HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1953-12-03, Page 3THURSDAY, DECEMBE2t-Srd,1953
Christmas Holidays Of The 60's
and 70's Days of Good Fellowship
By Gavin Hamilton Green in :'TThe
Old Log. School"
Yes, the pioneers had a Santa
Claus, but he travelled light, Ha
was not -overloaded with luxuries,
as he travels today. But joy, hap-
piness and good -fellowship were
in -the air, and both Jack and his
master ate at the same table in
those good old days. You could
buy a gallon of whiskey for one
dollar, and a keg. of Wells' beer
for one dollar and -'a quarter, and
if you wished to hog it and have
a cheap drunk you could have one
for about one York shilling (12'/i.
cents). All of these drinks you
could have without a government
permit.
The first Christmas I "remember
.was '66. My parents lived .near
Dungannon, in the house where
Bobby. Hamilton lives at present.
I had an aunt from Michigan visit-
ing at our house this Christmas;
she had a little girl named Sadie
about my age. I did` not know
anything about Santa Claus then.
Christmas morning I got some
candy and nuts in my stocking and
a toy called a jumping jack (you
pulled a string and he sprawled
his arms and legs around). Sadie
got a nice little doll with a red
dress and gold braid. Well, I
wanted the doll. I wanted Sadie
to trade and give me the doll in
exchange for my jumping jack.
jump-
ing
would not, so I gave the jack to my younger brother,
David, and in about ten minutes
it was all in pieces. I began a
howling match, as they called it in
those days, and to pacify me my
father had to go to the village to
Johnny Roberts' store and buy me
a doll with a red dress. My
mother and my aunt tried- to shame
me and called me a little girl,
nursing my dol1;,;but I stayed faith-
ful to the doll with the red dress,
and after threescore years if I
happen to pass a toy shop window
I stop and look for a doll similarly
clothed. And if I see one of those
dolls walking on the street—well!
well! my fancy still runs. to the
doll with the red -dress that I cried
for on that first Christmas morn-
ing that I remember.
Before the next Christmas came
around I found out somehow that
there was a Santa Claus and that
he came down the stovepipe,
through the stove and out the stove
door, to put presents in our stock-
ings. Now, in those days we had
one of the old high oven stoves
called the Clinton Airtight. David
aid I could figure°out that Santa
could get down the stovepipe if he
was small enough, but how he Was
to get around the old oven and out
4.
the stove door was a mystery to
us. But David and I figured on
Christmas Eve we would stay a-
wake until father and mother went
to bed, then we would get up and
take the stovepipe off the stove,
so that Santa would not have to
go through the stpve; but kind
nature stepped in alid we dropped
off to sleep, to, find to- our surprise
when we awoke in the morning
that Santa had been there and
filled our stockings. But how
Santa got around the oven of that
old high oven stove was a mystery
to David and me for years.
I remember David and ine get-
ting from Santa Claus that Christ-
mas a juvenile book each with the
A, B, C's in colors and each letter
represented by characters in colors,
with a rhyme for each letter of the
alphabet. We learned these off
by heart, and I remember the
rhymes to this day. It may amuse
some of the younger children and
may refresh some of the older
people's minds and carry them
back to their childhood Christmas
days, so 'I will insert them below
as I remember them:
• was an Archer that shot with a
bow, e o
B was a Beggar with tale full of
woe,
C was a Candyman that sold lots
of sweets,
D was a Drunkard that slept on
the streets,
E was an Elf that danced with a
fairy,
F was a Fox both cunning and day
ing,
G
1
was a German that drank lager
beer,
11 was a Hunter that just killed a
deer.
I was an Indian that shot with his
bow,
J was a Juggler that made a great
show,
K was a Knight that carried a
lance,
L was a Lady learning to dance,
M was a Music man that played a
nice tune,
N was a Negro chasing a coon,
O was an Ostrich said to eat stoner,
was a Panther that gnawed up
the bones.
Q was a Quaker that wore a broad
brim,
R was Rebecca his wife that was
thin,
S was a Stag, a species o jeer,
T was a Turk born withou gar, •
U was a Union boy that carried a
flag,
✓ was a Veteran that had but one
leg.
W was Winter, the season of snow,
X was Xertis, who has nowhere to
go,
Y was a Youth that smoked a cigar,
Z was a Zouave that had been to
the war.
One Christmas, I remember, we
lived at Dungannon, as my father
worked for Thomas Disher in the
woollen mill. Mr. Disher's an-
cestors were Dutch, and wishing
to keep up the traditions of his
-Dutch ancestors, he had a suckling
pigdressed for Christmas. I re-
mennber father taking David and
me over to Disher's to see the table
spread for the. banquet. I'repeaa-
ber the little pig standing 14 the
middle of -the table upon .a ,long
platter lookin as if it was • alive.
Now, don't mistake me; we were
got .at this banquet, but . Scotch
William McArthur and some of the
other aristocrats from the village
were there, also -Mr. and'Mrs.
Richard West from across the
river.
The week before Christmas gen-
erally, was a kind of holiday weak
at the public schools. On' the
Friday before .Christmas there was
examination at the school; trustees
and parents came to see what
progress their children had made
during the year. The trustees, and
preachers examined the pupils, and
prizes were awarded as. to stand-
ing, every pupil getting a prize
according to his merits. The prizes
always consisted of books, and they
were highly prized in those days.-'
Some of the smarter pupils gave
recitations . and dialogues, and
trustees always gave the pupils a
treat of, candies, nuts and apples,
Which were also a luxury. This
put the Christmas spirit in the air
and everybody seemed to be happy.
It was customary in k those days
to have a jug of whiskey at Christ-
mas to treat your friends when
they called; my father generally
had a jug. Also my father always
had to have a treat of a canof
oysters at Christmas holidays: they
came in a tin can sealed like a
varnish can. I remember that
there were the words 'tPackers,
Baltimore," on the cans.
My parents being Scotch, we
generally had a .. celebration on
New Year's as well as Christmas.
Mother always made currant bread
for New Year's, and when neigh-
bors and friends called they al-
ways got a piece of currant bread
with the customary glass of
whiskey. Some of - the richer
classes furnished shortbread ,with
the whiskey.
During the holiday week not
much manual labor was done; the
time was given over to visiting
friends and neighbors, and sports,
playing cards at night, sleigh riding
parties for the young people,
dances at private homes and at
public dance halls—and nearly all
country and village hotels had a
ball room for dancing. I have
attended many of these old-time
dances, both at private homes and
at public halls, and there generally
was plenty of beer and whiskey,
but I never in my time saw a young
girl at any of these dance parties
take a glass of whiskey or beer.
It would have been something
shocking for a young lady to in-
dulge in intoxicating liquor, and
very seldom did any of the boys
get the worse of liquor so that
they had to be ,thrown out. There
was always someone capable of
throwing you out if you did not
behave yourself.
Some of the old-time fiddlers of
those, days who played for these
Christmas dances were Billie Mc-
Phee, George Armstrong, . Leslie
Currell, David Haley, Albert Thur.
low. Billie Lasham, Jr., of Slab -
town, was a young nifty, classy
fiddler who generally played at
high-toned balls and weddings. I
heard him'play at my Uncle Wil-
liam' Greens when his daughter,
Annie, was married to Wattle Wat-
son, of Goderich, when j was a
boy.
Then there werethe customary
shooting matches for turkeys and
geese, rifle shooting and. shotgun
shopting. .Shotgun shooting was
generally from thirty to fifty yards
at a white card, ten cents'per shot,
and ' usually ten for each fowl.
Whoever put most shots in the
card got the turkey or goose. The
old-time shooting match that I
speak of was at Sheppardton. Bill
Lasham, Bob Ellis, Dick Fritzley
and others from'Slabtown came up
and got their shore of turkeys and
geese; but they were good sports;
as they- generally brought along a
keg of Wells' beer, all free for the.
boys. Captain Andrew Bogie, Cap-
tain Jimmy Green, and Jimmy Me -
Hardy, three sailor boys, and Joe
Thompson generally got their share
of the turkeys and geese at these
shooting matches.
Rifle shooting was also at a white
card, usually one hundred and two
hundred yards distant, and the . one
that came nearest to the bull's eye
got the goose and turkey. %re-
member Billy Young was one ,of
the crack rifle shots. He shot a
padlock off a. barn door at 100
yards. One day he was going
home from hunting near Port .Al-
bert.
Albert. He spied a dog running
across a field about 300 yards away,
and Billy thought he would take
a shot at him, not expecting to
hit him. Well, he did; and that
crack shot cost Billy the price of
a cow. The owner of the dog sued
Billy, but Billy settled; he said it
was the best shot he ever made,
if it did cost some siller.
Then there were the old-time
hunting and shooting matches,
where two parties chose captains,
about twenty on each side, on a
certain set day, `starting at h o'clock
in the morning and quitting at 4
p.m. The parties chosen walked
to the bush and hunted inside of a
certain limit. Partridges scored
30, rabbits 10, coons 40, foxes 100,
black squirrels 10, red squirrels 5,
chipmunks 5, woodpeckers 15, and
so on, and whichever side had the
game that scored the highest won.
The losers had to pay for an
oyster supper for the winners and
for fiddlers. for the ball at night.
Sometimes this supper was held at
Point Farm; this last one, was held
at Sheppardton hotel, if I remem-
ber rightly. ' Joe Thompson, of
Colborne, was one of the captains;
Thomas Johnston, of.Ashfield, was
the other captain. This was one
of the last shooting matches that
were bekl int-Asidleid or Colborne
Townships. It was -cruel sportor+
many an innocent" little sqW.rrel
and bird that came out to view the
Christmas scenes never again re=
turned to its native haunts.
Now„ as most of all these in-
cidents happened threescore. years
ago, and most of those I have men-
tioned have' gone to spend. their
Christmas in another land, there is
a sweetness creeps over me as I
think of the many . happy Christ-
mases I have spent upon this earth.
Through' the process of time there
cannot be many more. A sadness
also creeps over me when 1` think
of those Christmas seasons I might
have' made more joyous for many
'a poor creature upon the road of
life. So, dear reader, as you read
this, and if -nu are still in your
youth, don let a Christmas sea-
son pass b without putting forth
'an effort to make sortie • poor and
lonely person happy upon a Christ-
mas -Day. Then, if you live to be
threescore and ten, you will have
nothing but sweet recollections of
thought to carry you back over
your Christmas seasons spent upon
earth, and much joy and happiness
will go with you until you depart
to spend your...Christmases in that
land that is fairer than day.
I forgot to mention that in those
old Christmas days they did not
greet you as we do today with
"Compliments of the season," or
"Merry Chritttnas." It was this
way:"Christmas` box on you, Tom"
(or Mary), and the one that got the
first craek at the box won. The
other' was supposed to give a pre-
sent of a box or some other article.
So Christmas box on you, one
and all!
P.S. All those whose names I
have mentioned in this Christmas
story have gone to . spend their
Christmas in that land beyond the
sunset, blit my cousin Sadie Kerr,
my brother David 'and I, all of
whom have seen 90 Christmases
come and go—some of them merry,
some o e sa
d some at
home sweet
home and some in foreign lands.
And as I write these few lines
(November 13, 1953) I seem to see
the last- Christmas mile post in
sight. However, may you one and,
all have a Merry 1953 Christmas
and a Happy New Year in 1954.
GAVIN HAMILTON GREEN.
In a year, 940 million soda
straws, 362 million ice cream cones
and 17 million pounds of salted
peanuts are manufactured in Can-
ada.—Quick Canadian Facts.
Tropical rain forests compose
about one-half of the world's for-
est area. Far from being impene-
trable, the --Mingles are" fast being
destroyed by man.
From 1939 to 1952 the national
public debt increased from $3,152
million to $11,185 million.—Quic!�
Canadian Facts.
' Mrs. Edmond Laborite, left. and her twin sister. Mrs. Arthur Danse:eaa.
celebrated their 90th birthday last month, kesidents of Vercheres, they
are. believed to be the o'dest twins living in Canadf.
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