I was hoping that I could compile and share several Christmas Past memories from our classmates, but I didn't get much of a response. Many people said that they didn't have time or couldn't think of any Christmas memories connected to our high school years, and it made me think back and I found that I, too, couldn't really come up with many memories of celebrating specifically with our classmates, which I wish wasn't the case.
So, I decided that I would write about some memories of Christmas from our high school days, and I hope my memories will bring some of your memories to your heart and mind, too!
What about those shiny aluminum silver, white and pink trees (the first artificial Christmas trees). Where did your family buy your Christmas trees - we bought our's from a family from Oregon that had their lot on Hawthorne Blvd. - these were beautiful, fresh Oregon trees. Remember shopping in Old Town in downtown Torrance? Remember those red bells?
Who would drive down Candy Cane Lane where the neighbors went all out with their yard decorations? The Christmas concerts at WHS were always a favorite of mine - days when our choirs and band performed traditional Christmas carols and songs that spoke about the birth of Jesus, because even if there were non-believers in the audiences, everyone respected the traditional "reason for the season."
What about the "great songs of Christmas" by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis (just to name a few)?
Who had seasonal jobs at stores like Zody's, May Company, White Front, etc.? I babysat a lot during the year and saved money so I could buy Christmas gifts. Who's Mom used the "lay away" plan at Lerners and/or other retail stores . . . paying a little every week until the items were paid off? No credit cards back then - and no debt either - smart shopping sense.
Who was in love at Christmas? Bob's and my first Christmas together was in our Junior year and for me it was a "magical" Christmas. I was in love and I couldn't wait to buy him his first Christmas gift. When I counted my money, I was thrilled (even giddy) that I had enough ($50 as I recall) to buy him an authentic black, wool London Fog coat, which I wish he still had. He looked so handsome in that coat!!!
Bob's gift to me was a blue and white parakeet that I named "Bo-Bo." Bo-Bo came fully equipped with a cage, toys, food and treats. I was so excited, as our green and white parakeet, Pretty Pete, had died a few months before and Bob knew I missed that bird. The kind-of-funny-part, however, was that Bo-Bo turned out to be a very old bird and he didn't make it through the New Year. I wondered about his age, because he had long claws that curled all the way around his perch and he just seemed to have some cognition issues, as he kept butting his head in the corner of the cage. It was so sad, when he died, but, as we remember that first Christms together, Bo-Bo has become one of those funny Christmas gift memories.
In our Senior year, Bob and I went to Big Bear after Christmas to ski with a group of my mom's closest friends and I bought us matching, knitted sweaters. He was such a good sport about wearing the sweater, but I couldn't get him to wear it at school and/or anywhere else for that matter. Those sweaters would be "ugly Christmas sweaters" and such a great keepsake memory! -LOL
What about those Christmas elves that were everywhere? And, how interesting that the Elf on the Shelf came out a few years and it is all the rage . . . maybe we should have kept more of our old Christmas decorations, they'd be "vintage" right now - - like us!
Who had these lights on their Christmas tree? Hey, all you firefighters - how flammable were those lights? Our's sure got hot and girgled a lot!
Selecting, signing and sending Christmas cards (a seemingly fading tradition) was a big deal, and Sees candy was considered an extravagant gift.
For our family, wearing a new Christmas outfit each year was a must. How many of us girls wore a red bow in the middle of our "do" at Christmas? I did and now I have to go to my Mom's and go through her photo albums to find the picture of me in my red bow. That would be a "hoot," as Dana Marshall-Nelson always says!
Al Shriver emailed me his thoughts about Christmas memories in high school, and it made me wonder how many of our classmates/friends were going through something similar to what he was going through, because of the loss of a parent (as Sharon Oglesby, and I had) or some other situation?
His reflections made me think of classmates/friends I knew were going through difficult times who seemed to always have a "happy face," and I wonder now if that was courage or a desire to deny what was happening to them? How many of us celebrated Christmas with a measure of sorrow in our young hearts or while dealing with real life issues that most of us knew nothing about?
"As for my Christmas thoughts, you probably remember how painful that time was for me, having lost my Dad on Christmas Day, 1961. While we still did Christmas every year after that, it was just never the same, and far from being happy and cheerful. I carried that with me for a very long time, well into adulthood and parenthood, before I got it all straightened out in my mind. I know we all have to deal with loss, but as a 13 year old, I just didn't do it very well, at the time. The one pleasant memory I do have of Christmas during our school years was hearing your beautiful voice singing every year at the many Christmas concerts and pageants that we all attended. Even way back to Carl Steele, so if nothing else, "Thanks For The Memories." -Al
Don't we wish that we had known more about one another in high school, so that we could have been more aware and considerate of those in our Class who needed a little extra Christmas cheer? I know I do!!
I can still see and feel our home at 4807 Halison Street lit up and decked out at Christmas. Most of all, I am warmed by remembering the times spent in that home with our family, friends and neighbors gathered around the piano, as my Mom played and we all sang our favorite Christmas carols like White Christmas, Joy to the World, Silent Night, Winter Wonderland and Silver Bells.
Our home was always filled with music and we played our Christmas 33 rpm records over and over and over again into the New Year. My little brother, Rusty, and I would go to sleep by playing our favorite Christmas records on our "high fi" record players or listening to our "clock radios" each night and our Mom would always play "O Holy Night," "What Child is This" and so many more lovely Christmas songs on the piano, as we went to sleep. Though our little 3-bedroom, 1 bathroom home didn't have a fireplace, there was a warmth and glow that filled our hearts and home at Christmas that I will never forget and will cherish all the days of my life.
In preparing this Blog, I was hoping that I would fill the pages with YOUR Christmas Past memories from your time in high school and the streets where you lived. How I looked forward to reading YOUR thoughts and memories. If you'd like to share some of those memories now, don't hesitate to email them to me @rockymtngreens@comcast.net and I'll be pleased to post them in a New Year blog. Be sure to attach any related pictures you might have, too - how fun it would be to see YOU in your Christmas best!
May this be one of your most cherished Christmas seasons, and I hope this Blog has encouraged you to reflect back for a little while on Christmas Past during the 1960's; I found it to be a blessing and good for this "old" soul!"
"God Bless Us Everyone!"
With Christmas Blessings and Hugs,
Angie Ford-Green, Class of '65
Your Devoted "Kinda-Smoke Signals" Blogger
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