I'm presuming you're a youngster and haven't seen this rifle until now. Your father left you a gem, do keep it forever as you say.
Some thousands of bolt-action Springfield rifles were modified for the Pedersen device, which turned the rifle into a submachine gun, for getting fire superiority when taking German trench systems in WWI.
Do get a rifle cleaning kit and a gun cleaning cloth, available at Walmart or any sporting goods store. Keep it clean and lightly oiled. Clean from the breech, not the muzzle, you remove the bolt by turning the safety switch at the back of the bolt up, then pulling the bolt out while depressing the trigger. Make sure the rifle is unloaded, first. You can do this by working the bolt, looking into the chamber and the magazine well to see if there are any cartridges in it.
Presuming the bore and all parts are in really nice condition, which seems likely, your rifle is worth several hundred dollars or more, so take good care of it. Do get a rifle case for storage, and don't show it off to just anyone.
Do not sand down the stock, refinish it in any way, add a telescope mount, or any other modification, you will devalue it substantially as a collector item and a piece of history.