There’s
some evidence that Ina was nervous as Christmas approached – busy with all the “Christmas
doings” and the deadlines, etc. – but it seems to me that the country Christmas
is much less stressful than the town Christmas even so. Of course, Christmas comes wherever you are, and I hope you feel blessed.
Today
is the day of the school program, aptly organized and directed by Miss Dorothy Johnson,
the teacher. Sadie had a moment of sadness when she realized that her parents
would miss it, but she brightened when Ina told her that Aunt Shirley would be
there.
If
we couldn’t already imagine the program, we know what it was like because
Shirley tells us in one of her letters: On Wednesday night before Christmas
a big bobsled load of us – nineteen in all and with a four-horse team – went up
to the old schoolhouse to the school program and tree. It was lots of fun and I
believe the last I went to was when . . .
I was in the program myself back in 1923! I got a great kick out of
watching these various kids perform and make mistakes and more fun still to see
them eating candy and popcorn balls up front while the tree was being ‘had.’
– Shirley Dobson, Christmas 1932
Since
we have so much snow in our imaginary 1935, perhaps that big bobsled came
around and stopped at all the homes where people were wanting to attend the
program at the schoolhouse. Horse-drawn sleighs and bobsleds were more reliable
than cars on the snow-packed roads.
Sadie
recited her lines perfectly, as we knew she would, and added her voice, clear
and true, to the familiar old Christmas songs and carols. As the program ended,
everyone was invited to join in the singing. Then Santa arrived and handed a
gift to each student, plus a sack of nuts, candy, and an orange. The magic of
Christmas shone in the eyes of the little ones while the older ones simply appreciated
the “eats.”
A
very happy Sadie rode home on the bobsled, tucked between Aunt Shirley and
Gram. Despite the cold, she was nice and warm – and drowsy. Soon her excitement
faded and she fell asleep. Gramps carried her into the house and Aunt Shirley dressed
her for bed. But Sadie didn’t remember any of that. KW
I am puzzled about the lack of comments in the last few blogs. I haven't seen comments from the usual responders. I think the stories are great, and very interesting. Thank you, Kathy, for your diligence and wit.
ReplyDeleteChuck, it's dear of YOU to comment and tell me that you enjoy the daily episodes. However, people are busy the closer we come to Christmas. Thank you for reading and responding.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, Uncle Chuck. I'm just a binge reader when the posts come so rapidly. On the topic of sleighs, I saw a yard with an actual vintage one horse open sleigh as decoration. Pretty cool! It was much smaller than I might have imagined.
ReplyDeleteA lively conversation is fun. That's why we have Facebook, but I prefer this more private place.
ReplyDeleteA sleigh for a yard ornament would be lots of fun. There was an old buggy here at the farm, but back in the '60s, someone asked for it, and Daddy gave it to him -- just like that. Oh well.