It was an estate sale, with boxes of old dishes, fabric scraps, and Christmas decorations piled on tables. Most items had no price tags.

I found a pretty dish, covered with years of dust, and a small ironstone platter-a plain beauty. Well-used and sturdy, it was the kind of dish you might use for everyday. Two women approached the table, apparently noticing that there were several people gathered there inspecting the merchandise.

"Can you tell me the prices on these?" I asked. One woman turned to the other.

"Sis, what do you think? Is that dish old? We can't tell," she said apologetically. "Some of it was Mom's and Grandma's and is all mixed in. That platter, now that was Grandma's. Remember, Sis, she'd cook sausage and put it on that platter and just set it on the woodstove. It'd be there until noon dinner for anyone who wanted it. No one worried whether it was safe to eat." Her eyes clouded. "We can't keep it all. It's just the two of us, and we don't have room for it."

She looked helplessly at the piles around her. "Dad brought that little bowl to Mom from Germany, after World War II. I'd keep it for my kids, but they aren't interested in old stuff like that."

Yesterday morning I cooked sausage patties and placed them carefully on the little platter on my stove. The crystal dish is on my counter, filled with green grapes. The sisters sold the dishes to me, letting go of the memories they held. The platter and bowl, with their stories of a country woman cooking for her family and a war bride welcoming home the soldier who came bearing pretty gifts, came to live with me.

And so storytelling goes. This tale now passes from me to you. Perhaps there is something in it that will inspire you to tell it to someone else. Or perhaps you will find an old dish in your cupboard and remember the story of how it came to be there. Pass it on. It will be worth telling.

Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein is the mother of five sons and has 12 grandchildren. A librarian and professional storyteller, Granny Sue lives in Jackson County. She has several published works and a CD of stories and mountain ballads, and writes an online blog, www.grannysu.blogspot.com.