MORE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Thinking back to childhood, I often ask myself: "Did we really do that?"
Here are a few more of those things I remember from "way back then"!

* Pouring over a Sears catalog to select that one "special something" I
wanted for Christmas. One year it was a pair of roller skates which seemed
rather ridiculous considering that we lived on a dirt road, and the only time
I could use them was when I visited cousins "in town". Thinking back, it
wasn't so ridiculous because we saw those cousins at least twice a
week..... I didn't get the skates, but I did get a "pretend" nurse's kit because
of my ambition at that time to become a nurse!

* No bathtub or shower every day....We took sponge baths during the week
and then came BATH NIGHT....Saturday night....in a galvanized washtub sitting
on the floor in the kitchen in front of the wood cookstove.

* The fun of the Church "Christmas Program" in which I participated every year
from age 3 until 15. The program contained poems, songs and portrayal of the birth of Jesus in a skit. I clearly remember singing a solo part in a group song "The Friendly Beast". I was "the dove from the rafter high who cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I". And I remember the big pine tree in the front left corner of the church sanctuary, decorated with "snow" made by whipping Lux soap flakes in water, and then coating the branches with the "foam" it produced. It dried looking like real snow on the branches. The only other decorations on the tree were colored paper ornaments made by the Sunday School children in the shape of bells, stars, trees and angels. After the Christmas program, each child received a present from his/her Sunday
School teacher, and a Christmas "treat" bag provided by the church for each child...which contained an apple, an orange, a peppermint stick, a pack of chewing gum, and several pieces of wrapped penny candy! Occasionally, we would get a BIG candy bar!

* My first (and only) train ride. My mother and I rode the train from our small
hometown of King to the city of Greensboro (about 40 miles away). I remember the red
velvet upholstery of the seats and a "Dolly Dimple" doll which accompanied me everywhere I went. We visited with mother's sister (Aunt Edith) and her family, and my grandfather came by car and picked us up to take us home the next day!

* Trekking to the woods with my daddy or older brother to find that "perfect
tree" to be decorated in our living room. I remember it was usually a beautifully formed small cedar tree, but I also remember how those branches scratched when the needles had dried.

* The delicious smells of Christmas....Mom baking in the kitchen... fresh yeast rolls. fresh coconut being ground for that mile-high cake, mincemeat pies, ginger snap coopies, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and mixed in with all that the smell of the Christmas tree, and the burning wood in blazing fire in the fireplace.

* ALL of the family gathering at Grandma and Papa's house for a special meal
and exchanging "presents" with all the cousins. Papa would read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke and Aunt Edith would play the piano as we all sang Christmas carols. Papa would fall asleep on the sofa in the midst of all the noise and all the kids would be amazed that he could sleep...snoring loudly....with his eyes wide open!

* Neighbors popping in at any hour of the day for a cup of wassail and a cookie, usually bringing a gift of homemade jelly or relish or plate of cookies for the family to enjoy.

* Making and sending home-made Christmas cards to friends who lived too far away to join us for Christmas.

* The difficulty of going back to school after the holidays were over.

Precious memories. These are the things money can't buy, but are the most treasured of my possessions. I am blessed.

More to come later....