Christmas from
all of us at Dave’s
The Word became flesh and made His
dwelling us.
John 1: 14
We will close
at
pm. on
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24,
Pizza Oven
582-2775
100 N. Central
and remain
closed
throughout
Christmas Day.
Coldwater
MomTells ofTrue Christmas Spirit
by John Schlageck,
Kansas Farm Bureau Writer
Seems a long time ago my
mother told me about one of her
first Christmas celebrations. The
Christmas was 1930 and she
would have been six years old.
As my mom recalled the
events of this Christmas she told
of buttoning her winter coat and
tying a scarf snuggly over her
cars. It was a cold evening and
the wind was howling out of the
north on their Phillips County
farm. The rest of the family was
already waiting in the Model-T
Ford ready to head to Logan and
midnight mass. Mom would go
to mass in the parish church in
Logan that night.
Several years later, after she
and Dad married, she spent the
next six decades attending mass
at St. Martin’s parish in Sheridan
County.
As she grew older, her step
slowed from those youthful
days, but her conviction about
the true meaning of Christmas
never wavered.
Summing up my mother’s
thoughts about Christmas is an
easy task. Mom believed the
The Joy Of Christmas
{/63 we enjoy the Christmas Season, we’re reminded of
the miraculous birth of Christ, in Bethlehem 2,000 years
ago.
Aaa’sfie sflall bringforrfi a sea, and #1011 sflalt
eall bis name ES US .' for/3e sflall save fiz's people
from t/telrsirzs.
——Matthew 1:21
We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
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Professional People Providing Professional Banking Services
101 East Main
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Coldwater
Christmas season and the rest
of the year was simply about
caring for one another.
Mom always told us, “That
is the ultimate Christmas story
—- God’s love for man and our
own love for each other.”
Words she lived by.
Ninety years ago, church was
the social center for life among
rural Kansas people. Christmas
was very much a religious festi-
val and the highlight of Christ-
mas Eve was going to midnight
mass.
All the Becker children would
dress in their Sunday best and
unless you were sick in bed, you
wouldn’t have dreamed of miss-
ing church service.
Like every other child at the
time, Mom could not wait for
Christmas and believed the day
would never arrive. While she
was in church, Santa would visit
her farm home.
Although Mom neV er actu-
ally saw Santa, she absolutely,
firmly believed in the jolly old
man. And while she always un—
derstood the Christ child was the
most important part of Christmas,
the Becker family did a good job
of balancing the two.
After they returned from
Christmas Eve services, her
mother would light the kerosene
lamp and the children would
gather around to open Santa’s
gifts.
Growing up during the diffi-
cult times of the Dust Bowl Days
— money was scarce. Gifts con-
sisted of something useful like
clothing and one toy for each
child.
Morn always remembered the
first and only horse she ever re—
ceived for Christmas. She named
the mare Dolly and as she told
us, “I thought I’d died and gone
to heaven. I rode her nearly all
day long.”
«fit iT-‘i
nit-m
COMPANY,
Dodge City
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While some of her neighbors
cut a red cedar and placed it in
their houses at Christmas, the
Beckers didn’t have such trees
in their pastures.
Her father, my Grandpa Bert,
erected a stand with a pole in the
center. Her mom, my Grandma
Rose, and the children went out-
side to cut branches from the
evergreen trees. Next, they gath-
ered them up, hauled them inside
and poked them in the stand to
make their Christmas tree.
On most Christmas days, rela-
tives would come to visit or the
Beckers would jump in the fam—
ily automobile and drive to see
their cousins.
One of the special meals on
Christmas day was always pan-
fried chicken. Mom always said
that her mom’s was the best.
My grandmother and Mom al-
ways made peanut brittle and
fudge with walnuts before the
holidays. These had to be hid—
den until Christrnas so the chil-
dren wouldn’t snitch these
yummy, tasty delights.
Yes, the toasty feeling of a
wood burning stove, the smell
of frying chicken and the antici-
pation of Christmas are memo-
ries my mother always cherished.
She always said you never grow
too old to enjoy this magical time
of the year.
As she grew older and these
stories were told and retold Mom
made sure we understood the
true spirit of Christmas — car-
ing for and helping our fellow
man.
INC.
1-800-685-3722
