Through the decades: Christmas memories shared
I have many happy memories of the Christmas season in Peabody during the 1930s.
One of the major attractions was the large pine or fir tree chosen from the countryside and placed in the main intersection downtown. It was here that different groups sang Christmas carols and Santa gave out his treats each year.
You always knew it was Christmas Eve when Mrs. Arnold Berns, Sr., put a real candle in each window of their Walnut Street residence and had a lighted tree on the balcony. The home now is owned by Tom and Susie Schmidt.
The sight so impressed me that 25 years later, after Rosalee and I were married, I put an electric candle in all the windows of our house at 501 Sycamore. This was done for more than 25 years.
When my brother Paul Jr., was six and I was seven years old our mother, Vivian Baker, was head of the primary department of the Presbyterian church. She made us sing "Silent Night" in German at the church Christmas program. After that we were very happy to see Santa Claus.
Many Christmas holidays the chamber of commerce would have a free matinee at the Sunflower Theater for all the kids. Of course, this brought the parents to town to shop. Most merchants stayed open fairly late on Christmas Eve.
Times have changed, but families, churches, schools, and the community celebrate the Christmas season in a sincere and grateful manner as in the years of the past.
Ross Baker
PHS class of 1943
My Christmas memories as a child in Peabody back in the late 1920s and early '30s are wonderful. Back then people didn't start planning Christmas until December.
The first or second week of December was when the big tree was brought into town and put in place in the main intersection. It was a very tall tree, almost as tall as the bank building.
Volunteers added big colored lights. Heavy wires from the top to the buildings kept it nice and straight. What a beautiful scene it was when Santa arrived and children came from everywhere to be given a sack of treats with candy and a big orange.
And as I remember, the Saturday before Christmas there was a community sing-along around the tree. Adults and children sang the wonderful music of the season.
And at the old grade school we always had a big tree in the lower hall where we gathered after we came back from lunch at home. We sang our favorite songs and carols. It is sad for me to think how the kids now don't have the joy of that activity.
Many years later when our daughter Marcia, was small she was a little doubtful about visiting Santa downtown. But she was brave enough to sit on his lap to receive her sack of candy.
She came running back to us with a big smile on her face. She said, jumping up and down, that Santa called her by name and had a finger missing just like Grandpa Joe. What joy for her to know that her Grandpa was helping Santa at his busy time of the year.
Our son Dave also was doubtful about the man in the red suit. First he checked out the candy sack to be sure it had the right things in it. Then he was convinced enough to recite his wish list.
Gwen Gaines
PHS class of 1944
While growing up in Peabody in the 1950s, the Christmas season was always a very special time of the year. Few of us had to leave town to go Christmas shopping. Almost everything we needed was here.
I can remember that all the stores on Main Street were open on Saturday night.
It was always exciting when Hugenin's Grocery got its shipment of Christmas candy. There were big boxes of chocolates and pretty ribbon candies of all kinds. Each box had a scoop and we scooped out what we wanted and put it in little brown paper bags next to the candy.
Keller's Clothing store was like a mini-department store that sold overalls, kids' clothes, work shoes, suits, gloves, and other practical items. We shopped there for men and children. Stovall's Dry Goods and Betty's Department Store carried merchandise for women. These businesses provided many of the gifts that were under the tree Christmas morning.
The real wishing for kids came from the mail order catalogs like Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward, delivered by the letter carrier. We always had a "wish list" and felt like Santa Claus had really found our house when we got a couple of things from that list.
At school Christmas preparations didn't begin until after Thanksgiving. There always was a school Christmas program that included a play. We made decorations for the big Christmas tree in the first floor hall of the old Peabody Grade School (K-8).
During the week before Christmas all the classes would gather in the hall first thing in the morning and sing carols. Students in the lower grades stood around the tree, but those in the upper grades got to stand on the stairs going to the second floor. It was a big deal when we were old enough to stand on the stairs to sing.
When I reached high school in 1960s most of the Christmas activities centered on school programs and activities with church youth groups.
The Christmas formal was a big event and we spent hours decorating the band room for the party.
Different school clubs and youth groups went caroling in the community sometime during the season.
Because my family always lived close, I never traveled very far for the holidays. Life was centered around the farm, church, school, friends, and family. It was a simpler time.
Santa Claus always found our house with those special gifts, and we didn't even have a chimney. About the time we were supposed to be falling asleep, my father would ring some sleigh bells, and tell us that Santa was circling, and we'd better get to sleep fast if we wanted him to land.
I remember it was a great time in my life, and I am glad I had the opportunity to grow up in a small community and remain here as an adult.
Mary Beth (Scrivner) Gaines
PHS class of 1965
I remember the store fronts lighted up with Christmas lights to signify the beginning of the season.
Don's Drug Store, then owned by my parents, had a full-sized smiling Santa standing off to the side of the door.
The hardware store window had a Santa in his bed with his belly moving up and down as he snored, sleeping soundly. I remember the many nights my parents and other merchants would keep their stores open to help out the last minute shoppers as Christmas drew near.
Santa's helper, Jesse Seibel, always seemed to know the right time to come riding down "Main Street" to hand out paper sacks filled with an apple, nuts, and some candy.
There will always be the memory of my dad hauling the illuminated Santa and his reindeer to the top of our house. A nativity scene surrounded by hay bales was in the yard and a star perched in a tree nearby.
We attended the Christmas Eve church service. My mother had a singing voice that was out of this world. She could hit notes that would send goosebumps down your arms. The sound of her voice is something I miss terribly today.
Of course, I cannot forget the school Christmas programs, the shadow box scenes, and everyone singing the traditional songs of the season. That was such a glorious sight and sound.
Christmas dinner had a bit of old world tradition at our house because we included Swedish dishes. I remember helping my grandmother and mother make Swedish rye bread which seemed to take all day. Cathy and I dreaded that.
But now I look forward to doing the same thing with my daughters. In our family, we continue to create lasting memories that emphasize the importance of family togetherness and traditions.
There are many memories that come to mind during this season. Everyone makes his or her own memories.
Do not take for granted the family that you have around you, but be thankful each day for what you have. Don't complain about what you don't have. You won't realize what you have until it is gone.
I miss my mother in all seasons, but especially now. I am thankful to be able to keep her spirit alive by teaching my children everything that she taught me.
Cindy (Lemley) Harms
PHS class of 1987
