It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.......Barbara Kingsolver Thanks For the Memories....
From Carrie...December 2006
Hi Carol;
I just wanted to tell you the story of my christmas past
As you know I was little when my dad died (Christmas of 1977) and it was mine and mom's first christmas alone I know that times were hard and money was scarce mom wasn't in the christmas mood but, I wanted a tree so I told Grandpa so one day after school grandpa picked me up from school and we went to bob's produce ranch I thought to get some fruit because we often did. Not today we were getting a tree so after looking for a long time I found the tree I wanted 8 feet tall and 3 needles grandpa said lets find another one well we found it and brought the tree home to moms suprise we had a tree that was the best tree we ever had I never wanted to take it down.
I still love Christmas i set me tree up on thanksgiving and leave it up until New Years I really miss my Grandpa he always made my day i know that he didn't feel good most of the time and he didn't have alot of money but, he was always took care of our needs and we really miss him it's been 24 years since I heard his voice and I can still smell his aftershave.
Thanksgiving memories are a treat to recall. Mostly on Long Lake Road. Aunt Garnets little house crammed with people standing toe to toe (or more aptly belly to belly). I huge turkey being pulled from Garnet's oven....Catching snowflakes with Larry one Thanksgiving afternoon.
In my minds eye I can still see my dad pulling a 30+ pound turkey (Had special ordered from the Huterites) out of the oven in Elkton. He always got up and put the turkey in the oven about 2AM. It was done by 9AM, but the house smelled so good when we got up in the morning! He made his famous sausage dressing --mmmmm. He would cuss us girls for wasting potatoes because we peeled them too thick, and tell us how thin our Grandmother could peel a potato. Don't know if you guys know this, but my dad loved to cook...but Oh, the MESS!
Then there was the Thanksgiving in my own home where Marshall and I had prepared a meal with all the trimmings. We always allowed our children a sip of wine at the Holiday meals. We had our camcorder focused on the table. Caught in the act of refilling his glass with wine several times was our 7 year old Steven. (And I was sitting right beside him and didn't suspect a thing! Maybe I'd hit the wine a little to early that year?) He was pretty loopy the rest of the afternoon, but he still likes Mogan David to this day! (ME TOO!)
Has anyone noticed besides me...or is just a "my family" thing...When I was a kid, the kids did the dishes, when I became an adult, the adults did the dishes, and now that I am a grandmother...yep you guessed it! LOL-Carol
From Sharon (Cameron) Rentz...
On Christmas eve 1998 was the day I found out I had M.S. I wasn't really sad as I finely new what was wrong and I wasn't crazy. But that night when the family got together Deb said she wanted us to open the present from her first so we did. What we opened was a baby diaper saying she was due in july(Skylar). It was a very happy time as they had lost Morgan in Nov.3,1997. It was the best news .
On Christmas Eve we would get together with Mom and Dad,Pat,Peg and kids. Dad would take Pats kids and ours to another room while we cleaned up after the meal. He would read them the Night before Christmas then start singing Christmas songs with them. A little off tune but they had so much fun and would talk about it for weeks.
The Christmas I can remember at Grandma and Grandpa Camerons they were living in the cities and most of the families were there. Grandma told us older kids ending with my age, I wish I could remember what age, that we could have some wine. I know it was about half a shot glass. We had to sit on the steps and the younger kids just watched from below. I know it was Bob,Butch,Gary,me but I don't know who else. We all thought we were so big and we sipped our wine slowly enjoying how the younger kids watched us.
We were living on the farm and Dad got Mom a new sewing machine as she only had a treddle one. Well the first thing she did was go out and get some flannel and made me a Christmas dress and pat a shirt. I was so proud of my out fit.
Mom was a big baker and at Christmas time she made so many great goodies. The folks alway made popcorn balls (I have the same recipe). They would pop tons of corn than pour on the special carmel plus add alot of peanuts that we would shell into it. I can still see the table with all the balls on it. Even if I have the same recipe I can never get them to taste as good as them or the goodies Mom made.
One year for Christmas Pat and I got a flying saucer . We couldn't wait to use it. Well your dad, (Jim) Frances,and Dean came out to the farm. They held onto a long rope and dad pulled them around the lake across from us with a car,at good speed. Well we never got to use it as they put a hole in the bottom and if I remember right Frances got a hot seat. The Big boys had alot of fun with our toy! ----Too Funny Shar! Thanks for the LOL--Carol
From Carol....Better late than never. I've been fighting a touch of the Black Dog this Christmas, but I'll try to keep this light...Let's see....
Most of our Christmas's were spent in Elkton at Grandma and Grandpa Heesch's when I was little, but the ones I remember best were the ones spent with just mom and dad and us kids....Dad always pretended to be grumpy when he had to pretend he was an Elf and assemble things the day before Christmas out in his garage! This became hysterical when the grandkids started coming hot and heavy! Dad with the men folk gathered in the back room with a bottle of whiskey, two trikes, three bikes, a Barbie Dream House, and cardboard play kitchen all had to be put together and in runiing order in a couple of hours. They somehow managed to get it done though! Dad was always his happiest when everyone could make it home for Christmas with all the babies.
I remember when all the older grandkids were still young, Craig snuck out side of the nursing home, which my folks owned and operated. Santa always came just after supper on Christmas Eve. The kids would finish eating upstairs while Santa visited downstairs where the folks lived. Anyway, Craig was dressed in a Santa Hat and had some jingle bells and ran across real low in front of the windows. The little kids heard it and were thrilled!
Dad always made the Oyster Stew for Christmas Eve when they moved to the Main Street house. He started with fresh oysters (only the best!) I can still see him staniding in that kitchen Christmas Eve, stirring his oysters and talking to Selma and looking over at me and winking. It was the last Christmas he spent with us. You'll have to ask Val about the Oyster Gravy he made the next day out of left over Oyster Stew. She still gags when she tells the story! Dad was a waste not want not person!
We raised our kids in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, where for $5. you could purchase a tree tag and go out in the hills and find your own perfect Norman Rockwell tree for your perfect Norman Rockwell Christmas. And we did for a few years...but somehow those trips didn't seem so perfect. Every year the right tree seemed to be a little farther up that big hill, and every year the snow seemed deeper and the weather seemed colder. Grumpy husband, a demanding wife, and four screaming kids in the back of the van is the stuff horror flicks are made of! Anyway.. the last year we went out looking for the right tree, we got stuck---really stuck. Marshall had to walk three miles to the nearest place to call his best friend to pull us out (what a guy!) Then he got bit by the farm dog. I stayed in the van with four screaming, fighting, hungry kids for over an hour. We did eventually get a tree..the first one we had looked at 5 hours earlier! The next year we purchased a perfectly lovely, green Norman Rockwell artificial tree!
Then there was the Christmas Johnny Joe Lange served up the cocktails...Everclear for me. Very funny (never did like that boy!) Not a pretty sight. But I think I said I was gonna keep this light!
Hey Shar, I think I remember you snotty older kids sitting at the top of that stairway! Probably why I still feel pretty special when I can get a snoot full of wine!
That's it for now...Merry Christmas! Bah Hum Bug! LOL!
