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Keys to the kingdom or just the car?

Karen Wils photo My mother’s old keys.

ESCANABA — Every key unlocks a mystery.

From skeleton keys with ornate filigrees, a piece of history clicks.

When I was a child, keys meant power, privilege and maturity. Keys have always been a very important possession.

Important people had lots of keys. Dads, principles, janitors and policemen had the keys to the whole kingdom, it seemed.

In many homes, a special key rack is devoted for multiple sets of keys. Lost keys can create chaos.

It’s amazing how keys have changed over the last sixty years or so. Great-grandma and -grandpa had just a few keys: one for the trunk (wooden chest) in the attic, one for the wind-up clock and one for the front door (which was always left unlocked).

Even the old Ford had a crank and didn’t need a key. Keys date way back to ancient Egypt. Wooden locks with pins and bolts required keys to open them.

In the 19th Century, metals were used to make durable locks and keys. Locksmiths were skilled people who made keys and locks for everything from jail cells to bank vaults.

From paddle locks to combination locks and everything in between, people kept their valuables safe for many decades.

Some of my dad’s keys included car keys, truck keys, house key, money drawer key and even a fish shack key.

On a separate ring he carried my favorite keys of all… the camp keys.

Mom’s key chain was a bit classier. On a leather cross-shaped key ring she had a couple of skeleton keys for the upstairs bedrooms, a key for the chest freezer in the basement and a key for the “locked closet” where Christmas presents were hidden.

Back in the olden days, before electronic keys, key chains were often jingled to distract fussy babies.

Today, keys and key rings are altogether different.

Colorful lanyards hold dozens of key fobs. Most car keys today are the computerized kind that you press from a distance and not insert into the lock on your car.

Digital press-button locks open the doors on businesses and apartments. Swipe a card and your hotel door is opened.

Technology keeps perfecting the lock and key. Soon, voice recognition will be all that is required to enter.

While cleaning out an old tin in my basement, I came across my mother’s old ring of keys. There’s something sentimental about old metal keys. How many times did they unlock a door to happiness or a long awaited homecoming? How many gumdrops did they hide in the money drawer for treats for good kids?

Keys have a wondrous feel for fantasies like the key in “Alice in Wonderland,” or the key in “The Lord of the Rings,” or “The Key to the Dead Man’s Chest,” or “The Secret Garden” key.

What does your favorite key unlock?

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.

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