ON THIS DATE:
On This Date:
BIRTHS:
11 Jan 1643 8x great grandfather Nathaniel Gay was born at Dedham, Ma
11 Jan 1642 9x great grandfather Seabred Taylor was born at Boston, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
11 Jan 1732 9x great grandparents Caleb Benson & Deborah Barrows were married at Rochester, Ma.
11 Jan 1764 5x great grandparents Abel Moore & Betty Whitcomb were married in Bolton, Ma.
DEATHS:
11 Jan 1695 7x great grandmother Sarah (Learned) Barrett died at Chelmsford, Ma.
11 Jan 1711 9x great grandmother Hannah (Chandler) Abbott died at Andover, Ma.
11 Jan 1686 9x great grandfather Thomas Farnham died at Andover, Ma
((originally posted in December 2013))
When I was a kid the day after Christmas was a wonderful day: I knew I had a
week or so off from school and I had some new toys or games to play. If I
grew bored with them I'd just go to the library and take out some more books
to keep me occupied. If it had snowed, I'd go sledding over on Selden Street
with Barry Solomon and the other kids.
The torn wrapping paper was stuffed into empty department store bags (
plastic trash bags didn't become popular until the 1960's) and the boxes that
toys and appliances came in were hauled out by the curb for the city
trash trucks. This was how we knew what the other kids got for Christmas
or Hanukkah. Inside, gifts had to be removed from under the tree to our
rooms a day or so after Christmas so the pine needles under the Christmas
tree could be vacuumed up.
If Christmas fell on a Friday or Monday that year there'd be a round of visits
to our McFarland and McCue relatives or they'd visit us. So Christmas decorations
stayed up for several weeks, sometimes to the end of January. When we were
living on Capen St. my Mom used Glass Wax stencils to decorate our apartment
windows but she stopped after one year when cleaning the windows off was
harder than usual. Besides, nobody could see them anyway since the apartment
was on the third floor! We also only used "angel hair" to decorate the tree
once.
But eventually we'd take off the decorations, lights, and garlands from the tree
and pack them away, and the tree would be hauled out to the curbside. If it
snowed before trash pickup it might be out there an extra week or two. In time,
as we grew older, the artificial tree would be disassembled and taken down to
the cellar.
Christmas was over.
2014 Update
Since I'm a single "senior citizen" the after Christmas cleanup is minimal. After New
Years I'll put away the six inch tabletop Christmas tree and it's decorations away. Easy
peasy!
On This Date:
On This Date:
BIRTH:
3 Jan 1682 8x great grandfather John Laughton Sr. was born in Lynn, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
3 Jan 1692 7x great grandparents James Thomas & Mary Tilden were married at Duxbury, Ma.
DEATHS:
3 Jan 1698 8x great grandfather Peter Ayer died at Haverhill, Ma
3 Jan 1737 8x great grandfather Ralph Farnham III died at Andover, Ma.
On This Date:
BAPTISM:
2 Jan 1574 10x great grandfather Edmund Greenleaf was baptized at St. Mary's-la-Tour at Ipswich, England.
BIRTH:
2 Jan 1651 7x great grandmother Mary Sawyer was born at Lancaster, Ma.
2 Jan 1627 7x great grandfather Henry Ingalls was born at Skirbeck, England.
MARRIAGES:
2 Jan 1688 7x great grandparents Benjamin Barker & Hannah Marston were married at Andover, Ma.
2 Jan 1738 6x great grandparents Nathaniel Dana & Abigail Dean were married at Boston, Ma.
DEATHS:
2 Jan 1743 7x great grandfather Samuel Ayer died at Haverhill, Ma
2 Jan 1754 7x great grandmother Martha (Conant) Perkins died at Plympton, Ma.
2 Jan 1692 8x great grandfather Francis West died at Duxbury, Ma.
2 Jan 1682 8x great grandmother Sarah (Pitney)Thomas died at Marshfield, Ma.
Today's List has three New Year's babies and a birth and marriage on the same day.
On This Date:
BIRTHS:
1 Jan 1643 9x great grandfather Jeremiah Swain was born in Charlestown, Ma.
1 Jan 1707 7x great grandmother Hepzibah Stimson was born at Reading, Ma.
1 Jan 1702 6x great grandfather Moses Coburn was born at Dracut, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
1 Jan 1651 9x great grandparents John Lovejoy & Mary Osgood were married at Andover, Ma.
1 Jan 1643 10x great grandparents Henry Rice & Elizabeth Moore were married at Sudbury, Ma.
1 Jan 1698 7x great grandparents John Moore & Hazadiah Fairbanks were married at Concord, Ma.
DEATH:
1 Jan 1669 8X great grandfather William Barstow died at Scituate, Ma.
1 Jan 1777 5x great grandmother Mehitabel (Abbott) Abbott died at Andover, Ma.
ON THIS DATE:
MARRIAGES:
29 Dec 1748 5x ggp Moses Barrows Jr. & Deborah Totman were married in Plympton, Ma.
29 Dec 1789 4x ggp John Ellingwood Sr. & Zerviah Abbott were married in Andover, Ma.
DEATHS:
29 Dec 1711 9x ggm Sarah (Alcock) Giddings died in Gloucester, Ma.
29 Dec 1658 11x ggf William Johnson died in Charlestown,Ma.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
28 Dec 1639 9x ggm Sarah Alcock was born in Dedham, Ma.
MARRIAGE:
28 Dec 1670 8x ggp Richard Willis Jr & Patience Bonham were married in East Bridgewater, Ma.
DEATHS:
28 Dec 1673 9x ggm Grace (Lee) Fairbanks died in Lancaster, Ma.
28 Dec 1728 10x ggm Mary (Newton) Johnson died in Marlboro, Ma.
28 Dec 1715 8x ggm Mary (Dunster) Willard died jn Charlestown, Ma.
Christmas Eve was sometimes hectic in our family, especially
those years when we lived in Dorchester, because Mom and Dad
would drive around to Mom’s cousins’ houses to drop off gifts for
the kids. Sometimes my sister and I went along but as we got
older and more responsible we’d stay home while the gifts run
was made.
Then there were Christmas Eves where we were all home
and spent the night wrapping presents for each other or other
relatives. I think I liked those quieter nights best.
The past two decades or so Christmas Eve is spent at my sister
and brother-in-law’s house. Gifts are given out and opened and
my sister’s youngest son Mike(now in his twenties) often ends
up with the handing out the gifts duties since he’s the youngest
family member. Then there’s food served buffet style. At that
point, I am just trying to stay awake because I’ve been dealing
with the last minute shoppers at the store all day and a good
meal on top of that makes me want to take a nap. And next
day I go back over for dinner.
All in all Christmas Eves over the years have been good ones,
sometimes saddened by losses of loved ones but we all enjoy
being together and relaxing after the end of the Christmas rush.
2009 Update: A new tradition began last year with the Christmas
Eve festivities moving to the home of my niece Sarah and her
husband Steve. And this year I am actually having a day off on
Christmas Eve, so I won't be so tired and sleepy!
2010 Update: Christmas Eve will be at my sister's this year and I'm
looking forward to some lasagna. I expect that Michael will be helped
with giving out gifts this year by my 2 year old grandnephew Noah!
2011 Update: Christmas Eve will again be at my sister's house and
there will be lasagna! One change this year: since the bookstore closed
I haven't been working the Christmas shopping rush so I may not fall
asleep as early as I have in past years!
2012 Update: Christmas Eve was at my sister Cheryl's house with her
family and my brother Phil and his oldest son Phil. It was a great evening
and much lasagna was eaten.
2013 Update: Christmas Eve will be at Chery & Pete's house tonight with
gift opening and food. Christmas Day will be at my nephew Paul's house
One nice change the past few years since my retirement is not having to
work on Christmas Eve. There were nights where one manager at the
Borders store would take FOREVER to close down the store, so it
might be two hours before the unlucky few of us working the close
could go home. Luckily, the other two managers I worked for there
in later years were just as anxious to get home as the staff was, so
we were out pretty quickly. And there was the Christmas Eve we
were all out of the store, the alarm was armed, and all the cash
registers were already locked away in the safe.... and two teenagers
ran up and asked if the store was still open and could we sell them
a cd they needed. No, we didn't reopen the store. If we had, there
would have been more people showing up and wanting to come in.
Ah memories...
2014 Update:
Looking forward to tonight at Cheryl & Pete's. This will a special Christmas
as it's the first for their new granddaughters Lillianna and Abigail. And the
torch has been passed by Mike to a new generation as their grandson Noah
now handing out the gifts to everyone.
2023 update:
It's been a few years (due to Covid) since the last time I'd done Christmas Eve. This year it was at Paul and Jenn's home. Niece Sarah took this photo of me with the grandnieces and grandnephews.
((Originally posted in 2007))
Originally posted in 2007
You know that part of the movie A Christmas Story where
the family goes out to buy the tree and the parents have a little
argument over it? Well, I laugh every time I see it because
like so much in that film it echoes my childhood.
Every Christmas when I was younger either we’d go shopping
for a tree or Dad would buy one on his way home from work.
Now as regular readers of this blog know by now, my Dad was
from Maine. But even more than that, he had experience in trees.
He’d helped his father cutting down trees, and he’d worked for a
landscaper in the Boston area when he’d first come home from
the war. Mom would remind Dad of his experience every year
when the tree was fixed into the tree stand, the rope cut from
the branches and the inevitable big empty space was discovered.
Usually the problem was solved by rotating the tree so the empty
spot was in the back facing the wall. The lights were strung(and
here we differed from the film. We never blew out the fuses.),
then the garlands, the ornaments, and the icicles. Finally the
angel went up on top of the tree and we were all set. With
judicious watering the tree would last us until around “Little
Christmas” at which time it would be undecorated and deposited
curbside to await the dump truck.
Of course our tree paled in comparison to the giant my Mom’s
Uncle Tommy and Aunt Francis had in their home down in
Milton. It was so big they cut the top off and the branches didn’t
taper at the top. They were all the same size: large. I could
never believe they'd gotten that big a tree into the house in the
first place!
Then the first artificial Christmas trees hit the market and Mom
began vowing she was going to get one as she vacuumed up pine
needles from the rug. Eventually we did but that provided us
with new challenges, such as assembling the tree.
As we all grew older the prospect of trying to get the tree
together became less enchanting and so it too was replaced, this
time by a small ceramic musical tree that was lit from within by
a light bulb. I used that tree myself for several years after Mom
died although I felt no great urge to wind it up for the music. It
lasted until a few years back when I dropped it and the base
cracked.
Its replacement is a small artificial tree that I bought at work with
my employee discount along with a garland. Last year some
friends sent me some snowmen ornaments for it. I haven’t put it
up yet but think I will this weekend. It fits on top of the tv.
And at some point over the holidays I’ll see that scene from A
Christmas Story again and grin.
2009 update: I bought a small string of battery powered lights
to add to my tree last week!
2010 update: I lost my Christmas stuff in my move last April so
I'll be picking it up another one at work soon.
2011 update
I bought another teeny Christmas tree with lights and ornaments
at Borders. Since the company closed, it will remind me of my
store when I set it out each year.
2012 update
I haven't put up my teeny Christmas tree yet but plan to do it this weekend.
2013 Update
I'll be putting the tree out tomorrow. I may have to buy a new string of
lights this year since some of the teeny weeny bulbs may have died last year.
2014 Update
I haven't put the teeny Christmas tree up yet again. I think I will do
it tomorrow, though.
2015 Update
The teeny Christmas tree will go up this weekend as soon as I decide
where it will go this year.
2018 Update:
I
still have the teeny Christmas tree which I haven't put up yet.. I may
spring for maybe a few of those electric candles for my apartment
window, though.
2019 Update:
I'll probably put the teeny tree up this coming weekend.
2020 Update:My windows are being replaced this week so I'll put the tree out after the mayhem is over.
2021 Update:
I bought a new foot tall tree and will add the ornaments to it tomorrow.
2023 Update
I bought a porcelain tree with minivillage that were on sale on Amazon after last Christmas.
;
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I once worked several years
for a New England based toy store chain. At the end of the
Christmas Party my first year there(this would be the year before
the incident with the car and the tractor trailer box)I was called
into the warehouse office and told that they didn’t need me there
after the holiday but they could use me at the Dedham
warehouse where they stored all the returned damaged toys.
So the week after Christmas I found myself in a small warehouse
amidst stacks of Chatty Kathy’s and See and Say’s and Barbie
dolls. Sleds that just needed to have a screw or bolt replaced
were broken up with sledge hammers.
It seemed like such a waste when I found out the other toys
would be returned to the toy company for credit. Couldn’t the
sleds be repaired and given to kids?
No, I was told. I won’t tell you the reason I was given because it’s
pretty disgusting but given the nature of retail it’s not surprising.
So I went from being a Santa’s helper to being the Grinch’s
henchman.
Eventually I was sent back to the main warehouse. A year later I
left the company and found another job.
And the toy store chain? It went out of business a year or so
afterwards.
I like to think of that as a cosmic lump of coal in their corporate
stockings.
2011 Update: That reason that the company person gave was
that if people got the repaired sleds free they wouldn't be spending
their money at our stores to buy new ones. When I pointed out that
a lot of people couldn't afford to buy a lot of gifts I was told that
parents would find a way to spend money on their kids so they'd
have a good Christmas, including folks on welfare.
The only good thing I can say about that whole conversation was that
it took place long after the Christmas holidays so it didn't ruin the
Christmas spirit for me that year.(That came years later when I
started working in retail on the sales floor.)
2013 Update: For those wondering what company did this, it was
Child World. It's been about 25 years since they went out of business
now.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTHS:
20 Dec 1640 11x ggm Sarah Maverick was born in Charlestown, Ma.
20 Dec 1661 8x ggm Sarah Chandler was born in Andover, Ma.
20 Dec 1662 8x ggf Benjamin Abbott was born in Andover, Ma.
20 Dec 1681 8x ggm Elizabeth Lazell was born in Hingham, Ma.
MARRIAGES:
20 Dec 1644 8x ggp George Bonham & Sarah Morton were married in Plymouth, Ma.
DEATH:
20 Dec 1644 9x ggf John Kelley died in Newbury, Ma.
20 Dec 1681 9x ggf John Prescott died in Lancaster, Ma.
20 Dec 1768 7x ggf John Bancroft Jr. died in Lynn, Ma.
20 Dec 1756 6x ggf Mark Perkins was born in No. Bridgewater, Ma.
Originally published in Dec. 2007.
ON THIS DATE:
DEATHS:
19 Dec 1707 7x ggf Robert Barrows died in Plymouth. Ma
19 Dec 1886 2x ggf Patrick Kelly died in Edinburgh, Scotland
19 Dec 1702 8x ggm Mary (Wilkes) Woodbury died in Beverly, Ma.
ON THIS DATE:
BIRTH:
18 Dec 1674 6x ggf John Collins was born at Eastham, Ma.
DEATHS:
18 Dec 1620 10x ggf James Chilton died on Mayflower in Provincetown, Ma.
18 Dec 1685 8x ggf John Clarke died in Lynn, Ma.
18 Dec 1662 11x ggf Isaac Morrill died in Roxbury, Ma.
18 Dec 1696 9x ggm Hannah (Larkin) Johnson died in Marlboro, Ma.
Every Christmas Mom would break out the Andy Williams
Christmas Album to play on the stereo. There was also a Nat
King Cole album and a Mitch Miller “Sing Along With Mitch”
Christmas edition. But for me, even rock and roll dinosaur
that I am, it’s the Andy Williams album that “feels” like
Christmas to me. I need to hear that "It's the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year."
As I’ve gotten older and my musical tastes expanded, I find
myself listening to New Age and Celtic Christmas music. And
Josh Groban just put out a holiday album that we’ve played at
the bookstore since Thanksgiving and it’s easy on the ears.
As for caroling, well, there are some things that one should
never do in public and in my case, singing is one of them!
2010 Update: I splurged this year for the "Now That;s What
I Call Christmas Essentials Collection." It has the Andy Williams
song and Nat King Cole's version of "Christmas Song" on it,
and I plan to play it Thursday afternoon on my day off!
2011 Update Now that Borders has gone out of business and
I avoid the radio stations doing the "All Christmas, All the Time"
since mid-November, I haven't burned out on Christmas music
as early as previous years. But unfortunately, I am now tired of
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Staples use of it
in the back to school ads was funny. But this year, the song has
been overused by retail stores and car dealerships so much
that it's like beating a dead reindeer! Bah, humbug!
2012 Update: My favorite piece of Christmas music this year
is this performance by Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Mariah
Carey. It makes me smile.
