INA AND THE GINGERBREAD PAGEANT -- DAY 12

“Now,” began Miss Johnson, getting right to the point. “I have yard goods here . . .” [That’s fabric by the yard, not yard ornaments] “. . . donated by certain merchants in town, and I wonder if I could prevail upon the two of you [Ina and Bertha] to make the costumes for the pageant.”

“Oh, we’d love to,” responded the eager Bertha, but the more reticent Ina shot her one of her withering glares.

“We need to hear more about it,” answered Ina.

The teacher then explained that she had written the pageant herself, based on a booklet, “The Little Gingerbread Man,” which was published by the Royal Baking Company some years prior. The teacher envisioned a Gingerbread Princess, the part won by Shirley Anne, dressed in a dirndl of gingerbread print paired with a bright red. She showed the sisters the dress pattern and fabric. Other children would be dressed as gingerbread people made of a soft brown knit. The teacher was honest. They would need a lot of costumes.

Ina was skeptical. The costumes weren’t practical for everyday wear -- would be useless after the pageant. She said as much.

“Oh, I know what you mean, Aunt Ina,” said Miss Johnson, “but I was thinking that since the fabric was donated, we might make costumes just this once. So many of our families are struggling right now. Some of the children won’t have much Christmas at home this year, so a good program at the school might fill a void for the whole community.”

Bertha’s eyes were shining. “We can do it, Ina,” she said (wink, wink).

And Ina admitted that yes, it might be fun – and just what the community needed. That issue settled, they began to discuss the costumes in earnest, and Ina and Bertha left the schoolhouse with fabric and patterns. KW

[Wherever did Miss Johnson find that fabric and those patterns? Probably nothing like it in 1933. In real time, the gingerbread fabric came from Jo-Ann, and the patterns are from Doll Tag Clothing through Pixie Faire (here).]