Milestones & Christmas Traditions
Congratulations on 500 wins for area basketball coaches Paul Bremigan and Carla Siegel. Enjoyed seeing the above photo of Paul with his first team in 1984, as well as Carla celebrating the milestone with her parents, Vern and Mary Jo, who were the coolest couple back in high school during the 1960’s.
Being all cooped up during the so called “Boom Cyclone” over the Christmas holiday, my siblings and I exchanged many texts and photos of Christmas’s past, Here’s a quick recap:
Our Christmas eve began right after all the farm chores were done, skipping the evening meal, because none of us kids would sit still enough to eat, being so anxious for Santa to come. Mom always had some last minute excuse that she couldn’t ride with Dad and the rest of us around town to tour all the lights. That allowed her to stay back and put out all the gifts from Santa. After seeing the lights, culminating with a final drive by St. Michael’s church to observe the lit rosary up-close. My younger siblings claimed I would tell them to look up as I had just spotted Santa and his reindeer flying over the church. We’d then head back home, with Dad making sure the front porch light was on indicating Mom’s all clear signal.
Before going into the living room to see our gifts, the youngest in the family had the honor of placing baby Jesus into the manger pictured above while Dad read the following bible passage led everyone in singing Silent Night. Dad had made the crib, as he was a great carpenter who had also helped make the crib at St. Michael's church pictured above on the right.
We finally would bustle into the living room to find out what Santa brought us on the chair we each had marked with our name before heading out to see the lights. Mom and Dad always had some favorite gifts on their desk as pictured below, typically a bottle of whiskey, a carton of cigarettes, some old fashion hard candy, a new white shirt for Dad and a piece of jewelry or perfume for Mom. Then at just the right time, our grandmother, uncle Bob and aunt Catherine would show up bearing more gifts. Soon we had all settled down enough for a wonderful late night meal with everyone. Fun times!
Over the years, Dad made a crib for each of our 5 families so now we carry on the tradition. He meticulously cut, nailed, glued and stained each crib, and used the straw from the barn to line the bottom of the manger. Our aunt Carolyn arranged for her sister who had a ceramic kiln to mold the white pearl figurines for each crib. On the bottom of the St. Joseph statue was the following inscription, “Christmas Mom & Dad 1980”. The next year, we each received statues of the three kings inscribed with Merry Christmas 1981. Every year at our family Christmas get-together, we faithfully follow the same tradition.
There was one Christmas memory my sisters recalled that involved turning one of the large evergreens in front of our house into a makeshift manger where they’d place baby Jesus represented by one of their doll babies in a swaddling blanket onto the evergreen. Mom was invited to particiapte, but Dad and us boys were not. Since the baby (and likely my sisters and Mom) was getting cold, they would then make a procession to the brooder house located on the other side of the barn singing Christmas carols while holding the baby doll and a decorated white feather Christmas tree that Mom used at her room in Dayton at the Loreto boarding house before getting married. My sisters presumably felt since the border house was good for baby chickens, it might also be good for baby Jesus!
On Christmas Day, my grandmother would host a family get-together at her home on the farm across the road from us. I can vividly recall her setting in front of dozens of grandkids patiently handing each one of us a silver dollar for Christmas. I never recall spending those silver dollars but have no idea whatever happened to them. Likely my younger siblings know!
After Christmas for a number of years, we’d replant the Christmas tree out back hoping it would grow, but alas it never did!. Seems roots are important.
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