by Donna Swagerty Shreve
We are all aware of a child’s anticipation for Christmas but little is mentioned about the parents of those children. That short-lived several years thrill is such a draw for the parents to recreate and hopefully share in the magic. There were two examples of this the Swagerty/Shreve family.
The Floyd Swagerty family of six lived in a tiny house on Kern Avenue in Escalon. Melva’s brother Ron lived with this family at the time. He had the small bedroom in the walled-in front porch. Jane was in a crib in the parent’s bedroom and Brian and Donna had bunkbeds in the second bedroom. Christmas was approaching and the children were at a fun age to get so excited. Brian was four years old and Floyd and Ron decided he would be old enough for every boys’ dream of a train set. Floyd had found a real beauty of a train that had special pellets that went into the train stack and simulated a steam engine. It came with tracks and several attachments that created quite an impressive set of smoke and train noises.
After the children had been put to bed on Christmas Eve, the two men went to work. They set up the tracks and tried out the train engine and cars in the cramped living area. They refrained from the sound effects until the big reveal. Christmas morning finally arrived and the men were ready. Brian was four and not interested in the funny steel toy that went around on the tracks and made noises and blew out smoke. He was more than not impressed. When pressed to get involved, he cried and the men had to back off.
When the train was running, it was tricky to keep it going or to stay on the track. The home lived quite close to real railroad tracks and when any train came through the area, the house shook. The house vibrated enough to throw the small train off the track. The train was finally put away until Brian was older or there was another place to set it up. Brian recently found that train set and now has room to set it up for grandkids.
Fast forward many years and now Christmas is being set up for a new generation. Donna and her husband John are parents of two young boys, Aaron and Brad. John’s younger brother Mitch is visiting for Christmas and helped set up for Christmas. John was driving truck and did not get home from work until midnight Christmas Eve. The two boys had been put to bed and now it was time to set out the loot for Christmas. Brad had been given a bicycle by Santa Claus but the bike (from Sears) came in parts in a big box. Fortunately Mitch came to Donna’s rescue and finally the bicycle was put together. To set off the grand gift, a stuff animal, based on the cartoon Garfield, was placed on the seat of the bike. The stage was set.
Christmas morning arrived and the boys woke up with the thrill of what Santa had left during the night. Donna had the camera ready to film Brad’s delight. Brad rushed into the room and yelled, “Garfield!” He had no interest in that bike. Brad’s older brother had previously received a bicycle a few years previous and adapted quickly to learning to master riding it. When it came time to take the bicycle out for the first riding lesson, Brad balked and it became a battle to get him to ride. Parents foiled again. Some things in life do not change much over the generations.
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 