Hi all,
My name is Dan. I've played 8 ball in my grandpa's basement from when I had to stand on my tiptoes to see the felt. While I never met my great grandparents, I learned later in life that they were bar owners. I suspect that's where the table came from.
I had a game table at home, as well - table tennis. During the later years growing up with my parents, my father and I put a lot of work into the basement, laying tile, raising the ceiling, and knocking out walls. He replaced the ping pong table with a pool table of his own. Between my friends, my dad and I, we had a blast. My buddies and I would also sometimes go to a local pool hall for beer and a few games, just to mix it up.
It wasn't long after I left home that my mom missed the ping-pong table enough for them to cover the pool table. I moved out of state and enjoyed the table tennis matches when I visited.
As time passed, the table tennis cover started becoming more of a utility table when I visited. Memories of what was underneath faded away.
That all changed a few weeks ago, when my mom passed away. Right now I am working to honor her life and memory, as well as cleaning up the home. It's not unlikely I'll end up moving my family there, and perhaps my kids will have the opportunity to grow up with a table in the home, as my family has for generations.
I came across this forum as I fulfill my obligation of personal representative of the estate, taking an inventory, and looking up value on the "assets." That said, I see here that there is a sense of community united by passion - and I would love to experience that myself.