In my childhood (the ‘50s), a
syndicated serialized story about Santa Claus appeared weekdays in our newspaper
during the month of December, from the first until just
before Christmas. Mother and I would read that day’s installment before I went
to school.
According to online research, these
advent serials were written by journalist Lucrece Beale. The story presented a
problem that Santa had to solve in order to meet the Christmas deadline. You can read the history of these delightful serials here – and even some of the stories.
I’m celebrating December with a
“serialized” story of my own, featuring my Grandmother Ina Dobson and her
sister, Bertha, who lived on adjacent homesteads located in the now-defunct
agricultural community of Gilbert on the breaks of the Clearwater River south
of Orofino, Idaho. I posted an advent serial in 2015 and meant to do so in 2016, but when my sister Harriet suddenly left us on Halloween, I knew I
couldn’t go through with it. Harriet, a journalist, had encouraged my writing
efforts. “I can hardly wait to find out what happens next,” she would say. And
some days I would respond, “Me, too.” Anyway, I had to give my writing muse a
little recovery time, and I think she’s ready to go forward.
This year’s story starts on November
30, 1933. (The 1933 calendar corresponds with 2017, so 1933 it is.) In those
days, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of the month. As the
story opens, Ina is reflecting on her blessings as well as feeling a little
sorry for herself. Not one of her six children will be home for Christmas, and
the pending holidays loom without purpose. The story is more fiction than fact,
but I try to capture something of an old-fashioned cozy Christmas in a time and
place where life was simpler but not without problems.[The pictures are advent calendars from my collection. We bought a new one each year, but Mother saved them.]
2 comments:
I remember your advent calendars and the newspaper Christmas serial stories. I couldn't wait for the next installment. I read them to myself, and maybe to John when he was littler. They were a major part of the Christmas atmosphere for me. Looking forward to YOUR countdown.
I love listening to my mom read stories. She read aloud to me well beyond when parents usually stop reading to their children. I will just have to imagine her voice for this series.
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