~Mary Ellen Ladd Lowery and her husband William Henry Lowery, they are my husbands' great-grandparents. The following story was written by my husband's great-aunt Esther Meyer, in 1980 and she was the oldest daughter of William and Mary Ellen Lowery.
~~~The weather had turned frigid suddenly. The homestead shack could not keep out all the icy blasts, but the hearts inside were warm with love and excitement. It was now well into December and Christmas would soon be here.
This was a time in the early 1900's. A family had just the previous spring taken a homestead of one-quarter section of sagebrush land in a newly opened project in the Columbia Basin. They had great hopes of making a home here.
The town was one and one half miles away and had no more than four or five buildings so far, and only a few supplies.
Christmas had always held a special meaning for these God-fearing, devoted parents. The happiness and welfare of their four children was their greatest concern. ( They had more children as time went on)
Now the holiday was fast approaching, the young ones were on tip-toe with excitement. With little money and no evergreen trees available, how could they celebrate the big day?
The Mother, a very imaginative and resourceful person, lay awake nights planning and scheming. So for many evenings she cut, sewed, stuffed, and pasted until homemade toys evolved for each child. All of those were made from available household materials. Days were spent helping small fingers string popcorn and cranberries; and make paper chains of pages of the wall paper sample book. All the while she made time pass quickly with re-telling the Christmas story, with poems of the season and fairy tales.
But now, what about a tree ? Some of the fields were full of sage brush, as there had not been time to clear it all in the few months since arriving here. Down by the big draw where a torrent of water ran down from the hills in each spring thaw, grew bushes four or five feet high." Now why would one of those not be beautiful set up in a corner of the room and decorated?" mused the Mother.
So Christmas came at last. Four eager children awoke at dawn. Oh wonder of wonders, there before their eyes stood a grey-green, spicy smelling Christmas tree, aglow with candles, festooned with the home-made chains and ropes as well as the treasured ornaments of yester-years. Four stockings hung in a row from nails on one wall were bulging. Of course there was an orange in each toe, probably the only orange received all year. There was a little striped, paper sack of hard candy, augmented by plenty of home-made fudge. The Father had a sweet tooth, and always saw to that part.
Now evening came after a blissful day and four happy , tired little ones fell asleep, content.
Now-a-days we are blessed with an abundance of the good things of life, but no children today can be happier or more satisfied than were those little ones over the simple pleasures provided by those loving parents!
~This is the complete family. The Lowery's were one of the founding families of Quincy, Washington...I met Great Aunt Esther, her sisters Martha and Marion. They were incredible women and I hope to do a story on them some time in the future. This is a family that celebrated Christmas BECAUSE of Jesus, and so may you today! Merry Christmas!
~Mary Ellen Ladd Lowery and her husband William Henry Lowery, they are my husbands' great-grandparents. The following story was written by my husband's great-aunt Esther Meyer, in 1980 and she was the oldest daughter of William and Mary Ellen Lowery.
~~~The weather had turned frigid suddenly. The homestead shack could not keep out all the icy blasts, but the hearts inside were warm with love and excitement. It was now well into December and Christmas would soon be here.
This was a time in the early 1900's. A family had just the previous spring taken a homestead of one-quarter section of sagebrush land in a newly opened project in the Columbia Basin. They had great hopes of making a home here.
The town was one and one half miles away and had no more than four or five buildings so far, and only a few supplies.
Christmas had always held a special meaning for these God-fearing, devoted parents. The happiness and welfare of their four children was their greatest concern. ( They had more children as time went on)
Now the holiday was fast approaching, the young ones were on tip-toe with excitement. With little money and no evergreen trees available, how could they celebrate the big day?
The Mother, a very imaginative and resourceful person, lay awake nights planning and scheming. So for many evenings she cut, sewed, stuffed, and pasted until homemade toys evolved for each child. All of those were made from available household materials. Days were spent helping small fingers string popcorn and cranberries; and make paper chains of pages of the wall paper sample book. All the while she made time pass quickly with re-telling the Christmas story, with poems of the season and fairy tales.
But now, what about a tree ? Some of the fields were full of sage brush, as there had not been time to clear it all in the few months since arriving here. Down by the big draw where a torrent of water ran down from the hills in each spring thaw, grew bushes four or five feet high." Now why would one of those not be beautiful set up in a corner of the room and decorated?" mused the Mother.
So Christmas came at last. Four eager children awoke at dawn. Oh wonder of wonders, there before their eyes stood a grey-green, spicy smelling Christmas tree, aglow with candles, festooned with the home-made chains and ropes as well as the treasured ornaments of yester-years. Four stockings hung in a row from nails on one wall were bulging. Of course there was an orange in each toe, probably the only orange received all year. There was a little striped, paper sack of hard candy, augmented by plenty of home-made fudge. The Father had a sweet tooth, and always saw to that part.
Now evening came after a blissful day and four happy , tired little ones fell asleep, content.
Now-a-days we are blessed with an abundance of the good things of life, but no children today can be happier or more satisfied than were those little ones over the simple pleasures provided by those loving parents!
~This is the complete family. The Lowery's were one of the founding families of Quincy, Washington...I met Great Aunt Esther, her sisters Martha and Marion. They were incredible women and I hope to do a story on them some time in the future. This is a family that celebrated Christmas BECAUSE of Jesus, and so may you today! Merry Christmas!
8 comments:
Good Christmas Morning Kathy! This is a beautifully written story and I look forward to hearing more in the future about this family. Blessings to you and your entire family this Christmas Day.
How sweet a reminder of days not so long ago - Merry Christmas thank you for sharing the story with us - I wonder how much of this country would get settled if it were to happen today, how many people would have the strength of faith and character - but I sound a bit grinchy and this morning is for rejoicing.
What an inspiring story.
Such a lovely story, Kathy. My mom used to tell us when she was young that they got an orange in their stocking at Christmas every year too. Family memories like these are treasures to celebrate and pass on to the next generation. I hope you have had a joyful Christmas day.
Beautiful story. The simpler life always seems so much more beautiful. I wish my kids would be thrilled with the simple pleasures too, as I try to teach them...it will come I guess. Thanks for sharing this and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
What a wonderful story, Kathy!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!!
Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas... ((HUGS))
Thank-you all, this part of my husband's family were very literary and musical. The women, 'the Aunts', were all women who were hard working, well-educated, and generous in time and money when it came to helping any and all in the family. The youngest of the Aunts, Marion and Martha, made quite an impact on my husband and his sisters and brothers' lives, and then on our lives. Martha and Marion never had children,and invested much of themselves in their nieces' and nephews' ( great and great-great also) lives. They wrote letters of encouragement, supported them when the parents could not afford to, and were just plain interested in the lives of all. That is so much more important than we realize , and we are ever grateful for these women .
What a delightful story! Thank you for sharing it with us!
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