LONG DISTANCE PACKAGES, CHRISTMAS CARDS, GLASS ORNAMENTS
Seasonal exhibit now on display in the Cut Knife Library, 113 Broad Street.
“Each year before Christmas, a large parcel would arrive in Quill Lake, Sask. on the train or in the mail in later years, from my Grandma and Grandpa Payton in Victoria, B.C… Finally after supper the opening revealed a box loaded with many parcels carefully wrapped in various colourful Christmas wrapping papers. On top would be a sheet of writing paper on which Grandpa had written our names. Beside each name was glued a small rectangle of one of the different wrapping papers. One knew that that particular pattern of paper wrapped their gifts.” ~ Lucille Bullerwell, page 6
“Every year we would receive a wooden box (previously filled with oranges) from my father’s parents in Chilliwack, B.C. It was filled with hazel nuts or filberts. That was our Xmas present from our grandparents. Grandpa always told me they came from Nut Mountain, which I presumed was close to their acreage, but I am not sure to this day if there is such a mountain called this near Chilliwack.” ~ Marcella Pedersen, page 20
“Mom made special treats for Christmas. Bev remembers Mom and Dad packaging up frozen farm chickens to send to Dad’s sisters in Calgary on the train.” ~ Bonnie Ramsay, page 28
“Remembering our friends at Christmas with cards and letters was our way of keeping in touch; we did not call them on the telephone. Our Christmas card list was long! Christmas cards that we received were displayed in the house by hanging them up with string in long rows on the wall. Everyone enjoyed reading the cards. It only cost 3 [cents] or 5 [cents] to send a card.” ~ Mona Wade, page 68
“Christmas cards were hung on a string across the kitchen wall and we decorated a live tree which needed water on a regular basis. Some of us still treasure and use the delicate glass ornaments from our tree on the farm.” ~ Bonnie Ramsay, page 25
“Dad and Granddad would go north just before Christmas for a load of trees to be cut for firewood. They would bring “Christmas” trees back with them. We put the tree up on Christmas Eve and decorated it with homemade bells of paper etc. and crepe paper red and green streamers. The rooms were decorated with red and green streamers and bells of crepe paper as well. In later years, ornaments were purchased from the Eaton’s catalogue and some were received as gifts.” ~ Joyce Hewson, page 11
“Christmas trees were brought from the Loon Lake area by team and sleigh. The large ones were for the school and they cost $1.50. The smaller ones were for people’s homes and they sold for $1.00.” ~ Irene (Stonehouse) Petovello
In 1950 I married Ralph Hewson. Our first Christmas tree was decorated with coloured glass balls, silver streamers and “icicles”. In 1952, power came to our area so our tree had a string of electric lights on it. The trees then were bought in town. The tree was kept in a pail with water so it didn’t get too dry!” ~ Joyce Hewson, page 12
“It wasn’t until the fall of 1952 that our lives changed and rural Saskatchewan lit up with electricity in our immediate area. The Christmas tree now had electric lights!” ~ Mary Biggart, page 5
Previously: Santa Claus Day & Shopping Local | School Concert to Christmas Concert | The School Concert, Part 2 | The School Concert, Part 1 | Intro to Prairie Christmas.
If you have any memories of early Christmases in the Cut Knife area that you’d like to share with our readership, please email or add to the comments below. We’ll put them all together in a final blog post in early January.
All excerpts in this Prairie Christmas blog series will have been taken from Prairie Christmas: A Collection of Stories and Recollections published as A Clayton McLain Memorial Museum Project, Cut Knife, Saskatchewan 2006 – 2007. Remaining copies are available for purchase for $10. See the website’s Gift Shop page here.
~ Debbie M.
Clayton McLain Memorial Museum 