Childhood holiday memories frequently appear in our oral history interviews, as well as in journals and scrapbooks in our History Center’s archival collection. These were times filled with gatherings, delicious food, the spirit of generosity, and memorable moments with loved ones. Taking a look at these recollections reminds us that these enjoyable times are long-standing traditions in our community.
Minnie B. Walker Payne was born in 1926 and grew up in the south Bossier Parish community called McDade. She remembered when her father would hook up the mules to the wagon at three in the morning to go to Shreveport to buy Christmas toys, such as dolls, little cooking sets, and wagons.
Mathilde Gatlin McLelland, also from McDade, remembers her childhood during the Great Depression as “a time when my parents started looking so worried.” So, she was amazed as a seventh-grader that they managed to give her a bicycle. She couldn’t wait to ride it – and rode it right off the porch into her mother’s rose bush!
Rupert Peyton, a newspaperman and a historian of Bossier Parish history, wrote “Of all the seasons of the year Christmas time was the most enjoyable. Though we seldom received many presents such as toys, we always had plenty of good things to eat, oranges, apples and candies. It was also the time for feasting of such things as roast turkey, cakes and pies. Eggnog was one of the delights of the day for both old and young. The older folks would spike the nog with whiskey which they drank and it added to the gayety of the occasion. We children, however, got no whiskey in our not, it was served to us unspiked, but that made little difference with us children.”
“It also meant family reunions, we usually gathered for Christmas day at some relative’s home there to play and enjoy ourselves with our many cousins. One of our favorite sports at this time was shooting firecrackers and we were always warned to be careful with fireworks and never did we have an unfortunate accident.”
Gloria Daigle Roberts awoke one Christmas morning in disbelief – the living room was wall-to wall, floor-to-ceiling presents, “like we never knew that it was the Depression or that we didn’t have anything.” John Williams, born in 1920, remembered his mother kept the children’s Christmas presents locked in an “armie” (armoire). He knew it was always things to eat, which they would find in their stockings – an apple, an orange, and a few pieces of candy. When his mother went into town for Christmas, she would buy all the cloth needed to make his sister’s clothes. She would cut, he would sew and his sisters would get their new clothes for the year at Christmastime.
Clark Strayhan of Brushy in North Bossier Parish said Christmas was very frugal in their household but they always got something. The present that made the most impression on him was the pedal car he wanted so badly. “In those days [there] wasn’t any such thing as antifreeze at night. If it was going to freeze, you either drained your radiator or you covered it with blankets and quilts. I got this little pedal car and boy, it was pretty and Santa Claus had covered the motor up with a quilt to keep it from freezing. That tickled me and I said, ‘Look what Santa Claus did!’”
From the staff of the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center, we wish you all the best this holiday season! If you have any information, stories, or photos about Christmas and other holiday traditions in Bossier Parish, we would love to add them (or scanned copies) to our History Center’s research collection. Contact us at 318-746-7717 or email history-center@bossierlibrary.org or visit us at 2206 Beckett St., Bossier City. We are open: M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. For other intriguing facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok,
No comments:
Post a Comment