CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

I don't remember visions of sugar plums dancing through my head, but I do remember having trouble getting to sleep. We had a coal furnace while I was growing up, so my sister and I had to wait until Daddy had stoked up the furnace and warmed the house on Christmas morning before we could get up. Our parents were always generous even though money was very tight at times, and my sister and I received numerous Christmas gifts. Grandma and Pappy lived next door, and they also always had Christmas gifts for us.

One of my sharpest Christmas day memories is of a red scooter I received as a gift. I have no reason why that gift has always been so memorable, but I do remember riding it on our sidewalk on Christmas Day. I also remember the year I got an Erector Set. I had been letting my parents know of my desire for one for weeks, and one Sunday as I pointed out an advertisement in the Sunday paper, I saw a look pass between Mother and Daddy, so I was pretty sure an Erector Set would be under the tree on Christmas morning.

We sometimes got creative in our gift wrapping. One year my sister and I were wrapping a shirt for my dad, and we put buttons on the package and drew lines showing the collar. I was expressing to my sister how clever I thought it was when she reminded me that my dad was in the next room, so I should keep my voice down.

My sister worked at Newberry's store in Somerset, and one of her areas of responsibility was Christmas candy. We always had lots of candy for Christmas, mainly chocolate. We had peanut clusters, coconut clusters, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, chocolate covered-cherries, and ribbon candy. I helped eat the coconut clusters first, and then we worked our way through the rest of the candy with the ribbon candy being finally consumed by about New Years.

One Christmas season I worked in the toy and sporting goods department of Newberry's. I enjoyed the job and was especially pleased one day as I sold a Polaroid camera to an older couple. They were unsure of their ability to properly use the camera, so I spent a good deal of time explaining its operation and assuring them that they could handle it. They bought the camera, and I was pretty pleased with myself; however, the next day they brought the camera back and explained to me that it was really just too heavy for them to carry around. My duties at Newberry's that Christmas were not limited to the toy and sporting goods department. It was the tradition of the time for the local churches to give the children in the church boxes of Christmas candy. Newberry's sold the candy to many of the churches, and that Christmas it became part of my job to help my sister get the individual boxes packed for all the churches.

Christmas afternoon we always visited lots of homes in Kantner to see how friends had decorated their trees and their homes. I always looked forward to visiting John Weible's house as he had an electric train with houses and other town accessories. The exciting part was the stream that he had running through the town. He actually used a pump to keep the water flowing. I was also interested in seeing all the presents my friends received.

My junior-high-school attempt at special outdoor decoration ended in failure, or should I say incompletion. I decided to spell “Merry Christmas” with pieces of a tree branch about an inch thick and cut to several inches in length. My idea was to paint them red, nail them to a white board, and put it on our front porch. Well, I couldn't hold the pieces of branch in one place long enough to get the nails through them. Every time I hit the nail with the hammer, the wood would slide away. Sooo, I finally gave up. Maybe I should have started before December 24.

When I went away to college, Grandma and Pappy bought me a portable typewriter for Christmas. I used that typewriter for years. It was an Olympia typewriter, was not electric, but it had a carrying case. To save space (I guess) the manufacturer didn't have the number “1” on the keyboard – the letter “l” was used instead.

Decorating the tree was a family affair, especially when it came to the icicles. Stringing them so that each individual icicle would drape from one branch to another was always a favorite trick of mine. It was received better than my other favorite trick – standing back and throwing icicles a handful at a time at the tree. One year my dad put the tree in the center of the living room. There was no hiding the always present “bare spot” on the tree, but it was fun to be sure the tree looked good from all sides. Everyone in town put wreaths in their windows. The more windows you had, the more wreaths you had to buy. I always enjoyed seeing all the wreaths.

If I were to continue my Christmas memories beyond my teenage years, this blog would get quite unwieldy because of the great joy, great times, and great memories of Christmas once the beautiful Norma Peden agreed to become Norma Croyle. You see, marriage and children don't add to Christmas and lifetime memories, they multiply them.

THOUGHTS ON HELPING MY SISTER MOVE

THOUGHTS ON HELPING MY SISTER MOVE

First, I would like to state that my sister has many good friends who spent major parts of a weekend helping her move. I'm thankful for them and thankful to them. It wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly as it did. There were those who knew how to pack a moving van, thank God, and there were those who knew how to drive the moving van, and there were those who knew how to get the moving van, panel van, and pick up truck right to the door of her new place. There were those who helped pack boxes, and there were those who carried the boxes out of the old and into the new, and there were those who drove their own vehicles on moving day, and there were those who said, “Don't worry about the few extra things in the garage and the basement. We'll get rid of them for you.” WOW! They all helped BIG TIME! A great big thank you also to our son, his wife, and three children who not only have room in their house but also room in their hearts!

Kantner is a place I will miss seeing. It has always meant “home” to me. I've enjoyed Stonycreek that runs through town. I've enjoyed the woods on the hill. I've enjoyed the view across the river to Turkeyfoot, although I don't enjoy it as much now with the HUGE windmills in view. I've even enjoyed seeing and hearing the trains go up and down the track across Stonycreek. It was nice to go to elementary school a tenth of a mile down the road, and high school across the street.

Quemahoning Dam has always been a favorite spot to drive around and photograph. New Baltimore was a relaxing place to visit. The drive along the stream and through the woods was always relaxing. Driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike and getting off at Somerset is now a thing of the past. How many turnpike exits have a Harley Davidson dealership just across the road?

Flight 93 Memorial has been a place of quiet contemplation during every visit home. I am thankful for the bravery of those who gave their lives there so that others may live. It's an important part of the spirit of America.

The makers of home-made gobs and what my sister calls “cardboard pies” will have to survive without my business. I've done my best to keep sales up for you for many years. You probably could tell when I was around because sales would spike. We certainly don't have either one in Tucson, and I haven't found any in the Pittsburgh area. Somerset County also seems to be the only place where I can find Tastycake products. Ham Loaf from the market in Hooversville is really good, but I don't really picture myself driving from Pittsburgh to buy one.

I'm sorry for the times I've been “home” and haven't visited friends. We always seemed to be too busy. I'm beginning to realize what a mistake that has been. The Friday evening dinner at Hoss's has given Norma and me many good memories.

Kantner, I'll miss you. Maybe, I'll even miss you enough to take an eighty-mile drive just to drive over Stonycreek again and to see the swinging bridge in Hooversville. Thanks, Kantner, Thanks Hooversville, and Thanks, Somerset County! GO FORBES JETS!