It is hard to believe that it is December and Christmas is a week away. Where did this year go?
Thinking about Christmas and growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, there are many happy memories.
Let us begin with Thanksgiving night and driving up Main Street to see the Christmas lights that have been turned on. They were strung across the street, and on occasion, a star or oversized snowflake is in the middle.
We had a Christmas parade that would bring the jolly fellow to our town. He arrived on the fire truck. Santa was taken to his little hut that was at the corner of Main and Vesper Streets, but later it was moved to the small square across from the post office. The hours were posted for December. We cannot forget the little red hut, but no reindeer were on site.
One of my very favorite memories is Toyland at the Newberry Five and Dime Store. When you walked through the doors, you turned left and went to the second floor. And there it was, rows and rows of toys. I remember the staircase being very, very narrow. In today’s world of fire inspections, I don’t think it would have passed. This is where a Wish List could be made, as Toyland had it all.
Also in our town we had a toy store known as the Tot and Toy. The only thing I can recall are the Ginny Dolls. The dolls were maybe eight inches tall and very cute. They were displayed in glass cases and were a bit too expensive for my family. Gone are the days of small hometown stores. Amazon, Walmart and Target have taken over the market.
I remember elementary school and Christmas. We would have fun making paper wreathes, candy canes, and Santas. Our party would be the last day of school for the calendar year. Included was a gift exchange that was held. Names would be placed in a basket, and we would draw out a name. I think the limit was up to $3. In those days you could get something nice for that price. It was always fun, and something all the students looked forward to. We cannot forget the Christmas Lunch in our cafeteria. This consisted of roast turkey and the trimmings. Lunch was 25 cents and mom made sure we could buy lunch that day.
The local grocery store at the corner of Bellefonte Avenue and South Jones Street always had a few large toys displayed. I remember a beautiful princess doll that was about 24 inches tall. She had on a long, sparkly, pink dress and of course a crown. Santa did bring me that.
Our family had a nice Christmas. Mom would always make sure of that. The Sears Christmas catalog would arrive way before Christmas. We would fight to get it first, go through the catalog, and give mom our limited list. It took about a week for the phone in ordered items to arrive at the local Sears store. The web wasn’t born yet.
Gone are the days of small mom and pop stores. The funny thing is you don’t even need to call the order in these days. One can go online to do the ordering and pay. Yes, the order can arrive the next day! We live in a society that does not like to wait. If what you ordered cannot be delivered in a day or two, we will look for something else.
Christmas in my hometown was full of memories. I think we had to grow much older to appreciate what we had. On the hometown Facebook page, many of us reminisce about those good old days. We agree it was a great place to grow up. Many of us have left the little town, but we have taken the happy memories with us.
Merry Christmas to all
The Blogging Grandma