We never bought a Christmas tree because our farm had just enough poor ground to grow some good cedar trees. It took the whole family (and our dogs, Midgee and Queenie) to select the right tree. We would drive east, up through the barn lot, past the trash dump, along the fence line to the gap that led into the alfalfa field. Along the north side of the alfalfa field, there was lots of sage grass (indicating poor soil) and plenty of good "Christmas Tree" shaped cedars. After we chose the "right" one, Dad would cut it down, trim up the bottom so it would fit in the stand, load it up in the truck bed and then we would head for the house.
Our decorations weren't fancy like folks have today. Although...I do know that history repeats itself...I have seen trees decorated this year with the old type, big bulb lights like we had back then. There were the usual glass and silk covered ornaments and the tinfoil "icicles" draped over the cedar limbs. For the top of the tree we had big tin star with a light in it that was almost more weight than the top of the tree could take! We also had a cardboard "fireplace" with some contraption in it that made it look like there was a cheery fire a'burnin'! It seems like I always got my birthday pictures (the 19th) standing in front of that fireplace...
The very first gift that I remember receiving, was some little wind-up Jeep trucks. There were two or three of them and they came with a plastic "track", maybe two or tree foot long with several "hills". You would wind up one of the little Jeeps, set in on one end of the track and it would "zippity-do-da-day" uphill and down until it ran off the other end of the track! Hours upon hours of fun!
One of the most memorable gifts I received at the farmhouse, was a "Johnny Service" gas station and garage. It was a plastic frame "building" with cardboard "walls", with a fully functional "lift" or "rack" for a car. It came with a car that you could take the engine out of, change the tires and put on the rack to change the oil!
It seems like to me, that back then when we received Christmas gifts, we actually played with them...more that just ten minutes like kid do now-a-days. We didn't have a whole room full of toys but what we had, we wore out playing with them!
I remember those cedar Christmas trees with the same kind of lights. If one bulb went out the whole set did and you had to check each socket with a good bulb until you came to the culprit. In the hills West of Poplar Bluff which had very poor soil we had a type of sage that goes by many common names such as broom grass, broom sage, sage brush, etc. It's correct name is Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon Virginicus L.) I didn't know all that then and didn't care. I just knew I had to gather up a lot of it for the hog houses for bedding. Aw the memories. :) Wayne B.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the sage grass would make good bedding for hogs...the Lord knows it wasn't good for anything else! Thanks for commenting Brother Wayne!
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