(Myra and Andrew Riley in front of the Christmas tree at the Seven Stars residence)
By Polly Mazariegos
All of my childhood Christmas memories are full of fun and food, except on the occasion when I had such a bad case of bronchitis and had such a sore throat I did not want to come down for Christmas morning.
During the night I could smell the turkey roasting in the oven. Even my appetite on this particular Christmas was not an incentive to get me to come down. Not only that, my sister, Shirley, had told me the night before that her daughter, Lani, had made me a clipper ship, which I was crazy about at that time. I wanted to come down, but just could not get the energy up. Shirley came up to convince me to come down and at least see what I got.
I came down feeling miserable. Not being able to breathe very well, coughing all the time, and not wanting to be anywhere but in bed. We tried calling my health plan and could not get any help there. I had my plan in Washington, DC, and it was the holidays and it is always difficult to get to a doctor. Finally, we got through but they could not or would not send me any medicine. I had to be there for them to examine me. We tried to explain the situation, that I was in PA and in horrible shape. Needless to say, this was my shortest Christmas visit I ever had.
Now for the fun Christmases. Our home was always decorated for Christmas. Mom and Dad always put up a real tree. Dad would tie it up with strong twine so that it would not fall over. It was always in the living room on a platform. Dad put the train up only at this time. It ran around the tree and through the little village Dad put up.
We always took pictures of Mom and Dad in front of the tree. The family was always together and all the kids tearing into their presents, paper all over the floor. One of the most exciting things was finding where your presents were. There were chairs and sofas full of presents. The year my ship was made, I found it on top of the buffet that was an antique in the tree room.
The Christmas season included all the family, nine kids plus grand kids when they came along with their parents. It was definitely a house full of people. The next best thing was all the food that was being made. Mom’s boys would help with that. They would help get the turkey ready to put on the table. When we had so many in attendance, Mom would have the turkey cut up so it could be handed around the table easier. There were mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, peas, corn and bread stuffing both in the bird and a special pan which was just cooked in the oven.
Of course, we all went to church before any festivities began. The different companies that Dad dealt with always gave him a large box of chocolates which Dad opened on Christmas. Dad also got fresh oranges and tangerines from the Lions club. They were so juicy and with chocolate, tasted just like heaven.
I always liked to watch the small kids dig into their presents and throw the paper everywhere. Usually, we just opened our presents as we found where they were. If we had visitors, family or friends, presents were available for everyone who came for dinner.
I miss those old fashioned Christmases. I miss all the happiness we had with just being together for Christmas. I can remember only one Christmas when all of Mom’s kids were not there. That was the year Shirley, my sister, was in the Women’s Army Corp.
Mother’s children were, at times, all over the United States. Currently, she has children in Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey. The rest of her children live in and around Gettysburg, Hanover, Aspers and York, PA, area.
As I close this document, I remind myself that our last big Christmas was three years ago, before Mom died. Occasionally we would have a combined Christmas party with my sister Liz Unger and her husband’s family in a large club room. Santa even showed up there one time. I still would rather have those Christmases that we had at our Seven Stars home.
As we get older, we do not realize how these times will mean so much to us. I am glad U.S. Legacies has given me the opportunity to have my memories put into print.
Published in U S Legacies Magazine December 2005
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