Oh, I do wish you could be with us for Christmas, but failing that, I hope you can be with friends and have a happy, merry time. Our Christmas will be very merry, and I’m eagerly awaiting your parcel for it’s always so cleverly wrapped. Whatever you send will be lovely. – Shirley Dobson, 1932
Shirley and Henry came from town today. Henry went over to
his parents’ place to help with the chores. Shirley stayed at home with Ina to
make rolled ginger cookies from the old family recipe. Ina was glad that Shirley
was there to lend a strong arm to the stirring process.
“Remember the Christmas of 1932,” asked Ina, prompting Shirley to reminisce.
“Oh! We were ‘woozy’ with Christmas,” Shirley began. “We were so busy making things, but it was such fun to see what we could do without money. It did keep us going before Christmas, but we surely made several somethings out of quite a lot of nothings.”
Shirley recalled that she had given her dad some shelled popcorn that year, a special kind he had seen at the Mercantile. “We had so little popcorn that year – remember, Mama? – because something got so much of it. Nearly half of it must have been gone when we went to gather it. Such a disappointment for Dad!
“And that was the Christmas that Henry began to call for me
and take me to the singing practices,” said Shirley with a faraway look in her
eyes. She blushed as she remembered those special days of young love. It wasn’t
that it was so romantic – no, not at all romantic – but Henry’s “courtship” brightened
the present and was a sign of hope for the future.
“And I remember that I decorated the house with lots of boughs and the Oregon mistletoe over the pocket doors, and I was so glad that Vance sent holly which added so much to the window curtains.
“And 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! I hadn’t been to the school
program since I was in it myself back in 1923! I got a great kick out of
watching those 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.’” KW
Hmmm, you're making me hungry for some popcorn! Or popcorn balls! Or caramel corn!
ReplyDeleteMy dad was always looking to perfect his caramel corn recipe. And another recipe came my way that I just loved, but I no longer indulge. Obviously, Ina and Jack loved to "sugar" the popcorn, but I have searched for her recipe in vain. Did Ina work from memory, or did one of her daughters take the recipe?
ReplyDeleteI think family recipes are treasures, but as I've said before, my sisters gladly let me have Mother's collection of recipe boxes. The ones written in pencil in the '40s are fading, and I should probably toss or copy them.