Main Sections

The Season Of Giving- Sharing An A-Z Collection Of Memories Of Christmases Past

photo by Bixby Library Digital Collection With winter snows piling up high, the horse and sleigh remained one of the safest modes of travel. Many an Addison County resident can share stories of holiday rides

photo by Bixby Library Digital Collection Winter in the Park with trees lighted for the season and snow cascading down, is one of many memorable sites we all carry with us in Christmas time memories.

photo by Bixby Library Digital Collection Giddy up Giddy up lets' go. Let's look at the snow! This photo speaks to a time when travel was a time for conversation and hearing of the jingle of the bells on the harness and seeing the beauty of a Vermont winter as the scenery passed by.

Tuesday December 3, 2013

By Cookie Steponaitis

Ramona Sullivan Forand wrote a story about going to Dalyrimple’s Store on the Main Street of the Little City with ten cents in her pocket to buy Christmas presents. Agonizing over her choices she selected gifts that made people feel special which included a book, slate, pencils or even crayons. Money did not have an allure because simply put there was not a lot of money to be had. It was about the season of giving and those who did not have money gave food or time and a sharing of self and love. While the stories shared by local historian Ann Sullivan speak of times gone by, they encompass the feelings of warmth, love, celebration and service that still ring true in the holiday season. Glancing into Christmases of the past we see images of different times and experience the feelings that transcend eras, fads and are the essence of the true meaning of the season.

   Gestures both small and timeless can be found in years of sharing memories of holiday seasons past. Mrs. Sullivan spoke at length of setting an extra place at each holiday meal and then inviting someone to fill it. Gifts were wrapped in newspaper because you did not buy something as extravagant as wrapping paper. Christmas cards evolved into a national passion, the mail system advanced and communication was a highlight of the season.

    “Maybe they should just refer to it as caroling and cookies,” joked Ann Sullivan as she shared memories of the Christmas season. “Lots and lots of people spent hours making cookies by the tray full. As caroling groups made their way down the lighted streets doors would open and people would share in the music and offer cookies and cocoa in return. Just about anyone who wanted to go would and would contribute to the joyful noise being made. People in some neighborhoods would even get together and bake together so that the variety of holiday cookies would not be repeated as the caroling continued. Today, churches and civic groups have picked up on the pie and cookie sales but for most of my life it was the neighborhood that baked and of course you had to stop to eat and visit.” Central to all the stories Sullivan shared was the sense of seeing people and spending time. Always concerned with the elderly in the village, she remembered as a child not only baking cookies but going door to door to see what chores could be done for the older members of the community. Listening to Ann Sullivan it seemed the holiday spirit in the community continued long after the tree lights dimmed. While there are not enough lines in this edition to capture all of the shared memories passed, the alphabet approach seemed fitting since it is the basic building block for human communication as is the spirit of giving to Christmas past, present and future.

(All of these items are shared memories of Addison County Christmases Past & Present)

A-   Alumni Baseball Games. These were men and women games that started in the late 1940’s and 1950’s and became social events for those coming home and those already home.

B - Brass Band that played at the Winter Ball. The Winter Ball was the first semi- formal dance of the year and held the week before Christmas vacation. The classes saved up the $125.00 and the group The Vermonters played.

C- Caroling or cookies. Take your pick because both were rooted in generations of holiday traditions.

D- Dog Team Tavern. Dinner at the famed local restaurant was a tradition and so were the sticky buns!

E- Ecumenical Services. Each church and organization celebrated their own services and many had parties and special gatherings as well.

F- Flannel nightgowns and matching ones for your doll was on every little girl’s list.

G- Giving a phone call home to an exchange student. The students at the high school would save up enough money to give cash to the student so she or he could call home.

H- Hay rides and sleigh rides. Load them up with hay, donuts, hot chocolate. Fun, fun, fun! Tractors were heavy enough on the road and the lucky ones were those fortunate enough to have horses and we were quite a load to pull. The horses were picture perfect post card Vermont with bells around their necks and snow gleaming on the ice covered fields.

I- Ice skating on the marsh by New Haven Road. Skating Parties- lots of places and on the river too. Senior boys at high school would fence it off and keep it cleared. There were logs for fire pits and kids walking over for after school skating parties. Groups played hockey and it was a good skating day when twenty four people were there.

J -Joyful music. Single, small and large groups joined in songs celebrating the season off key or not.

K-  Kindness as a gift was a way to celebrate the season. Contributions were not measured in dollars but in time, sharing and kindness.

L -“Little Legs and what goes up must come down,” referring to the wondrous sliding parties held on Congregational Hill on Water Street. The street was closed to traffic to let the kids slide. Bobsleds and sleds, one foot wide by ten feet long put on runners. We would all pile and squeeze on as many as we could. Not too many houses were there yet and behind Clark’s we went all the way down to the bottom of McDonough drive where the train track used to come.

M- Middlebury College students and Addison County residents skiing with lighted candles down the slopes in the shapes of bells, trees and other holiday formations.

N- Not sweating the big items. Just focusing on the friendships, time shared and togetherness of the season, slowing down and breathing deeply.

O- Old idea.  It originally came from private donations first. Different clubs and organizations like Home Forum and Garden Club and civic minded clubs joined in and donated money to local merchants who made sure kids had mittens and hats.

P- People looked forward to the annual school concerts and celebrations .Mrs. Springstead always put on a pageant and people came to see and listen.

Q- Quite a lot of attention to lights and decorating. “When Roland Guyette came to town the first lights on Maple Street were theirs.”

R- Ringing of the church bells to signal the end of the day and on Christmas Eve the arrival of the holiday itself.

S- Saturday matinee’s for between 12 and 35 cents. Westerns and the Lone Ranger, Gene Autry and others would be a part of the holiday celebrations.

T- Trick or Treating for Halloween began the season of giving. The children asked for donations instead of candy but the town gave both.

U- Under the cover of night people would provide food, gifts and other extras to the families that did not have the ability to have a celebration.

V- Village Crèche. “It was always there and it wasn’t about religion but about the spirit of the season. We walked into the center of town to see it. We all sang songs.”

W- Week’s School wooden cutout Christmas images. Started in September and finished in November and these were not, “as big as the Macy’s Parade but added care, color and fun to the holidays.”

X- X’s and O’s. Sharing love in all forms is the reason for the season.

Y-  “Years ago, in one of the diaries from the late 1800’s one young fellow left his home out on Hopkins Road and skated all the way to Bridport and went vacationing at friend’s house for a couple of days. Instead of horses the frozen river became a highway.”

Z- Zenith! Focused on the North Star or the brightest light on the Christmas trees in town people walked the streets and found their way home.

Perhaps the most poignant of all the memories shared by Ann Sullivan was the sentiment she closed the interview with. “Tell people,” Mrs. Sullivan concluded, “to start their own family traditions and to mix those with some from the past, blending generations and blurring lines of age and gender. Christmas in its simplest form is about the joy of sharing; sharing with each other and sharing with friends, neighbors and making memories.” Onward to the holidays we go, marching in step with the past and putting our own spin on memories and traditions to last a lifetime.

Printer Friendly

Top

Advertisements

Search our Archives