The Life of a Desk

Last time I blogged, I told you the story of the farmhouse dining table that became my writing desk and is now at home in my oldest grandson’s bedroom. Today, as promised, I want to tell you the story of my “new” (but actually very old) writing desk. 

The first history of this desk that we know is when it was owned by Maude Berquist, wife of Arthur Berquist, who owned and operated Berquist Drugstore in Marquette, Kansas for many years. Mrs. Berquist was a sister to my husband Ken’s grandfather, Kenneth Raney. She gave the desk to Ken’s parents, Kenneth and Shirley A, Raney when they were remodeling an old house in Ellsworth, Kansas. My Ken (Kenneth W. Raney III) and his four younger siblings grew up in that wonderful house, and so did Ken and I, two years after our marriage, when Ken’s parents moved to Southern California. We lived in that house for eight years and brought three of our four children home from the hospital to the “big red barn” as we called it.

Ken’s mom, Shirley, tells the continuing story of the desk this way: “Our oldest son [Ken] was always drawing and so we put the desk in his room. He used it for years until he was married and our family moved to California and while we were there, refinished the desk. Sometime along the way, we gave the desk to Ken and Deb to be their own. It has been a treat to see it move from house to house and room to room all these years.”

Ken used the desk in his office after we bought our first home and he eventually launched his own graphic design and illustration business, Raney Day Creative, from that desk.

After we moved into our home in Wichita, Kansas, he needed a larger desk, so the Berquist-Raney desk was moved into our basement in storage. My sister was helping me paint at our house and when she saw the desk, she admired it and wondered why we didn’t have it in a room where it could be seen and enjoyed. Ken challenged me: “If you can sell that old rolltop desk in the living room, I’ll help you haul this one upstairs.” Within hours, I’d sold the rolltop on craigslist (for $50 more than we paid for it at a garage sale) and that night, the desk got moved upstairs to our living room where it lived happily for the next six years.

When my dad saw the desk in our living room, he reminded me that it has some history from my family as well, since Marquette is my dad’s hometown, and Daddy had spent many hours at the soda fountain in the tiny town’s popular drugstore. That store is still operating today as City Sundries and the Berquist name is still on the doorstep! Several years ago, my dad and sisters and I had lunch there on a little tour of Daddy’s hometown.

And then, when we moved to Missouri and my farmhouse table desk went to our screened porch and later to our oldest grandson’s room (that story is HERE) the Berquist-Raney desk moved into my office where it still lives today and will no doubt serve as my writing desk for the rest of my life.

As Ken’s mom said, “It is a treat to relive some of those early years of family members that have been gone for years… There are many many stories that stay with us as we go down this road of life. The desk has other stories, I am sure, and some we will never know or have the honor to remember.”

Yes, it’s only a piece of furniture, but it has served its purpose well and given delight to several owners. I’m so honored to be the current keeper of the desk!

Do you have a special piece of furniture or other heirloom that has played a special place in your family’s history? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!