If
Christmas 1935 was lackluster, the celebration of 1936 was all that Christmas
should be. Ten-year-old granddaughter Shirley Jean was visiting with her parents,
and a child in the house always makes Christmas more special. Shirley Jean was the
apple of Ina and Jack’s eyes.
Now,
don’t confuse Shirley Jean with Shirley. Shirley was Ina and Jack’s youngest child.
Shirley Jean was daughter Ethel’s only child, named after Ethel and Ernest’s
sisters. We always called her Shirley Jean, or occasionally “S.J.”
Ina
tells us: Thursday forenoon (Christmas Eve), Shirley Jean went with Ernest to
get the tree, and Dad (Jack) set it up. Shirley had come home Wednesday
evening, and from then on it really seemed like Christmas to me. Shirley, Henry,
and Shirley Jean decorated the tree, and then Shirley Jean was thrilled to be
allowed to tie on gifts.
At
bedtime, Shirley Jean hung up her stocking at the fireplace, and Dad (Jack) did,
too, as he does when a grandchild is here. Then Christmas morning, Shirley Jean
was allowed to slip down and get her sock before everyone else was up. We only
stipulated that it should not be too early. I put a book in the top of it, so
as to keep her quiet till we were up. After breakfast she was delighted to be allowed
to take off gifts and hand them around. It was another “skimpy Christmas” with
everyone well-remembered. KW
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