Christmas Letter 2010

Christmas Greetings!


As the holidays roll around this year I find myself searching for stability as Dave would say!

So many things have changed.

I miss the good old days when we shared so much fun with so many of you. We have been blessed with some really nice times spent with you, comforting memories. Not that there won’t be more, but I am fond of our history.

Speaking of history, I suggest this holiday you take a bit of time to share some of your Christmas history with your children. A few of your Best memories! What you don’t remember just make up. Who’s going to challenge you on it – your kids weren’t there and you don’t live with Dave the contraire.

One great memory I have of Christmas was the year we moved from the village of Maple Rapids to the country farm. I am sure you might be asking yourself, “Self-what would be the difference in that”? Well don’t be silly. The point being, at Christmas we got a pony, not just any pony this was a blue-eyed white coated Shetland pony and we named him Dusty. Bonus…a puppy too, a “Lassie” Dog we named Mitzy. You may have heard this before I thought I died and had gone to heaven. My sister on the other hand who did not like the country life thought we’d simply died. So much for seeing the same thing differently.

When we excitedly (that’s how I approached everything) flocked to the tree that Christmas morning there was a note in an envelope deposited there by none other than Santa himself. It said we should go to the barn and see what Santa had left for us. Along with the pony was a Collie we named Mitzy. Man those were the days, riding down the lane, across the creek bridge and into the woods. I will always recall too that the jewelry box I use to this day with its nine drawers with teardrop pulls was delivered in that house, and a beautiful opal cluster ring that I presented to Molly last year.

Do you remember, J.W. Knapp’s Store in Lansing, I just heard this week that the city of Lansing is negotiating tax incentives for the development of that great old building, soon to be apartments, shops and businesses. Our home gets some holiday decorating done from Christmas items dear old Jan (and I mean somewhere around three) purchased at the final Knapp’s auction sale. Dave’s favorite, the large Red Glittered Bells that brought Christmas cheer to that store. Jan has been giving Dave one of these each Christmas for some time. She now hangs them at Antiques and Friends in St. Johns, in the old J.C. Penney store. My favorite is an angel that was from their wonderful fragrance department. I always felt walking in those doors as a child was magic. Elevators, operated by hosts, where you could step right off from the elevator into a sea of beautiful shoes, none like my prescription, (riser on one shoe) saddle shoes! 

Our family chose more frequently to shop at Arbaugh’s Store, no doubt for the ease of parking, but I do recall a bit of a fender bender in that lot with our ’50 something Ford.

Did you shop at Frandor when it was the “Mall” that predated the “Mall”? I always loved seeing Santa there. I can still hear the clink of the ironstone dishes at F.W. Woolworths and peering into that candy counter set all my senses into a flurry. They had it all. I developed my



keen sense for fine furnishings and vanilla fudge, and my taste for every other form of nick-knack at Woolworth’s (tell me you didn’t already know that). I still have a wonderful plastic gold tone Victorian Framed cardboard picture of girls dressed in pink, hands joined dancing around an old oak tree in front of a home that is exactly like the home I grew up on Maple Rapids Road, except this home is white and our home was reddish brown. I recall vividly having the clerk get the ladder and pull that wonderful picture down from the wall for me. Frandor was a delight to me, The Boom Boom Room (we didn’t go there to eat – but by the sound inflected in mention of its’ name made me always think it might be a place where wild things happened, The Hobby Hub, The PX Army Surplus you will think of more. The owner Carr was also the man that built the YMCA in Lansing and J.C. Penney downtown. (And who could forget that escalator) I think I still have my mouse pin with moving tail and red gemstone eyes that was purchased there around 1969. Remember girlfriends when we took the Greyhound bus from St. Johns to the bus terminal downtown and were “on our own” for the day to shop in downtown Lansing. What fun, I will

never forget that day!

How about that D & C Dime Store and Wayne Banner, staples of my youth? (If you want to see one of the old candy scales, come on over-it is on my kitchen counter and I even read in the obituary a few weeks ago that Mrs. Eisler the candy counter lady had passed.

There was a dime store before that, I can’t recall the name, one block south and I got Mexican Jumping Beans there and a pet painted turtle. I always got a new Lindy Pen at Parr’s RX to start the New Year and the sight of all those Nancy Drew Books still thrills me. The P.X. always smelled of rubber, but was intriguing. I can’t remember the Gambles store without picturing the Stoners who owned it. Even grocery stores like the A & P and Eiseler’s Superette have closed their doors. And wasn’t the Mark Roberts store lovely, remember when Mark placed the lights in the form of a Christmas Tree down the front of the building, we were just like the Big City! Sometimes when I get the Christmas decorations out from the attic, I sort of dawdle over the store stickers on the boxes and think of buying this and that in those shops. It was nice too when the Reminder was THE Reminder and Max or Mrs. Zuker would be dressed warmly walking up and down main street to greet their advertisers with notebook in hand gathering those holiday advertisements. The Steel Hotel loomed largely over our down town and The Banks had those adorable Christmas Savings Books. Remember Gladys the teller who would greet you from the sidewalk teller window! I still type, “enclosed you will find” from instructions I received from Betty Hansen at the new accounts desk at the bank. If you were really lucky you might get a clothing gift from Julie K. Lester Lake Jewelers was another place from which you might get a charm for your charm bracelet. We used to take our girls to get hot chocolate after snow shoveling at the corner restaurant, “Walker’s” – I recall a rumor that someone died eating food there that was tainted with rat poison a cook mistook for baking soda (am I nut’s or did that happen?)

Nick’s Fruit Market carried an abundance of trees and greenery. Mr. Ritter would fill your tank at the shell station or the Indian Brothers at station that set where Dave’s office now stands. The Kroger Store being where the Century 21 Office sets today, our “little Frandor” –the Southgate Shopping Plaza, at Kroger during the holidays we could usually plan on box of Chocolate Covered Cherries and some Hershey syrup to make Chocolate Milk, and if we wanted fudge - hot chocolate we used Hershey’s Cocoa. I developed my love of red licorice from Kroger’s.

When I was 6 or 7 which seems way too young by today’s parenting standards, we used to bundle up and go to the Maple Rapids School (a walk of about 6 blocks-and Ice Skate on the ice rink adjacent to the Gymnasium. All by ourselves. I remember Kissing Ricky Husslebus and Randy Swartzendruber behind that Gymnasium when I was in first grade. (Not sure if I like them or the sound of their last names. (Poor Randy he died a few weeks ago. The Heritage House in Chesaning, The Sobaks Pharmacy-Gift Shop in Owosso, The Wally’s Bakery in St. Johns where my girls got those big round smiley face cookies, The Bakery in Owosso, The Gift Shops on the Boulevard and in the Mall –Basket Tree Lane (owned by Joe Gonzalez’s sister in Chesaning, Thyme in the Country on M-52, The Greenville and Lowell and Ionia Antiques Malls, Gathered Treasures in Grand Ledge, Mathews Dairy, Will’s Dairy Delight, The Maple Rapids Theatre and The Saint Johns Theatre and Drive Inn (we took our popcorn, but I think we had drinks from the snack counter, Sill’s Grocery and Ice Cream Shop- where I worked for 42 cents an hour by myself at age 13 making hamburgers, fries and pushed Ice Cream cones into the screen slider window - I used to be so nervous at that place- lots of carp fishing groups would come there to eat on their way back to Lansing in their Cadillac’s (funny what you remember, Cloth and Collectibles in St. Johns, Palmers Grocery Store that was in the front of their house, I could just go on and on (sort of – my hard drive memory does not have much RAM

…………….CHANGE …………it’s inevitable………..it means we’re getting older when we are complaining about it!

This all got me thinking about how we celebrated Christmas. My most vivid memory was the same old song and dance every year. “Settle Down, and sit down and relax – (why was everyone always saying that to me)…until we finish the dishes”. I remember sitting on the rocking chair with ankles crossed and my hands tightly gripping and fondling and poking around the package on my lap on Christmas Eve. The only gift we could open on Christmas Eve was the gift from my Step-Grandma Nellie Wilson. I think it was always hand knit slippers, but that did not keep me in any less suspense. I recall my favorite red sweater dress with a turtle neck and it was wonderful to wear to Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s when we had Christmas Dinner there, maybe it was Thanksgiving, but I remember my dad was in the hospital and I was worried about him. When it was winter time and we lived in Maple Rapids I had the great fortune of having our cousins all living within a two block area, and we went sledding at the gravel pit which was very close by. And mind you I don’t believe any of our parents ever were with us and the older kids might have thought they were in charge but I am sure I was the one in charge. Always Miss Bossy and always telling everyone how to do everything. You know the kid you just can’t stand-who grow up into the adult you just can’t stand. Yep that was me! We had so much fun!

I do remember on the ice rink running fast and catching the toe of my skate in the ice and landing spread eagle and knocking the wind out of myself, I can still recall the feeling, “I think I am dead”, yep I am sure I am dead. I still have the Bird book too that Birdaline Smith gave me years ago. Mom and dad rented an apartment from her when Rhonda was little, my parents kept in touch with bird and it was always a treat for us kids to visit her at Christmas as she had present!!  That must have been a chore for mom to get us slicked up with a refresher course in manners to visit this nice old lady. (probably the age I am today – but you know..)

I recall my grandma Nettie sitting in the center of a circle of children and speaking to each of us,



with her house dress on and her hair curled and her poor crippled up feet showing every bump and bulge through her tennis shoes, I don’t think my grandma ever owned a comfortable pair of shoes- she occasionally wore dress shoes with a square heal and strap, but mostly the tennis shoes. We kids would play bingo at the Christmas at the fire hall, and I would always look at the firemen’s pictures on the wall and be proud of faces I recognized. You know I was thinking the other day of the times we went to Leigh and Nina Freers at Christmas and you know what the big curiosity of that visit was they did not have and indoor toilet. I found that absurd and thought that it best to stay in the entry way so to avoid having to go into the old folk’s home.

Memories….whether right or wrong – they’re mine. And I am glad the people and places of my life have made me the person I am today. We are born, we work, we play, we’re dead…..as Kim always says (but she does not say-play in that), what I do like is what she greets the day with, “The big sun comes up, the dew falls away, good morning, good morning the little bird sings!!”

I will add a Dave memory here, next year we will revisit the Ithaca memories, but he recalls a very snowy day of going to The Lansing Civic Center and seeing Roy Rogers “Singing Cowboys”, Gabby Hayes and Dale Evans and Roy Rogers and Gene Autry! He said it was too nasty to go but his dad being his dad and Dave being Dave they said, “We’ll do it!” I am headed to the attic now to decorate that last tree in the house with Dave’s Cowboy suit and Totem Poles!  Happy Christmas to you and God Bless you with people around you that you love and learn to love!! God is good, yesterday, today and tomorrow and he’s coming for us soon! Love, Robin 2010 p.s. I think the kids are fine!  If not they should contact you! 

Little miracles in my manger!

    In my search for Christmas sparkle something was missing. Christmas presented itself in all the familiar places, but the truth I saw was in the fact that my manger was empty. All of the setting was in place, Mary and Joseph, the camel, the wise men, the sheep and the star on the scene, but the manger was empty.
    I realized in a chance meeting with friends that the fullness of my manger was there all along. I had truly been looking for things to fill my manger and all along Christ was waiting for me to enjoy the people of my life instead. No wonder the glitter and glamour seemed hallow. The spaces and margins filled with a sad emptiness. Yesterday I was reminded that a person sent by God was in that manger.  Trying to fill my manger with anything other than the Christ Child and the people that God has placed in my life will never be satisfying.
    It took some slowing down, stepping out of the world for a moment, to bring this satisfying joy that comes only from God into my day. It came in the touch of a friends hand and a hug sent from above. It appeared in the smell of fresh bread cooking behind the steam of a warm bowl of soup. It came in the sound of voices, new and fresh and honest. Joy came in the sights around me the seeing hearts pouring out through smiles, eyes lit up and eyes that could swim in heartfelt tears. The joy even settled on me in the taste of the coffee and the tea and the freshness of the soup and the bread. God is Good!
    Thank you God for sending your son to fill the manger. Your son a real person to fill the manger. Your manger was filled with the personification of grace, mercy and forgiveness. I am humbled that you have directed my path to real people and you have provided this tangible concept that in our relationships you provide all that you are to me, grace, mercy and forgiveness seasoned with tenderness.
    Grace, mercy, forgiveness and tenderness, extended to all of the people You send into my life will fill my manger.
    If you read this you know who you are. Sent by God into my life, to make my manger alive with Joy!