One major theme of this story is that one's heritage is meant to be used and made a part of daily life, not preserved and put on a shelf or a wall. Although mama and Maggie still regularly use their butter churn, Dee wants to take the dasher and the churn top as souvenirs of her heritage. She doesn't intend to use them, as she says, "'I can use the churn top as a centerpiece... One major theme of this story is that one's heritage is meant to be used and made a part of daily life, not preserved and put on a shelf or a wall. Although mama and Maggie still regularly use their butter churn, Dee wants to take the dasher and the churn top as souvenirs of her heritage. She doesn't intend to use them, as she says, "'I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table, [...] and I’ll think of something artistic to do with the dasher.'" Dee happily takes the items that her family uses to prepare their food on a daily basis because they ha...