Matt] All right.
Keep looking.
- [Avi] Good. Good finding.
(organ music)
- [Jamie] All right.
Why don't you finish up in here?
- [Matt] Mhm.
- [Jamie] There's a closet
that I need to check
in this other room.
You got it?
- [Matt] I got this.
- [Jamie] I can leave you alone?
- [Matt] I think so.
- [Jamie] All right.
Let me know if
you find anything.
- [Matt] Oh, you know, I will
(upbeat music)
- [Avi] Ah, oh, Matt.
- [Matt] What'd you find?
- [Avi] Yeah. Had to
even the things up here.
(banging of items)
I think I got-
- [Matt] Oh, the
singer be careful
with that one.
- Got the singer, my friend.
(boxes moving)
- [Matt] Here, bring
this out right here.
- [Avi] Look at that.
- Nice.
(boxes moving)
- [Matt] Look at that.
- [Avi] Ooh.
- [Matt] Beautiful.
- [Avi] Ooh.
- [Matt] So, normally
you and I find
those, they're actually
attached to a big table.
- [Avi] Yeah.
- [Matt] So, this was one
of the first portable
- [Avi] Man.
- [Matt] It's super cool.
- [Avi] I mean,
that thing is heavy.
- [Matt] Very heavy.
(laughs)
- [Avi] So, to call that
portable is interesting.
- [Matt] But man, I cant
think of my grandma hauling
this thing around,
- [Avi] Me either. Hey, they
did what they had to do.
You know.
- [Matt] This is the
first side hustle.
- [Avi] The side hustle. Yeah.
- [Matt] This is the very first
side hustle.
- The side hustle
- And so you could
make extra money.
You can make clothes for
other people at home.
Cause this was
affordable and portable.
- [Avi] So who would
this have belonged to?
- [Matt] Knowing this model,
it would have been 1910 or 1911.
Zebulon's great-grandmother.
- [Avi] So, this thing
is a hundred years old.
- [Matt] Oh, yeah. More
than a hundred years old.
(snarky laughter)
- [Matt] It's pretty cool.
- [Avi] It is.
(acoustic guitar music)
- [Matt] Hey Jamie,
finding anything good?
- [Jamie] Well, I
found some more books
which is not that surprising.
Oh, wait a second.
I think I might have
something. Come here.
- [Matt] All right.
- [Jamie] Check this out.
It's her medical bag.
- [Matt] The bag.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Matt] Here, let
me hold it for you.
- [Jamie] Look at that.
It's a beautiful bag.
- [Matt] It looks very
sixties, seventies to me.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Pre-Recorded
Jamie] To think of all
of the stories of bringing
life into the world
that she got to witness
with those tools
was just really, really cool.
- [Matt] How many babies
were brought into this world
using these things.
- [Jamie] I mean, the
fact that they've held on
to this bag for this
many years must mean
that it holds a lot
of sentimental value.
- [Matt] No doubt.
- [Jamie] This is awesome.
(jazz music)
- [Avi] You're Jewish,
African-American in Boston.
How did that impact influence
you as you were growing up?
- [Zebulon] My black
family is from Boston.
They're here in Boston.
- [Avi] Mhm.
- [Zebulon] So, in that sense,
I just grew up
identifying as black.
- [Avi] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] Some people
may not have liked
how I identified, you know,
I had a lot of hurdles
that I had to jump over,
you know.
But most African-Americans do.
- [Avi] Yeah.
- [Pre-Recorded Avi]I could
see in talking with him,
some of the pain that
might've been a part of that,
but also just the great
strength that it created in him,
to have to have that
experience and live through it.
- [Zebulon] I think
it's no secret
that Boston has had struggle
with issues of race.
- [Avi] And I know
you're a professor.
Africana studies.
I was hoping you might
be able to tell me,
somewhere that I
could go, you know,
that I could really get a
strong sense of, you know,
where it all started
for African-Americans
in Boston and you
know how we got to this point.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. Well,
there's no better place
than the African Meeting House.
So, the African meeting
house is the oldest,
continuously
freestanding church.
Black church in America.
In Boston, it was a place
where African Americans gathered
to discuss
important issues and to
make important decisions.
- [Avi] So, not just spiritual
- [Zebulon] Not just
spiritual, that's right.
Groups who were mostly involved
in racial justice efforts,
whether it was abolitionism
or even schooling.
- [Pre-Recorded Avi] Now,
that I'm talking to Zebulon,
I'm on my way to the
Museum of African-American
History in Boston.
- [Avi] So, the family
we're working with,
the grandfather after
returning from world war II,
purchased a home in the
Southeast section of Boston.
In the 1950s.
And I'm just curious
to hear from you,
what would that have been like
as the first African-American
family to move into an
all white community?
- [Historian]
Southie has been a,
an area of much contention that
was highlighted in the 1970
busing crisis for integration
of schools and the fact that
there were no, at one
time, no black policemen,
no black firemen.
It would be difficult
to process being human,
being black and being there.
- [Avi] It's difficult
to think about
this is where America started.
Like, here we are at
its humble beginnings,
The space of its
humble beginnings.
And we're still
challenged with so much.
- [Historian] So, Avi,
This is the sanctuary of
the African Meeting House.
- [Avi] Mmm.
- [Historian] They built
themselves a meeting house.
- [Avi] This is clearly to
me, a space of spirituality.
- [Historian] Absolutely.
- [Avi] What other purposes
would the meeting house have?
- [Historian] This housed the
first African Baptist church.
So it was religious purposes.
It also housed a
school in the basement.
And the third reason was
to be able to assembly,
to meet their issues of
the day and the commitment
to ending slavery in America.
- [Avi] Mmm.
- [Narrator] So, this
building was built
as a gathering space.
- [Avi] Yes.
- [Historian] It was identified
as the African Meeting House.
- [Avi] So, what were
some of the meetings
that would have taken
place in this space?
- [Historian] When
abolitionists meetings ended
in riot at Tremont
Temple, or Nathaniel Hall,
they would run to the
African Meeting House.
Frederick Douglas
brings his meeting here
- [Avi] Mmm.
- [Historian] And
speaks from that podium.
When that happens.
- [Pre-Recorded Avi] The story
that rang with me was a
Frederick Douglas leaving
a talk
because the crowd didn't
want to hear him talk.
Coming to that meeting house
and having the space and
freedom to stand there and
say what needed to be said,
you know, to speak his truth.
If he could do it in such a
challenging space in time,
then why can't I?
- [Avi] To think
about the struggles,
the emotions attached to being
enslaved and being separated.
And, it's just hard to
imagine that experience
- [Historian] Yes.
- [Avi] You know, I try,
but I don't think I can even
understand the gravity of that.
- [Historian] Well, what
this space allows us
to do is to have more
grasp on the details.
- [Avi] Mhm.
- [Historian] We know
that freedom wasn't free.
- [Avi] Right.
- [Pre-Recorded Avi] I
personally had experienced
a difficult childhood
growing up because of
racism
and being treated differently.
(deep intake of breath)
To know that I was
standing in the building
that was one of
the first buildings
erected for the purpose
of educating black children.
I mean my feet on
their feet, you know,
just having the opportunity
to be where I am
to even share this
story, freely.
It just, it rings heavy.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] We've intentionally
been very careful with Veronica
and we wanted her to wait
and invite us up to speak.
And finally that has happened.
I'm really excited that I
do sit down with Veronica
and hear her story.
- [Matt] So, how long have
you lived in this building?
- [Veronica] Since about 1985.
- [Matt] Okay. So, gosh.
Just under 40 years.
- [Veronica] Yes.
- [Matt] It's a long
time. You're being faced
with the decision of
what do I do next.
Do I move? Do I stay?
- [Veronica] Exactly.
- [Matt] If someone
came to you and said,
oh, how's it going?
What should I do?
What advice would you give?
- [Veronica] Oh.
If you have family
to really check in
with them because they
can give you a lot of
wisdom and grounding.
You know, especially
a close family,
such as we are.
I feel, Zebulon's very, very
concerned and interested.
And so, you know, I'm
looking to him also.
I'm not doing all this by
myself and that feels good.
- [Matt] Mhm.
- [Veronica] You
know, just to know
that I have that, you know,
the love of my son,
Jamie, as well.
Very supportive and just
helping me move along.
I think the other thing is
just to try to have faith.
That things are going to
move ahead and work out.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] We
found the reel-to-reel player
in the closet on
the first floor.
It was buried under some boxes
and behind some other things.
- [Matt] This item more than
any other really speaks
to Zebulon's dad.
- [Jamie] I know, this is
really important to Zebulon.
How common was it for a
household to have one of these?
- [Matt] Yeah, not every
house had one of these.
But if you were
serious about music,
like, almost audiophile level.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- [Matt] You probably had one.
The beauty of this system is
you can actually record things
on it yourself.
- [Jamie] Ohh. Oh yeah.
Here's the record button.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Jamie] It's like, if you want
to record your own music
or, like even just
talking into it.
- [Matt] Absolutely.
And hopefully these reels
are somewhere in here because
we've got to try and find some.
- [Jamie] Yeah. This
is a Legacy List item.
High five.
(Hands slap)
- [Matt] Whoo.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] Finding
the reel to reel was amazing,
but I wasn't going to be
satisfied until I knew for sure
that this thing worked.
(old-timey music)
- [Narrator] The
reel-to-reel tape player,
a sophisticated recording
device that is yet another
evolutionary step in the
history of recorded sound.
That history involves
someone who is
ironically partially deaf.
In 1877, Thomas Edison
makes a lot of noise
when he invents the phonograph.
The strange looking device
uses tinfoil wrapped around a
cylinder to capture sound.
The first recorded music,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
played on the coronet.
Edison loves his
invention so much,
he embeds miniature
phonographs in talking dolls.
Unsurprisingly, the creepy
nursery rhyme shrieking toys
are a commercial flop.
(trombone sound)
As the 20th century dawns,
the gramophone hits the
market and flat disks are
all the rage.
After world war II, an American
major brings reel-to-reel
technology back
home from Germany.
He sets up a demo for studio
executives and shocks them
by toggling between a live
jazz group and a recording.
Is it live, he asks?
They are stumped.
None other than White
Christmas crooner,
Bing Crosby hears about it
and invests in the company.
He becomes the first performer
to prerecord a radio show.
Bulky reel-to-reel players
are popular
(jazz music)
until the early 1960s.
(whir of cassette tape)
When the cassette
tape is introduced.
Compact discs
follow along in the eighties,
(break dance music)
followed by digital downloads.
Today, streaming
services contain nearly
everything recorded
that matters to anyone.
Music, audio books,
podcasts, and more.
Recorded audio has
come a long way
in the last hundred
and 50 years.
And the future is sure to
hold even more technological
breakthroughs.
Sounds good to me.
(upbeat acoustic music)
- [Pre-Recorded Matt] It was
really important to Zebulon
that we kept as many things out
of the landfill as possible,
but then, also donated
as much as possible.
They weren't really
interested so much in selling.
But as long as the items
were getting another life
with somebody else
that made them happy.
My team and I cleaned
out the first floor.
We cleaned out the basement.
The only area we couldn't
start in was the third floor.
And that's where
Zebulon's mom was living.
She just wasn't ready.
It was clear, Zebulon was
carrying a lot of weight
on his shoulders.
But hopefully our work,
helped lighten the load.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] You will see
a lot of empty space.
- [Zebulon] Oh wow. Oh
man, this looks great.
- [Matt] We did a lot of work.
We got all the
clutter cleared out.
We donated a ton of books
and cleared out the closet
over there.
We cleared out the
space in the basement.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] So, you're
not ready to move.
(laughter)
- [Matt] We didn't really
address your mom's level,
but we have gotten some of
the extra space down here.
- [Zebulon] I tell you,
it's ,it's cathartic.
That's the word I'm gonna use.
It's, it just feels open.
And I'm feeling like, less
and less of that weight on me.
The pressure.
- [Matt] That is
the goal we wanted.
- [Zebulon] I'm seeing
the progress and
that makes me happy.
- [Matt] We're not
solving the whole problem,
but we are helping
you get started.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] The physical
part was easy.
The mental part is
the challenging part.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] All right. So.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] I think we
should go sit down,
go through your Legacy List.
I think it'll all come
together when we're done.
- [Zebulon] That sounds good.
- [Matt] All right. Let's do it.
(peppy acoustic guitar music)
- [Pre-Recorded
Matt] This has been
an emotional week for all of us.
And I'm really excited to sit
down with Zebulon and show
him everything that we found.
- [Mike] What's been
the hardest thing
in this whole process?
- [Zebulon] Probably, I'd say
if I'm being honest. Yeah.
A little bit of
indecision, you know,
trying to get everybody
on the same page.
I'm realizing that these
things take time to plan
and you have to have a plan.
This helps a lot.
Just having less stuff helps
us to execute our plan.
- [Matt] And I'm not even going
to ask you where
mom's going yet,
because I want to get
through this stuff.
But I will tell you-
- [Zebulon] Thank you
(laughter)
- [Matt] Because I know you
guys haven't decided yet.
- [Zebulon] Yeah
- [Matt] And I think we're,
I hope this process
has helped you guys get
closer to that decision.
- [Zebulon] I hope so too,
because it's all about a
good place for her to be.
- [Matt] All right. Let's
get into this stuff.
We've got, we got a few items
we found on your Legacy List.
All right.
(items shuffling)
Ironically, the first item
is a portable sewing machine.
It's pretty heavy though.
- [Zebulon] Yes!
- [Matt] It doesn't
really feel portable.
- [Zebulon] Oh, man. I knew
I had seen this before.
- [Matt] All right.
This is a very famous model.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] So knowing
the dates on this,
it makes me thinks that it
is your great-grandmother Amy
Sinclair's.
- [Zebulon] Oh man. I bet it is.
It just looks cool.
It looks historic.
And obviously it goes way back.
- [Matt] Everyone in your
family worked really hard.
- [Zebulon] And she was
West Indian, from Jamaica.
She worked extremely hard to
come to America and be here.
Yeah.
- [Matt] We are who we
are because we watch
our ancestors do it.
- [Zebulon] Mhm.
- [Matt] And I'm lucky
enough to see this,
that it trickles
down generationally.
- [Zebulon] Amazing.
- [Matt] And it starts in
little things like this.
- [Zebulon] Ah, I feel.. I'm
very touched to see this.
- [Matt] All right
- [Zebulon] Whoa
- [Matt] The next item we found.
- [Zebulon] You found it.
- [Matt] Well, you asked
me to find, you asked me
to find the counting machine.
This is not a counting machine.
It's actually a check printing
machine or they call it,
a check writing machine.
- [Zebulon] Whoa.
- [Matt] And-
- [Zebulon] PayMaster.
- [Matt] Yeah. So, this
is a big deal because
this is how people got paid.
- [Zebulon] The boss.
- [Matt] This was
your grandfathers.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] On your mom
or your dad's side?
- [Zebulon] My mom's side.
- [Matt] Your mom's side.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] So let's
paint the picture.
Let's put a date behind that
and let's remind each other
who, you know, this was
in what, the fifties?
- [Zebulon] He was a landlord
and a property owner.
We went through that.
And I know that he worked
for the Jordan Marsh Company.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] And that's a big
thing around these parts.
- [Matt] So, he was
an internal auditor.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] So, he did payroll.
- [Zebulon] Wow!
(laughter)
- [Matt] You got to
think about a black man
running payroll
right after the war
and a property owner.
And what we learned on
our trip around town,
he was the property
owner in a part of town
that he probably
wasn't as appreciated.
And it was probably really
hard to get that property.
- [Zebulon] Yeah. Yeah.
- [Matt] This is,
this is a big deal.
Then you put race and dates
behind it and then it becomes
impressive.
- [Zebulon] And pull this
thing. He was printing checks.
That's amazing.
- [Matt] I mean, and by the way,
all of this was after
he served in the war.
- [Zebulon] Yeah, exactly.
- [Matt] We're not even
talking about his service.
- [Zebulon] He, right!
He had stories a plenty.
You know, he saw the world,
he knew about the world and
that's really what he taught us.
About money, how the
world works, good and bad
and that it can
be a tough place.
And to really, you
know, know your stuff.
- [Matt] I see a lot
of heirlooms, man.
And this is a cool one.
And without the story, this
is a green piece of metal.
This is something you
pass down to your kids.
- [Zebulon] I will
Matt. That is-
- [Matt] This is super cool.
- [Zebulon] That is
cool. Dollars and cents.
(melodic piano)
- [Matt] Let's go
on to the next one.
All right.
The next item you
asked us to find is
your mom's medical bag.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] It was not difficult
to find but it's
a pretty big deal.
Oh, you help babies being born.
You know, like,
(laughter)
I mean, it's crazy
the things she's done.
We found some great things
about your mom, here.
This is the favorite thing
I've found in this house.
It's a note from you.
- [Zebulon] To my mom-
- [Matt] I'm going
to let you read it.
(chuckles)
It's from 1982.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
Dear mommy,
I need you and I love you.
I'm sorry we fight all the time,
(laughter, throat clearing)
but I don't know
a way to fix that.
Are going to send,
are you going to send
me to boarding school?
(guffaws)
I remember this
You know, I don't
remember this note,
but I remember this
boarding school thing,
but let me finish.
I hope not.
I hope we can be friends again.
Love, Zeb. (chuckles) The heart.
Wow.
- [Matt] When you downsize,
some of the best stuff to find.
It's just a note.
- [Zebulon] I know.
- Pre-Recorded Matt] It's easy
for me to help people
find physical items.
But when they find
out more about
who they are and
their own history,
that's really an awesome
thing to see and to feel.
And it was even more special
to do it with my friend.
- [Matt] Your mom
had also asked me
to find some things
on the genealogy side.
We were able to get your
family back, pretty quickly
tied back
to a community called
Warrenton, North Carolina,
a thriving community.
Your great, great, great
grandfather, Haywood Arrington.
- [Zebulon] I have
heard that name.
- [Matt] Okay. This right
here is basically what
you would equivalate
to a marriage certificate.
It isn't a marriage, but
it's more of a license.
And the date on this is 1866.
- [Zebulon] Oh, wow.
- [Matt] So, it says they've
been together since 1852.
And as we know, the
civil war ended in 1865.
So, this was the first time
they were allowed to recognize
their marriage.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Matt] Your great,
great, great grandfather
and grandmother.
This proves that they were
together while enslaved.
And then as soon as
they became free,
they were able to get
their marriage certificate.
- [Zebulon] Yeah, it says,
residents of said county
lately slaves but
now emancipated.
Wow. This is real history that
speaks to the black family.
It's so much to take in.
(sniff)
Slavery, what our
ancestors went through
and still yet, despite
all that, they survived
and even sometimes thrived.
I'm proud to descend from
such people and to know,
to know my enslaved ancestors.
You've given me a huge thing.
This is really powerful gift.
(sniffs)
And my mom will
appreciate it, too.
(laughter)
- [Matt] I can't wait
for you to show
that to your mom.
All right.
Thank you.
- [Zebulon] Wow. No way.
- [Matt] This is one of
our Producers. Thank you.
Let me plug this in.
You know what this is?
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] This is your
dad's reel-to-reel.
(laughter)
- Obviously.
- [Zebulon] Oh man, I have
not seen this in a long time.
- [Matt] Tell me about it.
What do you remember about it?
- [Zebulon] Man,
it looks smaller.
I remember this
thing being so big.
(laughter)
- [Matt] Yeah?
- [Zebulon] It brings
back a lot of things.
Looping the tape, watching
how it had to be done
and splicing tapes and...
I just always, I don't know.
I could never get this
out of my mind this,
the way the tapes looked
even. It was just so cool.
There's no way this works.
- [Matt] Let's see if it works.
(mechanical click)
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Audio Recording Child] Hi.
This is Zebby speaking and-
- [Zebulon] Oh.. (laughter)
No way!
- I want to tell you
a few things
- [Audio Recording Child]
How you doing, dad?
[Audio Recording
Adult] I'm fine.
- [Zebulon] Oh, my God.
- [Audio Recording
Child] No, (giggles)
- [Audio Recording Adult]
It's January, 1979.
- [Zebulon] Wow.
- [Audio Recording Adult] In
Jamaica Plain, Massachusets.
- [Audio Recording
Child] Hi, I'm Zeb.
- {Audio Recording
Adult] Hi, I'm Dad.
- [Audio Recording
Adult 2] Hello.
- [Audio Recording
Child] This is mommy.
- [Zebulon] Oh, wow. (laughing)
(indistinct chatter)
(mechanical click)
- [Matt] How you feeling?
- [Zebulon] I can't, I am...
I thought, I'm speechless.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Zebulon] You
know, I remembered us
doing special stuff
with this and maybe
that was why I could
never forget about it.
That, you made my
dream come true.
That was my, I would,
that was my hope, is
to find something from,
from all of us back then.
I'm blown away.
I am blown away. I
can't believe that.
And you've really given
me, given us a gift.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
So many of us want
to just go back once,
for like one minute
and he got to do that.
I know I would want to
hear my dad's voice again.
And for him to do that,
that's really amazing.
- [Matt] You said the
first day we got here,
you said you had
gotten really stuck.
I know it's a complicated
next few months.
- [Zebulon] Yeah.
- [Matt] But y'all are
going to be all right.
- [Zebulon] I certainly hope so.
You know, and I feel better,
a lot better about it.
Thanks to you, your help.
- [Pre-Recorded Matt]
Selling this house
right now will allow
Veronica to have a
much happier life for
the next 20 years.
And that was a good
move for this family.
They did it at the right
time because they had
those difficult
conversations now.
- [Matt] I want to hear that
same conversation with you,
your wife and your kids.
- [Zebulon] We'll do it.
(laughter) You got it.
(voice fades)
(crescendoing music)
- [Announcer] Funding
for "Legacy List"
is provided by Bekins Van Lines.
At Bekins, our goal
is to provide a smooth
and simple moving
experience no matter
the size or distance
of your move.
Bekins is ready to
help you get there.
You can find us at bekins.com.
Bekins, this is moving.
FirstLight Home Care,
committed to providing safe
and compassionate home services
for you and your family.
FirstLight believes
personal relationships
and engagement are as important
as mobility, bathing,
and personal hygiene.
Details at
firstlighthomecare.com.
The Mavins Group, a
downsizing, real estate sales,
and move management company
committed to easing
the emotional
and physical demands of
beginning a new stage of life.
The Mavins Group, so
much more than a move.
(upbeat music)
Insure Long Term
Care, where we believe
that aging at home, near friends
and family, is ever more
possible for more people.
Learn more at insureltc.com.
And by The Ruth Camp
Campbell Foundation.
(upbeat music)
- [Matt] It was pretty awesome
(bluegrass music)
that his mom came down at,
you know, the right moment.
She had not really wanted
to participate a whole
lot, the whole week.
And she came down and she was
there and I was so glad she
was there at that exact moment.
- [Zebulon] ] It's for dad.
(Veronica laughs)
(kisses)
- [Narrator] Visit
mylegacylist.com
to learn more about
the 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
(harmonic tones music)
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