Dorothy continues: It seemed no one made much fuss over Christmas until we got to Oklahoma City. My eyes were wide and unbelieving. I have never seen such decorations! The mansions were rimmed with lights and garlands of lights were strung from the rooftops to the streets.
My first attempt at lighting outside ended with my lights stolen. The police said I had put them out too early. They searched the neighboring area but no lights. I went to the service station just half a block from us and just "happened to mention" that we had a detective on the case. The next day we found the strings without bulbs under our shrubs.
It was in Oklahoma City where our third daughter [and fourth child, Nina, 1937] joined us and also the birthday tree became a part of our decorating. My husband found a
beautiful little tree, put it in a stand and set it on a low table. We felt the tree was so perfect it didn't need decorations. As I sat on the floor unpacking the boxes from home, when I came to a birthday gift for me (my birthday being December 27), I put it under the little tree. We always had the birthday tree after that. One time it was a white tree with all blue lights. For the years we were in Oklahoma City we also had a small tree on the buffet which sheltered all the food from home.
[During this time period], a very dear friend gave me some white sheeting and I made stockings. We had a mantel now, so we hung stockings. My mother and dad came for Christmas and we hung stockings for them, too. When it came time to fill them, my dad's hung pretty limp. Mother went into his suitcase and filled his stocking with soap, toothpaste, and anything new he had bought for the trip.
[The photo is the birthday tree at the Orofino house. I can't tell you the exact year and to some extent the year just doesn't matter. When the television set landed in that corner, it seemed a natural spot for the birthday tree and that's where it was for many years. Mother eventually decorated the birthday tree with boutique balls she made herself as well as other ornaments that were special to her, for example, the antique bell ornaments that had been Grandma Walrath's. Not only did she make boutique balls for herself but for others as well, especially her grandchildren. KW]
2 comments:
I liked the heart shaped string of lights that Grandma added to her birthday tree. We also loved all the ornaments she made for us over the years.
Mother loved to make the ornaments. In late summer / fall, when the craft catalogs showed the new line of ornament kits, she would select those she wanted to make and place her order. She would work diligently on the ornaments in order to have them ready by Thanksgiving so that she could distribute them when the family gathered. She also made snowflakes with crochet thread -- tedious work. She committed herself to this undertaking. Her day was filled with craft work so that she could meet her deadline. KW
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