by Donna Swagerty Shreve
There was excitement throughout our new Lincoln Village #3 neighborhood in December of 1955. This Christmas there was going to be a house-decorating contest throughout the newly built Lincoln Village. Various local businesses were providing the prizes.
My Uncle Ronnie was living with us and he and Dad put their creative minds together to contribute to the neighborhood spirit. The key to a successful presentation, according to Ronnie, was simplicity. Dad fixed up a huge lighted star and climbed up on the roof and placed the star full of lights as high as he could. Ronnie found some large cardboard from one of our new appliances and painted the backs of three wise men looking up at the roof. The cardboard was then cut out and braced with a wooden frame. The whole display was quite beautiful and original. This was before all of the commercial displays were being sold.
The original decorations were on display for all of two nights before the rains came. The cardboard didn’t have a chance. It melted quickly into a soggy mess. Only the lonely star remained. The doorbell rang a day later and my parents were presented with a certificate for first place.
The star would have remained lonely but now there was pride involved. How could my parents leave up just a star and feel they had deserved first prize? Many neighbors had participated in the contest and the winners had been announced with their addresses.
Dad was principal of a K-8 school that had a wood shop. Dad and Ronnie bought some thin but sturdy plywood and hurried to the school to use their jig saw to cut out an outline of the original cardboard creation. Ronnie tried to recreate the first design but it just wasn’t the same. It didn’t have the detail but at least the star now seem to make sense.
Ronnie and Dad had a history of collaborative undertakings when they did elaborate Halloweens in our previous town of Escalon had become legend. If I remember correctly that was the only Christmas we had Christmas decorations beyond the lighted house. My younger brother remembers the wise men plywood display being stored in our garage for a while. Maybe we did use it again. Ronnie and Dad knew the danger of trying to outdo themselves each year and were not going to make that mistake again.
398 words
Back to Swagerty/Boone Stories
12/6/16
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 