Memories of Christmas seasons past

Beginning in 1990, The Mailboat, a much-loved publication dedicated to preserving the heritage and culture of Down East Carteret County, N.C., started publishing a collection of articles labeled “Christmas Memories.” 

These small storybooks are now of a prized collection at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center on Harkers Island. 

Among Madge Guthrie’s favorite “winter memories” growing up on Harkers Island are: 

“Deep feather beds that have ‘sunned’ all day.” 

Bed sheets, pillows and pillowcases that are allowed to “go outdoors” and soak up some sunshine make for better sleeping.

 

“Cold linoleum that made me run tip-toe to the warmth of a ‘red-hot’ coal stove.” 

“Feet stuffed in paper and covered with paper bags, so I could play in the snow that was often wished for, but rarely seen.” 

“The smell of shortbread and sugar cookies from Mother’s oven when I came home from school ‘half-starved.’”

 

“Riding the mailboat to town (Beaufort) and keeping so very warm by the engines.” 

“Roasting oysters on an open fire protected by scrub-oaks and then helping Mama roast yaupon in a cracked iron washpot in the same shelter.”

 

Yaupon leaves make great tea, high in antioxidants and less bitter than green tea. Yaupon has the highest caffeine content of any plant native to North America.

 

However, don’t eat the berries of yaupon (and the other hollies), as they are considered highly toxic to humans. Eating as few as six yaupon berries can cause a child to vomit, and consumption of 20 to 30 berries can be fatal to children.

 

“Cleaning lamp globes each day to get all the soot off, and studying each night by the same oil lamps.”

 

“Watching Mother ironing starched shirts with irons heated on the stovetop.” 

Joel Hancock Sr. of Harkers Island reflects on one of the “more charming and evocative memories” of his youth – “when my father would take my brother Teff and me to Shackleford Banks in search of Christmas trees.” 

“We would head to Wade’s Shore, at the west end of the Banks, and the best place on Shackleford where cedars still could be found in abundance. Daddy had gotten the family’s Christmas tree from there since any of us could remember, and there was no reason to go somewhere else – a Wade’s Shore tree was pretty much a family tradition.” 

“Just to make sure that Mama wouldn’t be disappointed with his selection, Daddy usually cut a couple extra trees. The others could be shared with any of several other families in our neighborhood after Mama had exercised her preference.” (Smart man, that Papa Hancock.) 

“Our home would radiate with the smell of fresh cedar as Mama and my sisters began the trimming. Ella Dee would make a special concoction from Fab detergent that renders a garnishing of ‘snow’ to (place on) several of the higher branches. A few ceramic bulbs, two strings of lights and a big star to adorn the top were all that we needed to finish off…our Holiday decorations.” 

In later years, the Hancock family would abandon its practice of cutting trees on Shackleford Banks, choosing to purchase firs from “the Colonial grocery store in Beaufort.” Later, the Hancocks bought a synthetic tree “so void of fragrance that Mama had to buy aerosol cans of ‘evergreen’ scent to try and recapture some of the holiday flavor.”

 

Joel Hancock

“Christmas memories…are suspended in time and cannot be bought or sold. I can buy a fir tree many times larger and much more shapely than the stunted cedars that Teff and I used to pull through the sand hills. But none could ever (take) the special place in our hearts reserved for this and the many others of our Christmas memories.” 

Ellen P. Simpson reminds us that back when she was a girl, “Christmas was observed…in quite a different way than it is today.” 

“There were no electric lights in most rural homes, so tree trimming was done with what was available; homemade garlands and paper lanterns cut from colored construction paper and glued together.”

 

These were placed at intervals around the tree, as were “candy canes, gingerbread cutouts and glass balls. Then, candles in tinfoil holders were fastened to the tree with small wire. A homemade star, also covered in tinfoil, was hung from the top of the tree, representing the Star of Bethlehem.”

Ms. Simpson said, “An odor of baked sweet potatoes, mincemeat pies, smoked sausages and baked goose filled the air. Garlands of holly and cedar were placed over the fireplace, and cotton balls were used to resemble snow.” 

“Turkey was unknown at our house; goose, ducks, ham, oysters and sausage were the foods we were most familiar with.” 

“We had been taught that the ‘Christ Child Was Born on Christmas Morn’…still it was ‘Old Santa’ who filled our stockings on Christmas Eve, after we were safely tucked in for the night.” 

“Typical gifts were: dolls with moving eyes and long curls, a tea set, a doll bed or carriage, crayons and coloring books and a child’s reading book; our stockings were always filled with apples, oranges, tangerines, nuts and candy; then topped with fireworks, sparklers and Roman candles.”

 

“Long before dawn, we were outside firing firecrackers, or lighting sparklers or Roman candles; soon we were joined by other children and older boys and girls with their air rifles and fireworks; by seven-thirty, we were glad to be called inside to a ‘big’ Christmas breakfast.”