that is a lovely way to remember him.

Your grandad, and your memories of him, are wonderful. Really. You actually sent me back a little into my own childhood with my Nonna (most of my family is from Venice) in her old home in Detroit. On hot summer days, I’d be there for the day while my mom worked. She’d send me to sit on the bottom step of her basement stairs, and I’d snap fresh green beans from her garden to help prepare for dinner that evening. Her sauce would be simmering on the gas stove, while salt water boiled for the gnocchi potatoes. Wow. I think I’d give almost anything to even just smell all of that happening again. Such a long, long time ago.🥲

You make me wish I had known him! You were blessed to have him.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful memory. I’m all teary...

God bless you that sounds beautiful.

*various drawers

I worked there for 10 years until 5 years ago.

Thank you for that story. What a wonderful way to remember him. Its amazing the things out ancestors did, compared to what is done now. They were so brilliant and could live off the land. No need for computers. I loved listening to my grandparents and the stories they told. Missing them so much. ❤️ Be well.

when did i ask

I believe they're called planimeters? Used them in Engineering Graphics classes and at work (Geologist/Environmental Scientist).

That's really so beautiful.

What a wonderful memory!

It is called a planimeter. Mostly digital ones for sale now.

It's called an Opisometer. You can buy old ones on Etsy and ebay. Maybe an antique store online. They seem to start at about 20$

Me, too!

There's one included on every paper map. They're on Google maps and Earth but only briefly and then they fade away. That's annoying. It's called a scale of (units) with units being km, miles, m, nautical miles, nm, etc. Google puts it in the bottom right hand corner. I imagine there's a convention for placement in biology, physics, etc. -----Maps with a lot of detail to define will have a legend that includes the scale but also the meaning of various colors of land and water, sizes of font for countries, states, counties, different sizes of circles for cities of different sizes or a capitol.------ I know, you probably learned all this by 7th grade but didn't put it together with the cool wheel tracing thing. At least I hope people are learning map skills?