December
1936
Ina
put the magazine down and rose to stoke the fire. If nothing else, she enjoyed
the reveries this article sparked, and she decided to keep the fire burning a
while longer.
“As
the evening slips away,” the article continued, “some of my guests leave for a
candlelight service, where they join in singing the glorious old carols that
are so much a part of every Christmas Eve.” Ina
had heard of Christmas Eve services in the cities and wished she might attend
one sometime. Here in the country where the minister came but once a month, if
that, such a service was unheard of. 
And as for singing carols, when Vance was home the farmhouse was filled to the rafters with beautiful booming piano chords. Such strong accompaniment seemed to give confidence, and everyone sang out in loud voices. Without Vance’s touch, it just wasn’t the same, and Ina reflected sadly that Vance had not been home for Christmas since 1925. But Ethel had a fine alto voice and was an experienced church choir leader. She might lead the singing of a few carols.
[The
photograph is of my dad, Vance, taken in Raymond, WA, in 1936. The
illustrations are from the booklet, Christmas Carols, published by
Whitman Publishing Company in 1938 and 1952. The illustrations always sparked
my imagination, and I suspect my mother was responsible for that. During the
days before Christmas, I would choose this book for story time, and Mother
would read the pictures and the carols to me. And when I was old enough to
learn to play carols on the piano, this was the book I used.] KW
4 comments:
Did the family really sing carols together? I sometimes sing to carols on the radio when I'm in the car but I'm not very good at remembering lyrics.
I think families in that time frame made their own music. Nowadays we have access to so much good reproduction of professionals that it has caused us to become unappreciative of our own "joyful noise."
I have no proof that the family sang carols together -- just drew conclusions from what I know. I have fictionalized the story. When it's your turn, you'll have to read the letters for yourself.
When I was about four, Mom and Daddy taught me to sing "Away in a Manger." My siblings would harmonize as I sang, and I was taught to concentrate on my part -- the melody. So, when Daddy had me sing for Aunt Ethel, she harmonized with me and was impressed that I was not distracted.
I CANNOT harmonize. I just don't know how it's done but I sure like how it sounds!
I can't sing, period. But I love to listen to harmony. :-)
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