AN OLD WEST MERRY CHRISTMAS!

By Caroline Clemmons

This month, several of us at Sweethearts of the West are discussing celebrating Christmas in the old West. I love the Christmas season and have looked forward to this month so much that I've taken one of our open days for an extra post.

 

With permission from Jacquie Rogers, who used the newspaper articles in a past blog  for Western Fictioneers, I’d like to start with articles that appeared in the Silver City, Idaho newspaper, The Owyhee Avalanche (with no change in their spelling, style, or grammar).

December 14, 1867

SOCIAL BALL. We had the pleasure of attending a Social Ball given at the Mechanics hall on Tuesday evening last. A general invitation was extended and a large number were present, who appeared to enjoy themselves hugely. There was good music, and the new Hall is certainly a splendid place in which to “twist your heel around.” One of the best features of the arrangement was the magnificent supper prepared and eaten at the Idaho Hotel, the proprietors of which can’t be excelled in their line of business. We return thanks for the complimentary tickets. (The Idaho Hotel is where Jacquie holds her July weekend, to which all are invited to register and attend.)

 

December 21, 1872

THE CHRISTMAS TREE. The Christmas Tree Festival will be held in Jones & Bonney’s Hall. We will stake in addition to what was said in our last issue, that the Brass Band, composed at present of Messrs. Charles Leonard, Joe Fross, Benj. Davis, Rufus King, Ferd. W. Frost and E. Douglas, will perform some of their best pieces, which will add greatly to the pleasure of the occasion.

 

The singing, accompanied by the organ, will be done principally by young girls who have learned all the music they know in Silver City, and who by virtue of talent, industry, and a good teaching have acquired, in our judgment, wonderful proficiency in the beautiful art over which the Muses preside. They are our little folks, and not imported singers, which will make it all the more interesting; that they will do their part in first-class style for their ages, we have not the least doubt, in fact, we know they will.

The tree will be a prolific one no doubt. The Argosy of Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, & Co. arrived at the port of San Francisco four days ago, as we are informed by telegram, and a large cargo of its merchandise is on its way up here and will not fail to arrive on time.

 

One of my ancestors told my mother that about 1883 she had received a cornhusk doll for Christmas. Not lavish by today’s standards but as a little girl, this woman reported she was happy to receive the doll. Her father was deceased, leaving his large family at a disadvantage. Her four brothers were industrious but times were hard. She and the sister nearest her age took care of the cooking, cleaning, and the two younger girls.

A male ancestor’s mother had died on Christmas Day in 1894. Afterward, the family did not celebrate Christmas in a traditional way. Their father thought it would be disrespectful to celebrate on the day of their mother’s death. Instead, each fall when he sold his crops, he gave each of his children cash and told each one to buy what he or she wanted for Christmas. In 1896, there was little cash and the boy had only enough to buy a bag of horehound candy, which he remembered as making him happy. The next year was more prosperous and he had enough to buy a pocketknife and horehound candy. That must have made him especially happy.

In 1937, my ancestors attended a Christmas Eve party with music and dancing. In our family now, Christmas Eve is a family time followed in past years by opening gifts before attending a church service. The idea of going to a dance instead of being with family seems strange. As unreal to me as the Hallmark movies which show the town’s tree lighting and/or bazaar on Christmas Eve. Apparently, not everyone celebrates like my family does. (By the way, I’ll continue watching Hallmark Christmas movies.)

Do you have family traditions that have been passed down through the generations? 

Leave a comment to be in a drawing for a free Christmas e-book.

Ahem… while we’re talking about Christmas e-books, I’ll share my latest release, MEG, book 20 of the Angel Creek Christmas Brides Series, set in 1870 Montana. MEG released today! Woo Hoo!

The Universal Amazon Buy Link is https://mybook.to/McClain

Meg Todd is tired of putting her happiness on hold. When she learns her bullying brother-in-law has horrifying plans for her future, she asks an attorney family friend for help escaping. Meg wants her own husband and home and is willing to move over halfway across the country to achieve her goal. Along the way she agrees to take two children for their dying mother? Is she too impulsive? Can the four of them become the happy family of Meg’s dreams?

Curtis McClain has to be careful with his small savings or it won’t fund his dream of his own newspaper. He wants a wife—and he needs someone to help him with the newspaper. If he can combine the two, then he’ll be all right. In a few years, they can start a family. But, will a woman want to move to the middle of nowhere on those terms? Will she grow to care for him in spite of his reserved nature?

Curtis is slightly annoyed when his wife shows up with two orphaned children. When he learns the amount of her inheritance, he decides she won’t be content to stay with him. The children are well-behaved but he still isn’t certain of his reaction to them. That is, until a terrifying event occurs that forces his decision and incites him to take quick action.

Stay safe, stay happy, and keep reading!