With the holidays upon us, I sought inspiration from elders by asking them to share favorite holiday memories for my final 2010 column. So I set off to the Santa Rosa Senior Center to collect vignettes from a few willing subjects.
Quite frankly, I was humbled by some of the memories shared below, because they speak as much about the strength of the human spirit as they do about holiday spirit. The stories are not uniformly 'upbeat' because the memories were not. However, to me the challenges represent powerful statements about what the "Greatest Generation" has experienced and endured through the past century, which is worthy of celebration. It also reminds me how lucky I am to have been raised a Baby Boomer, a generation which has benefited tremendously from the blood, sweat and tears of the generations preceding my own.
Addie's fondest and most vivid holiday memory was in 1936 at age six. That year, all the girls in her Austin, Texas orphanage received Shirley Temple dolls and she absolutely cherished hers. She claims "they spoiled us."
Dee fondly remembers her Irish Grandmother in El Reno, Oklahoma, who would take down her long, lush white hair and act like a bear. She also remembers not having indoor plumbing and being afraid to go outside at night to use the outhouse...especially during a blizzard!
Raised in Manchester, England, Judy remembers spending Christmas 1940 in an air raid shelter in Manchester after her first year of military service. During the day, they would come out to survey the fires and devastation left by the German air raids, and recalled when her sister ran out of a shelter despite the protection it offered because she feared a nearby rat more than the bombing!
Prudence, who was raised in Shanghai, China, thought of Chinese New Year when I asked about her holiday memories. She loved to play with dice, and her family would visit ancestral temples on this special day.
Ralph, who served in the 41st Infantry Division during WWII, will never forget his holiday memories in Hiro, Japan after the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima where he witnessed human starvation firsthand; a stark reminder of the casualties of war.
Bea loved the smell of the freshly cut Christmas tree her father would find in the woods near her home in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and the simple joy of stringing it with popcorn, tinsel and lights. When the snow came, they always built a snowman with nose and eyes made out of mud!
Raised in Sydney Australia, Liz remembers celebrating hot and humid Christmas days there. Despite the weather, her family always had a traditional British Christmas lunch, complete with Plum Pudding and brandy sauce. They were 'incapacitated' for much of the afternoon, but managed to reach the beach by late afternoon. Then, on December 26 (Boxing Day), friends would converge at their house by Sydney Harbor to watch the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Joe, who was raised in Alabama, recalled his 7 year old brother's reaction when he didn't receive the present he expected for Christmas, declaring "I hate Santa Claus" before marching back to bed. Joe never did find out what his brother was expecting that he didn't get! (Maybe he even kept it a secret from Santa...?)
During the winter months, Miriam enjoyed riding her wooden sled with metal glides from the top of the hill in her home town of Salem, Massachusetts. When the pond they used for ice skating froze over, they'd build a fire and sit on logs nearby to stay warm between spins.
In closing, I'd like to celebrate and give thanks to the wise elder who has helped shape my life: my father, Kent Tweeten, who celebrates his 95th birthday on December 17 in Madison, Wisconsin. Happy Birthday, Dad!
May you experience the simple joys this holiday season has to offer.
